One of my readers asked for this popular recipe. Dal makhani must be one of those dishes which are always present in the Indian restaurant buffets here. I love it for the different beans and also texture of this dish. But had never prepared it at home before.
When I wanted to prepare it at home, I was in no mood to buy the whole urad which is one of the ingredients for the makhani . I decided to make this with whatever I had in the pantry. I came to this decision after having an overflowing pantry. I kept on buying new pulses/spices, even though most of them I used only once. So now my mission is to finish off as many of them possible before buying anything else.
Anyway, I decided to use whole masoor in place of whole urad (today when I was browsing internet, I found that masoor makhani also exists, but I didn’t know about this before). Next in the absent-ingredient list came cream, which is added to give the taste and thickness. I hardly use cream for any of my cooking, somehow I just don’t feel like using it for anything. So I used milk. The final result was absolutely yummy, this is going to be a regular at my home from now on. This and some chapathis made a great lunch box item for my hubby.
Check the versions from other bloggers at Sailu , Shynee , Sumitha , Anthony , Mandira , Aparna , Tina .
Ingredients: 1/2 cup red kidney beans( rajma ) 1/2 cup whole masoor 3/4 cup chopped tomatoes 1/2 cup chopped onion 1/2 tea spn chili powder 1/2 tea spn garam masala 1/2 tea spn finely chopped ginger 1/2 tea spn finely chopped garlic 1/2 tea spn cumin seeds 1 cup milk Butter Salt
In the original recipe, whole urad is used instead of masoor . 1/2 cup fresh cream in used instead of milk. I substituted these two. So the taste is different than original dal makhani .
Method: Soak kidney beans and masoor overnight ( masoor need not be soaked for so long, but soaking makes them cook more faster). Cook them together in pressure cooker till they are soft. Heat butter in a pan and add cumin seeds, ginger, garlic. Add chopped onion and fry till they are translucent. Now add tomatoes, salt and fry till oil separates. Pour the cooked beans, chili powder and garam masala , mash with a ladle and cook for about 4-5mins. Now add milk and cook till the gravy becomes thick. Serve hot with parathas /rotis.
Serves : 3-4 Preparation time : 30-40mins
Moong dal (Hindi) – muga dali (Konkani) is very rarely used for the gravies in Konkani cooking. It is used more in side dishes like usli(usal) or kosumbaris . One of the reasons might be the mushy nature of this dal . When cooked, this becomes a kind of paste with a unique flavor. I don’t say I am great fan of this taste or texture. But there are few recipes which I really like. This is my mom’s recipe, looks like a kind of daali thoy (Konkani dal ) with a garlic seasoning. I liked this dish for its simplicity. This dal cooks very fast compared to any other dals . So this gets ready in 10mins. With the garlic seasoning, this really scores high points :).
The original recipe calls for whole green moong . But I used the yellow moong dal for simplicity. It saved a lot of time. I am sure the whole moong version would be more tasty and more healthy.
Ingredients: 1 cup yellow moong dal 1/2 tea spn chopped ginger 4-5 green chilies A pinch turmeric Ghee 1/2 tea spn chopped and slightly crushed garlic Salt
Method: Cook moong dal with ginger, turmeric and green chilies in pressure cooker till it is soft. Take out from cooker, heat it with salt for around 5mins. Heat ghee and fry garlic. Pour this on the dal . Serve hot with rice.
Serves : 2-3 Preparation time : 10mins (if dal is used)
PS: My parents are coming to US tomorrow. This is their first trip outside India. We are meeting them after a pretty long time. So I am all excited. We are going to East coast with them this week. So I will meet you all on 4th of July.
