Monday, January 21, 2013

A maiden attempt - Dal Makhni

Dal makhni holds a very special place in our ( read husband and me) hearts! It takes me back to my college days in Delhi. I remember the first time I tasted it at THE BUKHARA at Maurya Sheraton Hotel i just couldn't fathom the dish or its taste.Well that was long,long time ago. Then gradually through my 5 yrs of academic life in Delhi i discovered and rediscovered the Dal makhni!When I moved to North campus from South Delhi ..there was this restaurant just outside the colony gate and it became our fav dinner spot over the 2 years that we spent there. And what amazing Dal makhni they made...absolutely yummy.Remember spending many many evenings sitting under the stars in cold Delhi winters and devouring hot naans and kababs and a bucket full of Dal makhni. Then i got married and the love for this continued with husband giving me company. In 2005 when we moved to Kolkata , the one thing that we truly missed was this dish because the way they make it here is more the dal tadka. Now of course there are places where we do get our fav dish. Few days back I decided to give the Dal makhni a shot at home. After browsing through a few recipes on the net I decided to actually try making it at home and happy we were with the results!






Ingredients:

Black urad dal- 1 cup soaked over nite
Chopped onion - 1 large
Chopped garlic - 6 -7 pods
Chopped ginger - 1 tbsp
Tomato puree - 4 tbsp
Coriander powder - 1 tsp
Salt - to taste
Cream - 4 tbsp
Ghee - 2 tsp
Refined oil - 2 tsp
Butter - 1 tbsp
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp

Method:

Boil the soaked urad dal in a pressure cooker along with chopped ginger, garlic and salt for 45 mins or till the dal is completely cooked.

In a pan, heat the oil and ghee. Once hot, add the cumin seeds and let it splutter.

Add the chopped onions and fry till light brown. Next add the tomato puree and coriander powder. Fry till done.

Next tip in the boiled and mashed dal.let it simmer for 10 mins. You could add half a cup of warm water to adjust the consistency.

Finish with cream and butter.

Serve hot with naan /roti.


















4 comments:

  1. hmmm...thrs oil, ghee, butter n cream...u really have to put all of 'em! cant get d same taste without these?

    ReplyDelete
  2. I can already smell the piping hot Dal Makhni with lots of butter!!Yummmmmm!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Tina- well a dal Makhni won't be the same without ghee and butter na!! This is anyways a restrained version : )

    Tuls - thank u

    ReplyDelete
  4. well done Archu, I need to know the restaurant you used to go to at North campus would def want to try it there. Also whenever I am seeing you , I wud like to taste yours. :) Happy cooking.

    Sunayana

    ReplyDelete