Dal makhni-
Dal makhni or we can say Maa ki dal in Punjab where it originated. This is considered to be the most famous dal of Indian cuisine altogether . It was originally prepared with Black urad dal whole in measured combination of chana dal(split gram dal) and rajmaed (kidney beans). And then Restaurant Bukhara of Hotel Maurya Shereton New Delhi popularised it with only black urad dal and hence called Dal Bukhara. The following recipe is dal Bukhara or the advanced version of dal makhni which is being folllowed in all five star restaurants in India.
Black Urad dal 1kg / Tomato paste 450 gm/ Unsalted white butter 500 gm/ cream 500 ml
Ginger garlic paste 50 gm/ red chili paste 50 gm/salt 20 gm/ Kasoori methi powder 20 gm / garam masala powder 5 gm/ green chilies 6 no
Dal urad is in fact very dusty and hence need be washed thoroughly . For this we add 1 tbs of turmeric and mix it with dal and keep washing it in warm water till the colour is gone , generally it takes 10 times. Now we have to soak it for 2 hours . in hotels we put dal on tandoor for over nihgt to cook it nicely on slow flame but in home we can pressure cook or can cook on slow fire for 1-1/2 hours till it start splitting. Now in the boiling split dal, add tomato paste, ginger garlic paste, red chili paste, salt and green chilies and keep stirring it . Water must be there a little extra so as to incorporate the ingredients and extra cooking time . Slowly it will start taking orang- brown colour and the dal would start getting mashed. Add butter and cream and cook further till dal is completely mashed and a creamy appearance is seen. Lentils must not be predominantly visible .Discard the green chilies now and Sprinkle spice powders . Serve hot with warm butter naan or Laccha paratha.
Indian Zaiqa 