Around the World in Foodventures (India: PUNJABI DAL MAKHANI)

We already have a few Indian dishes in our repertoire, so I really wanted to do something totally new for this round -- and that’s how I landed on Dal Makhani. Mine didn’t turn out as red in color as the picture on the recipe I used (link below), but I did see others that appeared more brownish in the end. I think this all may be a factor of either using tomato paste or not and/or the ratio of black lentils to red kidney beans (I saw many different recipes calling for either tomato puree or paste, as well as differing amounts of the beans). While I was cooking, it started to seem like nothing more than the Indian version of refried beans, so I didn’t think it was going to be anything special. But now that it’s done -- boy is it delicious! I’m serving it here, as it would be traditionally, with garlic naan (that I picked up at a local Indian restaurant rather than get store bought or try to make my own this time around) and topped with fresh coriander, slivered ginger, and a swirl of cream. 

Full and complete credit for this recipe (copy/pasted in its entirety below) goes to Maunika Gowardhan --

Ingredients
(Serves 4)

280gms whole urad dal (black lentil)
60gms red kidney beans
1.5 litres water
3 tbsp vegetable oil
Pinch of asafoetida
1 green chilli slit lengthwise
1 tsp cumin seeds coarsely ground
10 cloves of garlic finely chopped
210gms white onion finely chopped
220gms tomatoes finely chopped
3 tbsp tomato puree
1” piece of ginger finely chopped
1 tsp mild chilli powder
½ tsp garam masala powder
2 tbsp butter

60mls single cream
1 tbsp chopped coriander for garnish
½ “ginger slivers for garnish

Method

1. Soak the black lentils and kidney beans overnight in a bowl in plenty of water.
2. In a large heavy bottom sauce pan add the black lentil and kidney beans along with the water and salt. Bring to a boil and simmer on a low heat for an hour. Stir a few times and scarp of the foam from the top. Continue cooking for further 1 hour and 15 minutes
3. Drain, reserving the cooking water and set aside to use for later. Mash the lentils with a potato masher this will take some arm work so keep mashing till you have a coarse consistency. You want some lentils whole but most of it mashed.
4. In a heavy bottom large non stick sauce pan heat the oil on a low heat. Add the asafoetida, chilli and cumin seeds. Let them sizzle for 5 seconds and add the garlic frying for a further 30 seconds.
5. Now turn the heat to medium and add the onions sautéing for 7-10 minutes until they begin to soften. Stir well making sure it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan.
6. Add the tomatoes and fry for a further 3 minutes mashing the softened tomatoes with the back of the spoon now add the puree and cook for a minute
7. Add the ginger and fry for a minute followed by the mild chilli powder. Season to taste and add the mashed dal. Stir well and make sure to mix all the spices with the dal
8. Add 650 mls cooking liquid and stir. Bring to a boil and simmer for 20-25 minutes on a low heat with the lid on. Make sure to stir a few times preventing it from sticking to the bottom of the pan
9. The dal should be thick and creamy so add a little more water only if you need to. Add the garam masala powder along with the butter. Stir well simmering for a minute
10. Just before you serve add a swirl of cream, fresh coriander and ginger. Serve with naan or pulao

This post is part of my project: "Around the World in Foodventures" (I decided I want to expand my culinary horizons even further by making the national dish or a popular recipe, or some signature food or traditional meal from every country in the world. Maybe it'll happen alphabetically, or by region, in random order, or something else. I figure if we can't (yet?) travel everywhere, we at least have the luxury of being able to taste it. It’ll be fun and interesting, but obviously, will take a long time to get through -- as we'll only be doing it once a week or so at most. I am chronicling the journey here.)