Dal Makhni - Buttered Black Lentils

My eyes glowed when I received an e-mail from my best friend D. with subject that read: PR chef's Dal Makhni Recipe.

Yes, in those exact words. Her mom, a passionate cook herself managed to convince PR restaurant’s chef to give away their secret recipe. About PR, it’s a tiny take away restaurant famous for its authentic Punjabi cuisine that is cooked slowly on a low flame.

Dal Makhni is one of my favorites when it comes to north Indian cuisines. In past, I had tried making this dish at home but something didn’t taste right. I decided to try it once more. Though the recipe is very simple with simple ingredients but it requires lot of time.

I’ve tweaked the recipe to make it simpler. For instance, the recipe asks to cook lentils in a heavy bottom steel vessel for almost 2 hours and not in a pressure cooker. I used a pressure cooker and cooked lentils on low flame and still it turned out really delicious.

If you have time, you can make Tomato puree at home but if you don’t or you are not Martha Stewart types…don’t get worked up. Just buy ready-made Tomato puree can available in the grocery store.

I simply love D. for passing me down this yummy recipe.

Ingredients ( for two people)

Whole Urad (whole black lentils) 1 cup

Kidney Beans (rajma) 3 tbl spoon

Freshly Pounded Ginger 1 inch long
Freshly Pounded Garlic 5 buds
Tomato Puree ½ cup

Kashmiri Red Chili Powder 1 tsp
Bay Leaf 2 inch long
Cumin Powder 1 tea spoon

White Unsalted Butter ¼ cup

Cream ½ cup
Salt to Taste
Water
Oil 1 tea spoon
corriander

Directions

Wash urad dal and kidney beans properly and soak it together overnight. If you don’t have enough time, soak the lentils for at least 5 hours and add ½ tea spoon of baking soda to the water. This helps in softening the lentils to an extent. Pressure cook lentils by adding 4 cups of water and a pinch of salt. Cook them for 6 whistles on low flame. Crush the lentils with the back of a wooden spoon.

For Tadka (Seasoning)

Heat oil and half of the butter in a pan. Add bay leaf, ginger, garlic and cook until raw aroma goes away. Add tomato puree and cook for few more minutes on medium heat until the oil appears on the corners. Add chili powder, cumin powder and cook for a minute.

Add tadka to the cooked lentils in the cooker along with rest of the butter and mix well. Add required salt. Cook for some more minutes until lentil thickenes and color becomes light brown. Finally, add cream and stir for another 2-3minutes.

Garnish it with coriander leaves. Dal Makhni goes well with basmati rice and hot naan.