SECRETS OF RICH AND CREAMY DAL MAKHANI

This dal is such an integral part of North Indian Cuisine that it is difficult to imagine a meal without it, it is a favorite with most of us and the taste is greatly heightened by serving it with butter naans or tandoori rotis.It is traditional fare at "langars" in gurudwaras, at weddings or simply any joyous occassion.Though it is simple to make the secret lies in adding two diverse ingredients, one is the mustard oil added in middle of the cooking process which makes the dal denser and imparts a special flavor and the other is milk added right in the end so that the dal is rich, creamy and thick, so here we go!

• INGREDIENTS-


• Black lentils (maa-ki-dal)-1/2 cup


• Kidney beans(rajma)-1/4 cup


• Onions(grated/pureed)-1 large


• Tomato-1 large(pureed)


• Ginger+garlic paste-1 tbsp


• Mustard oil-1 tbsp


• Milk-1/2 cup


• Desi ghee-2 tbsp


• Cumin seeds-1/2 tsp


• Garam masala-1 tbsp


• Dhania pwdr-1 tsp


• Green chillies-2 finely chopped


• Hing-a pinch

METHOD-Soak black lentils and rajma overnight, next morning, add mustard oil and hing and give 6-8 whistles in the pressure cooker and cook till done, keep aside.Heat desi ghee fry the cumin seeds till crisp, add onion paste and fry till brown , next add the ginger garlic and tomato and fry for 20 minutes till oil separates and masala turns dark, add green chillies, garam masala and dhania powder, cook for 5 minutes, next add this masala to the boiled dal and stir well, mashing up the dal, lastly season and stir in the milk, let cook for 10 minutes.Serve hot garnished with coriander and more thick cream.

As you can see all the ingredients are rich and the end result is very satisfying, is that the reason why it is also called maa-ki-dal?... and I would not recommend skimping on any one of them, this dal is certainly not for the faint-hearted!

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