Dal Makhani

Dal Makhani...as the name suggests this is a creamy and buttery dal and is a delicacy of North India. The Key to its peculiar taste is the generous amounts of butter and cream, the more the better.

The black whole urad dal also known as kali dal is cooked with loads of butter for a long time. This makes it buttery and creamy. Very minimum spices are added to this dal yet, it has abundance of amazing flavors. 

Ingredients:

Black urad dal (whole)- 1 cup

Rajma/Kidney beans - quarter cup
Ghee

Ginger- Garlic paste - 1 tsp
1 Onion, finely chopped
1 Tomato finely chopped
Garam Masala - half tsp
Chili Powder - half tsp
Kasuri Methi - 1 tbsp
Chopped Coriander leaves - for garnish
Cream - 2 tbsp

Butter 
Salt

Procedure:

1.  Soak the black urad dal and rajma overnight.
2. Next day, boil the urad dal and rajma togather in a pressure cooker. It should be cooked properly. We should be able to mash the dals easily with our hands.
3. In the same cooker, let the dal boil further till we get the masala ready. This will make the Dal Makhani very creamy.
4. As the dal is boiling, In a separate vok, add generous amount of Ghee. 
5. Add ginger garlic paste and fry for a minute. 
6. Next add the chopped onions and fry nicely till golden brown. Add pinch of salt.
7. Add in the chopped tomatoes and let it cook for a couple of minutes till the ghee oozes out from the sides.
8. Next add garam masala and chili powder and salt and saute.
9. At this point, at the boiled dals to the masala. Add salt as required.
10. Next add good amount of butter and let it cook on a low flame, uncovered.
11. Let this cook for atleast an hour. The longer the time, the better the taste and consistency. Keep stirring in between so that the dal does not stick to the pan.
12. Also add boiling water as required. I had added 2 cups of water.
13. Towards the end, add in the cream and let it boil for another 10 mins.
14. Finally add the kasuri methi and give it a nice stir.
15. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves.

The delicious Dal Makhani is ready
Serve it with Naan or Rice.