Smoked Dal Makhani Dhaba Style Recipe

By Hester

The Dal Makhani Recipe is a deliciously flavoured lentil curry that is also popularly known as the Punjabi ‘dhaba’ dal. This dal makhani is made with black whole urad, tuvar & moong dal,flavoured with subtle Indian spices and simmered with cream and butter. It is said that the longer the dal simmers in the spices, the better flavors it gets. Serve Dal Makhani with a favorite Indian breads or Paneer pulav

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup whole black urad dal
• 1/2 cup tuvar dal
• 1/2 cup moong dal (whole green)
• 1 large tomato, pureed
• an inch piece of ginger, grated
• 2 cloves garlic, grated
• 2 green chillies, chopped finely
• 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin powder
• 1 teaspoon of garam masala powder
• 1 teaspoon cardamom powder
• 1 teaspoon oil
• 1/4 cup cream
• a small bunch of coriander leaves, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon kasuri methi / dried fenugreek leaves
• Salt to taste

Details

Adapted from yummly.com

Preparation

Step 1

1.Soak the black urad dal and rajma together in 4 cups of water for about 8 hours. Cook the dals along with the soaked water and salt until very soft and mushy. See Video Recipe of How to Cook Legumes in Pressure Cooker.


2.You will know the dal is cooked well, when you press it between your fingers, it will mash easily.


3.Heat oil in a heavy bottomed pan; add the ginger, garlic and sauté it for a few seconds. Stir the tomatoes, green chillies, turmeric powder, garam masala, cardamom powder and cumin powder and sauté everything until the tomatoes begin to bubble, approximately for about a minute.


4.Next stir in the cooked dal into the pan with the tomatoes, adjust the consistency of the dal by adding a little water if too thick. Cover the pan and simmer the dal along with the spices for at least 15 to 20 minutes. At this stage check the salt and spice levels and adjust according to taste.


5.Simmering this dal makhani for a longer time, will ensure that the spices get absorbed into the dal thoroughly, therefore enhancing the flavors of the dal makhani


6.Traditionally Punjabi's have been known to simmer their dals for more than an hour or two, to get the intense richness and taste from the dal makhani. But make sure that when you simmer the dal it is stirred occasionally, thereby preventing the dal makhani from sticking to the bottom of the pan.


7.Finally, during the last 10 minutes of the simmer, stir in the fresh cream, dried fenugreek leaves and the coriander leaves into the dal makhani. Stir well and simmer for another 5 minutes.


8.Turn off the heat and transfer the Dal Makhani to a serving bowl.


9.Serve the Dal Makhani along Paneer Makhani, your favorite Indian bread and Paneer pulav.


10.Do make sure to also serve the dal makhani along with a few sliced onions, slit green chillies, a tomato cucumber salad, and cut lemon wedges for a very Punjabi Dhabba feel.