Dal - lentils !!

Its eaten almost everyday in an Indian household, be it the rich, the poor, the north-indian or the south-indian..
The easy source of proteins which is such a vital ingredient in our day to day meals ..
It doubles up as a side dish for our rotis or chappatis or puris or naans and also as an accompanist to rice ..

Below are some of the ways to cook the good old dal ..


Dal Makhani ::

This is a great dish to accompany Tandoori rotis or Naans or Maida Tawa parathas ..
As the name suggests, there is a lot of Makhan and cream and stuff in this dal ..
But, it simple and entirely worth all the effort ..

Soak overnight (almost 24 hours - tonight to tomorrow night), some urad dal with its skin(black) and some rajma in the ratio of 2/3rd and 1/3rd ..

You also need the following items :

Peppercorns
Jeera (cumin seeds)
Cinammon (Dal-chini)
A few cloves of Garlic (crushed)
1 green chili slit in half

And the remaining packeted items :

Fresh cream or white butter
Yellow butter
Dal makhani masala
Dry mango powder (amchoor)
Tomato puree

First boil the mixture of the dal and rajma with some salt and a pinch of turmeric in a cooker for 45 minutes on a low flame ..
Forget the count of the whistles ..just look at the damn time !! :-)
The dal should be very well boiled and almost to a fine consistency.
But make sure, you do not make it too watery ..


Next in a pan, heat some yellow butter and add the stick of cinnamon and peppercorns and the jeera and allow them to crackle ..
Next add the crushed garlic and chilli, and allow them to roast a bit ..
Pop in a tablespoon of the dal makhani masala, and some red chili powder ..
Next add 3 table spoons of tomato puree and pour in the boiled dal ..

Bring it to a boil and next add in lots of fresh cream ..
And finally add a big piece of butter and garnish with some coriander leaves and cover the lid and allow it to rest ..

Turn off the flame after couple of minutes and open the lid and take the aroma of the lovely "Dal Makhani" ..

Serve immediately and enjoy madi !!!

Thanks to my wife for holding up those packets with her beautiful hands !! :-)