Dal Makhani

Dal Makhani – this Indian curry of Punjabi origin is quite popular among the foodies, for its creamy texture and the mouth watering taste which is unmatchable. And those who love North Indian food are for sure to love Dal Makhani.

When we visit any North Indian restaurant, Dal Makhani is unanimously selected as one of the curries.

Back home, I have tried this curry several times and each time, though loved by everyone back home, I felt the need for some improvement to reach the restaurant kind of taste. With a sequence of trials and changes, I could finally get what I was looking for. And this is how I went about.

Initially, I used to skip oil and used a minimum quantity of butter in the dish. But I always felt that something was amiss. Then I started using little oil and more butter. Though I felt the buttery taste and my family accepted it wholeheartedly, I was not fully convinced.

In my next iteration, I added a little rajma to the otherwise all black urad dal dish that I used to prepare. It certainly enhanced the taste. Further, I got a tip from an aunt that scrubbing the soaked urad dal before cooking adds to the taste and it certainly did. I could see a gradual improvement in the dish.

I used to initially add chopped tomatoes as is, but later pureed it and used. This came as an improvement in terms of the texture of the dish.

It’s somehow part of my cooking style that I prefer to use minimum vessels while cooking, which is more often than not, one pot cooking !!! And wherever possible, to reduce time, I opt for pressure cooker as the one pot for cooking, wherein I would fry whenever there is a need for it and then finally pressure cook to get the final dish.

Even with dal makhani, I used to do the same. Certainly the dish used to come out really well, but still not as per my expectations – restaurant style Dal Makhani.

As a next step, I opted to pressure cook just the lentils and then slow cook dal makhani on medium heat for another 30 minutes. This time, I was almost there.

Now, I am sticking on routinely with the last attempt of mine, which turned out to be quite satisfying. In short, pre-soak the lentils overnight, so that they cook well. The next day, rub the soaked lentils against each other for about 3 to 4 minutes and discard the water. Cook the lentils on medium heat in a normal pot for about 25 to 30 minutes. Use Kashmiri chilli to get the beautiful colour without altering the spiciness much. Add butter and cream generously and once again slow cook the dish for about 30 minutes and bingo!!! With these steps, my Dal Makhani tastes heavenly.

It certainly is one dish which requires a lot of patience and time (though not very difficult, and not requiring constant monitoring either). But if the end result is ‘Dal Makhani’ which is as buttery and creamy as its name goes, then I would say, it is worth the trouble.

This dish is certainly eligible for your weekend, sumptuous lunch menu, where you and your entire family get together and prepare it. You can delegate the task of soaking the lentils and rubbing the soaked lentils to your kids and delegate the task of pureeing the tomatoes to your spouse!!! Ultimately, the dish prepared by the entire family would be ready to relish!!! That would be one weekend well spent, having made a collective contribution to a common cause!!!

Few other rich North Indian Curries : 

Methi Matar Malai
Capsicum Potato Yogurt Curry

Palak Paneer 

Total Time: 9 hours 5 minutes

Preparation Time: 5 minutes

Soaking Time: 7-8 hours

Cooking Time: 1 hour

Main Ingredients:

Whole black gram: 1 cup

Rajma: 0.25 cup

Butter: 150 g

Oil: 2 tbsp.

Ginger garlic paste: 1 tbsp.

Kashmiri Chilli powder: 1 tbsp.

Tomato puree: 500 gms

Garlic: 2 tbsp.(chopped)

Kasuri Methi: 1 tsp.

Full fat cream: 100 ml.

Kasuri Methi: Little

Method:

• Wash and soak the lentils overnight (or 3 hours minimum)

•  Scrub the lentils for about 3 to 4 minutes and discard the water. This ensures that the lentils leave a good colour and flavour to the dish
•  Now, you can either pressure cook the lentils in medium heat for about 4 to 5 whistles or cook it in a pot on medium heat for 25 to 30 minutes. The option is totally yours. I have tried both of these options. Personally, I liked the taste of the Dal Makhani which was prepared with the slow cooking process, than the one with pressure cooker
• Heat a pot. Add  little butter and 1 tbsp. of oil to it. Next, add ginger garlic  paste and saute for a few seconds. Add chilli powder and saute again. Once it starts to bubble, add the tomato puree and continue cooking for 5 minutes on medium heat

• Add the cooked dal and salt to taste. Add the remaining butter to it and continue cooking for 30 minutes. Keep stirring in regular intervals to ensure that the lentils dont stick to the bottom of the pot. Preferably, cook in a thick bottomed vessel. Dal Makhani  has a creamy texture – neither too thick nor too flowy. Once it reaches this consistency, proceed with the next step

• Rub few leaves of kasuri methi in your palm and add it to the dal being cooked

• In another pan heat oil. Add chopped garlic and fry until golden brown. Add it to the dal and stir

• By now, the gravy would have thickened. Add the cream. Stir well and cook for another 5 minutes

• The creamy, yummy rich Dal Makhani is ready to serve !!!
  

  Note :

• The longer it is cooked with low heat, the more tastier the dish is. Prolonged cooking under low heat makes the dish more creamy, buttery and tasty
• Add butter and cream liberally to get the authentic Punjabi Dal Makhani taste
• Rubbing the soaked dal against each other ensures that dal tastes good when cooked
• It may sound a little weird, but trust me, the dish though certainly tastes good when prepared freshly and served hot, but, over time the taste gets better. If you prepare the dish in the morning, it tastes good for lunch, it tastes even better for dinner and believe it or not, it tastes super awesome the next day !!! Yes of course, all this, when served hot
• Those in Germany, all the used ingredients are easily available in the stores here. I usually stock up the Indian Spices from the nearby Indian store.  The lentils are available in Indian Store or Turkish store. I use the Fresh Cream -30% from Kaufland/Rewe. Fresh Cream is available in any of the local super markets. Similarly I use either the local Marken Butter or the Irische Butter whichever is readily available in my fridge.
  

  Dal Makhani Stories:

  While touring North India, we always loved to try out all the local north Indian delicacies in an authentic local restaurant. Back in Bangalore, when we visit restaurants, one dish which all would unanimously select is – Dal Makhani. Even before the dish arrived at our table, our mouth would start watering, as soon as its name was seen in the Menu Card. Once it arrives, it gets emptied within no time !!! Such is the liking for Dal Makhani in our family. I remember how my parents narrated the stories from their trip to Amritsar and Jalandhar, upon their return. What interested me were the stories of Lassi and Dal Makhani. They even shared their experience from the Gurudwara visit and the beautiful Langar system. And the food served there, in their own words, were just out of the world.

  Well, though I had never been to Gurudwara back in India, I got an opportunity to visit one in Stuttgart. The people there are so friendly and welcoming with so much of warmth that nowadays, we visit there quite often. We have made quite a few Punjabi friends there. My daughter loves the Langar served there. She comes back home and asks me, ‘why don’t you make the curry like how they prepare in Langar?’. Well, I am told that most of the kids coming there have a similar question to their parents. And on one occasion, we happened to eat Dal Makhani there. I have simply no words to describe its taste. ‘Heavenly’ too seems to be an under statement. When I checked with the people who come together and cook for the Sunday Langar there about it, they say – “It was a simple Dal Makhani, prepared out of love and devotion.” Well. I too agree with them as I have seen people singing bhajans, working and doing all the chores together, without getting distracted.