Dal makhani is a delicacy from the state of Punjab, and shares the robustness and full bodied richness typical of most preparations from this region. Popularly known as Mah di Dal, the preperation is quite easy, has nutritional values and tastes unique in every bite. We provide you the most time tested and popular recipe for making this highly popular dish from the Indian subcontinent.
Ingredients for Dal makhani
The actual method of preparation, as well as the ingredients can change slightly from one region to another. The preparation is quite flexible, and you can make slight changes to suit your particular taste. The general ingredients are enlisted below:
Main ingredients:
- Whole Urad (black lentils) – ½ cup
- Rajma (Kidney Beans) – 1 tablespoon
- Jeera (Cumin Seeds) – ½ teaspoon
- Onions (finely chopped) – ½ cup
- Ginger-garlic paste – 1 teaspoon
- Chilli powder – 1 teaspoon
- Haldi (Turmeric powder) – ¼ teaspoon
- Dhania (Coriander powder) – 2 teaspoon
- Tomato – 1 large (finely chopped)
- Butter/ ghee – 50 gms.
- Fresh Cream – ½ cup
- Salt to taste
Preparing Dal Makhani
There are three steps that go in preparing Dal makhani. Boiling the Dal, tempering it and garnishing it. Read on for a step by step guide on how to prepare Dal makhani:
Step 1: Boiling
Keep the dal (the whole urad and the rajma separately) soaked for at least two hours before you plan to actually start preparing the dish. You can also keep them soaked overnight. Wash the cereals thoroughly before cooking. Take water in a pressure cooker, and boil the dal thoroughly with green chillies and half of the ginger garlic paste. It will take about half an hour to complete this step.
Step 2: Tempering
The next step is tempering the dal. Heat the ghee or butter and add ginger garlic paste, and cumin seeds and cook them till the fat separates. Next, add the dal (already boiled) and cook it with all the remaining ingredients. Add a tea spoon of fresh cream at this point. Cook on low flame for about five minutes and stir the ingredients occasionally till they mix well.
Step 3: Garnishing
The dal is now ready to serve. Garnish it with some coriander leaves and some more butter and fresh cream. Serve hot with tandoori roti.
