Let’s talk about lentils today. Growing up in India, lentils were an integral part of my diet, in fact don’t be surprised if I tell you this – I had a bowl of dal [lentil soup] everyday for my lunch, everyday without fail! They are a staple in every Indian household and there are so many types of lentils that we never get bored of them. The most common dal that mom used to make every day [and still makes] was arhar/toor dal [split pigeon pea lentil]. Then there was black lentil, red lentil and the list goes on. While these yellow dals were made often [and I confess we kids used to get bored of them after a while], other lentils were made on special occasions and one such dal was Dal Makhani.
Dal is a common term used for all lentils in Hindi and Makhani means “buttery”, so this recipe is full of butter and cream.Don’t make this if you are watching your diet or want to lose weight! Dal Makhani is everyone’s favorite dal and it it made with whole gram/black lentil or what we call “urad sabut”. We also know it as “Maa Ki Dal” in Northern parts of India.
This dal is always on the menu in every Indian restaurant and more often than not there are always some red kidney beans [rajma] added to it. However this recipe doesn’t have kidney beans in it and the reason is that my husband likes it this way and this is actually his recipe! Yes he made his dal from beginning to end, I only clicked pictures and so I am super excited to share this recipe. Trust me, it’s finger licking good!
For better flavors for any Indian curry/lentils, you should try to cook on slow flame for a longer period of time. In fact this dal is sometimes simmered for 6 hours or overnight. Slow cooking enhances all the flavors and makes the dal super delicious. Basically you boil the lentils till they are soft and then you proceed to make the seasoning and all this while the lentils will keep simmering on medium-low flame. For this recipe, the dal was simmered for around 1.5 hours. You can do more if time permits, just make sure to add more water then because dal does get thicker over time.
There are loads of step but don’t get intimidated by them, I have tried to explain every step in detail So let’s start!
Method
Soak urad dal in enough water overnight. The lentils increase in size when soaked and will look like this [see 1st picture]
Rinse and drain the soaked dal and transfer to a pressure cooker. Add around 5 cups of water, 1 chopped green chili [or more if you like spicy food], 1 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon turmeric powder.
Cover and cook on high heat for 1 whistle. Lower the flame to medium and let it cook for another 15-20 minutes. The lentils will be nicely cooked by now. Every Indian owns a pressure cooker and that is what we use to cook lentils, beans, rice and just about anything. But you can cook these lentils in a big pan too. Bring water to boil, add the lentils and set the heat to medium. Cook till lentils are soft and done, this might take 45 minutes or more. Pressure cooker just makes things super quick and easy.
Once the pressure comes off, open the lid of the pressure cooker and switch on the heat again. Set the heat to medium-low. Take a masher and mash the lentils a little. Now the dal will keep simmering while you do the other steps.
On another stove top, heat 1 teaspoon of oil in a pan on medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add ginger garlic paste and saute for 1 minute.
Add the chopped onions and cook till raw smell goes away, around 2 minutes.
Once onions are done, add the chopped tomatoes. Cook for 6-7 minutes till the raw smell goes away completely.
Add the dry spices – turmeric powder, coriander powder, kashmiri red chili powder and salt.
Cook the spices for 1-2 minutes and switch off the flame.
Transfer the onion-tomato mixture to a blender, add around 2 tablespoons of water and let it cool down a little.
Meanwhile, mash the dal once again [which should have been simmering all the while].
Now blend the mixture to a fine paste.
Transfer the onion-tomato paste to the simmering dal along with 1 tablespoon of unsalted butter. Let it simmer for 5 minutes.
Now add 1/4 cup of cream and mix.
The dal will be thicker by now, keep simmering it on medium-low heat.
Take a small pan and heat 1 tablespoon of ghee in it.
Once the ghee melts and is hot add the chopped garlic and whole dried red chilies.
Saute on medium heat till the garlic starts turning light golden brown.
As the garlic/chilies starts turning brown, add 1 cup of simmering dal into this small pan and mix.
Now transfer the garlic/chili seasoning in the small pan to the simmering dal.
Add lemon juice, chopped cilantro and keep simmering for additional 15 minutes. Overall the dal should simmer for around 1-2 hour on low heat [I did for 1.5 hours].
Serve the dal hot with naan or rice.
* Dal Makhani is supposed to be on the thicker side. So do not add too much water to make it like a soup. It’s not your regular lentil soup. It’s rich, thick, creamy and supposed to be eaten with naan and rice.
* If you want to add rajma [red kidney beans] to this recipe, go ahead and soak the rajma along with the urad dal overnight and then pressure cook them in the way as you do with the lentils.
* Adjust spice levels to taste. Add 3-4 green chilies to up the spice level.
* Dal Makhani is supposed to be buttery and creamy but if you want to cut down on the calories, skip the cream and add milk in place. You can also cut down on the amount of ghee and butter in the recipe.
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Dal Makhani
India's favorite Dal! Creamy Buttery Black Lentils cooked in a spicy Onion-Tomato curry.
Author: Manali
Serves: 5-6
Ingredients
To boil the dal
1 cup whole black gram/black lentils [urad sabut]
5 cups water
1 green chili, chopped
1 teaspoon salt
⅛ teaspoon turmeric powder
Onion-Tomato masala
1 onion, small, roughly chopped
2-3 tomatoes, medium, roughly chopped
1 teaspoon ginger-garlic paste
½ teaspoon coriander powder
½ teaspoon kashmiri red chili powder
1 teaspoon salt
⅛ teaspoon turmeric powder
3 teaspoons oil
To be added after blending the masala
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
¼ cup heavy cream
Final seasoning
1 tablespoon ghee [clarified butter]
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
3 whole dried red chilies
Garnish
1 tablespoon lemon juice, freshly squeezed
coriander leaves, finely chopped
Instructions
Boil the dal
Soak urad dal in enough water overnight. The lentils increase in size when soaked.
Rinse and drain the soaked dal and transfer to a pressure cooker.
Add around 5 cups of water, 1 chopped green chili [or more if you like spicy food], 1 teaspoon salt and ⅛ teaspoon turmeric powder.
Cover and cook on high for 1 whistle. Lower the flame to medium and let it cook for another 15-20 minutes. Switch off the flame and wait till pressure comes off and then open the lid. [If you don't have a pressure cooker, cook the lentils in a big pot full of water, till they are soft and done]
Transfer the boiled dal to another stove with heat on medium.
Make the Onion-Tomato paste
On another stove top, heat 1 teaspoon of oil in a pan on medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add ginger garlic paste and saute for 1 minute.
Add the chopped onions and cook till raw smell goes away, around 2 minutes.
Once onions are done, add the chopped tomatoes. Cook for 6-7 minutes till the raw smell goes away completely.
Add the dry spices - turmeric powder, coriander powder, kashmiri red chili powder and salt
Cook the spices for 1-2 minutes and switch off the flame.
Add the masala and other seasoning to the dal
Transfer the onion-tomato mixture to a blender, add around 2 tablespoons of water and let it cool down a little.
Meanwhile, mash the dal once again [which should have been simmering all the while].
Now blend the mixture to a fine paste.
Transfer the onion-tomato paste to the simmering dal along with 1 tablespoon of unsalted butter. Let it simmer for 5 minutes.
Now add ¼ cup of cream and mix.
The dal will be thicker by now, keep simmering it on medium-low heat.
Final tadka/seasoning
Take a small pan and heat 1 tablespoon of ghee in it.
Once the ghee melts and is hot add the chopped garlic and whole dried red chilies.
Saute on medium heat till the garlic starts turning light golden brown.
As the garlic/chilies starts turning brown, add 1 cup of simmering dal into this small pan and mix.
Now transfer the garlic/chili seasoning in the small pan to the entire pot of simmering dal.
Add lemon juice, chopped cilantro and keep simmering for additional 15 minutes. Overall the dal should simmer for around 1-2 hour on low heat [I did for 1.5 hours].
Serve the dal hot with naan or rice.
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