The Famous Indian Dal Makhani
Dal makhani is most probably one of the most famous vegetarian Indian dishes. “Dal” means “lentils” and “makhani” means butter.
I just love its creamy and buttery texture. It is simply delicious! Black lentils and red kidney beans cooked in a luscious and luxurious gravy with spices, cream and butter. Did I convince you to try it?
- 0.5 cup black lentils (urad dal)
- 2 tbsp red kidney beans
- 1 onion (finely chopped)
- 500 ml blended tomatoes
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 1 tsp red chilli powder
- 1 tsp cumin powder
- 1 tsp coriander powder
- 0.25 tsp turmeric
- 1 tbsp ginger garlic paste/finely chopped ginger and garlic
- 0.25 cup cream
- some butter or ghee (As per preference and requirement)
- Salt (As per preference and requirement)
Start by pressure cooking the lentils. Add the lentils together with all whole spices and some salt to a pressure cooker and cook for at least 30 min. If you don’t have a pressure cooker, cook the lentils in a regular pan until completely cooked (they should be soft).
In a separate pan, melt the ghee or butter and sautee the onion for 5 minutes. Add the ginger garlic paste and cook until the raw smell disappears. Add all the powdered spices (excluding garam masala, that will be added at the end) and the tomatoes, then add the boiled lentils together with some of the water in which they have boiled in the pressure cooker (that will thicken the dal makhani even more). Boil everything for 20-30 minutes.
After 30 min, add the garam masala and the cream, mix well and turn off the heat. Serve with naan or Basmati rice.
Enjoy!