Start the day before. The soaking alone is 8 hr, against 115 min of actual work.
Allergens in Dal Makhani: milk.
Ingredients
Quantities for 4.
- 1 cup (200g), picked over Whole Uradwhole black urad, not the split kind
- 3 tbsp Rajmared kidney beans, for body
- 5 cups for cooking, plus more to loosen Water
- 3 medium (300g), pureed smooth Tomato
- 2 inch, half crushed and half cut into fine julienne Ginger
- 8 cloves, crushed to a paste Garlic
- 60g, cubed and cold Butter
- 80ml Cream
- 1 tbsp Neutral Oil
- 1 tsp Kashmiri Chillifor colour rather than heat
- 1 tsp Chilli Powder
- 1/2 tsp Garam Masala
- 1 tsp, crushed between the palms Kasuri Methi
- to taste Salt
- 2 tbsp, chopped Coriander Leavesto finishoptional
Cookware
stovetop, pressure cooker
Checked against the ingredient list for ten allergens: milk, egg, fish, crustaceans, tree nuts, peanuts, sesame, mustard, soy and gluten. Brands vary, so read the label on anything new to you.
Before you start
- Soak the urad and rajma together in plenty of cold water overnight, at least 8 hours. They should swell to double.
- Cube the butter and return it to the fridge. Cold butter emulsifies into the dal instead of splitting out as an oil slick.
- Puree the tomatoes fresh; tinned puree is sharper and will need a pinch of sugar.
Method
- Drain the soaked beans, put them in the pressure cooker with 5 cups water, half the crushed ginger and 1 tsp salt, and cook 25 minutes at full pressure.Undercooked urad will never go creamy later, so err on the side of longer.
- Release the pressure and check: a bean should collapse to paste when pressed against the pot with a spoon. If not, give it another 10 minutes.
- Heat the oil in a heavy pan, add the garlic paste and remaining crushed ginger and fry 90 seconds until the raw smell lifts.
- Add the tomato puree, both chillies and 1/2 tsp salt, and fry on medium until the mixture darkens and oil beads at the edges, about 12 minutes.This is the bhuna stage and it decides the whole dish. Stop early and the dal tastes of raw tomato.
- Tip the cooked beans in with all their liquid and stir well to break some of them up against the side of the pan.
- Simmer uncovered on the lowest heat for 45 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes and scraping the base.It will catch and scorch if you wander off. Add a splash of hot water whenever it looks tight.
- Stir in half the butter, a cube at a time, letting each melt before the next goes in.
- Add the cream, garam masala and crushed kasuri methi, and simmer 10 minutes more until the dal coats a spoon thickly.
- Taste for salt, then rest off the heat for 10 minutes so it thickens and settles.
- Serve topped with the remaining butter, the julienned ginger and the coriander.
Storage
Keeps 4 days refrigerated and tastes better on day two. Reheat gently with a splash of milk or water, stirring. It thickens hard when cold. Freezes 2 months without the final cream.
Nutrition Good estimate
One serving of Dal Makhani (450 g) is about 438 calories, or 98 calories per 100 g.
Medium protein: 15 g a serving, 14% of the calories
| Per serving450 g | Per 100 g | |
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 438 kcal | 98 kcal |
| Protein | 15.1 g | 3 g |
| Carbohydrate | 43.8 g | 10 g |
| of which sugars | 4.1 g | 1 g |
| Fibre | 11.1 g | 2 g |
| Fat | 24.1 g | 5 g |
| of which saturated | 12.9 g | 3 g |
| of which unsaturated | 9.3 g | 2 g |
Ingredients given to taste count as zero, so the real figures run a little higher. Nearest database match used for garam masala, whole urad. Estimated from raw ingredients using USDA FoodData Central.
More like this: Vegetarian Indian recipes · Gluten-free Indian recipes · Punjabi recipes
Times, yields, allergens and nutrition are guidance. Use your own judgement on doneness and on storing. More in About.