Dal Makhani Buttery Curried Lentils Food

DAL MAKHANI (INDIAN BUTTER LENTILS)

Steps:

• Add the black lentils and red beans to a large bowl; fill the bowl with room temperature water and soak overnight. Rinse and drain the next day.
• The next day, rinse and drain the soaked lentils and beans. Add them to a 5-quart pot along with the vegetable stock. Bring up to a boil, then cover the pot, turn heat down to simmer, and cook 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
• Meanwhile, heat the ghee in a large skillet over medium to medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook until soft and deep caramel in color, about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. You can add a splash of water or turn the heat down at any point if the onions start to get too dark or the pan starts to get too hot.
• Once the onion is caramelized, turn the heat to medium (if it wasn't there already) and add the garlic and ginger; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly.
• Add the bay leaf, cinnamon stick, cardamom pods, cloves, red chilies, garam masala, coriander, cumin, chili powder, sweet paprika, fenugreek, and black pepper. Cook until fragrant, about 20 seconds, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat.
• Once the lentils and beans have cooked for 1 hour, stir in the onion/spice mixture, the diced tomatoes, and the tomato paste.
• Gently simmer (uncovered) until the sauce is somewhat thickened and the lentils and beans are fully tender, about 45 minutes to 1 hour, stirring frequently. (Of course you can cover the pot if the sauce gets too thick before the lentils and beans are already tender.)
• Turn off the heat and stir in the butter and cream.
• Serve topped with any garnishes you like along with rice or Indian bread.

DAL MAKHANI (BUTTERY, CURRIED LENTILS)

Steps:

• Wash and soak the black lentils and kidney beans together in enough water to cover the lentils completely. Keep overnight. Drain the excess water when ready to cook.
• Switch on your instant pot to sauté, and when the display shows HOT, add the oil followed by the whole spices. Let the spices sizzle for a few seconds.
• Add the onions. Fry them until caramelized, then tip in the ginger and garlic followed by the tomato puree, powdered spices and salt. Sauté for 5 minutes, adding splashes of water to keep the masala from sticking to the bottom.
• Add the drained lentils and kidney beans and 2 cups of water. Cancel sauté, make sure the steam release handle is sealed and close the lid. Press the bean/chili mode.
• When the timer beeps, wait for the pressure to release naturally, open the pot and mash the dal slightly with the back of a large spoon. If the dal is still liquidy, press sauté again and cook the dal for 5-10 minutes.
• Add the butter and cream. Cook for 5 minutes and add cilantro leaves right at the end. Serve hot with warm naan or rice and a salad.

NEXT LEVEL DHAL MAKHANI

Steps:

• Tip the dhal into a sieve and rinse under cold water several times until the water runs clear. Put in a large bowl or pot and cover in double their volume of warm water. Stir in the bicarbonate of soda and leave to soak at room temperature for at least 12 hrs.
• Drain the dhal (but don't rinse), tip into a pan and cover with 1.5 litres water. Add the sliced ginger, whole chilli and turmeric, then bring to the boil, skim off any scum that rises to the top and reduce the heat. Simmer uncovered for 1 hr until very tender, or cook in a pressure cooker for 20 mins. Remove the ginger and chilli.
• Heat the butter in a separate pan over a medium-high heat until it has foamed up and turned nut-brown. Pour half into a small container and set aside. Return the pan and remaining butter to the heat and add the cumin seeds, fenugreek leaves, ground coriander, garlic, grated ginger and tomato purée and cook for 2 mins more. Stir the spice mixture into the cooked dhal, then add the kidney beans along with the liquid from the can and season generously with salt.
• Roughly mash the dhal mixture with a potato masher until some of the pulses are crushed. Cook, stirring, over a very low heat for 15-20 mins until the dhal is thick and creamy. Stir through most of the reserved brown butter, the garam marsala and half the cream. Tip the dhal into a serving dish and drizzle over the remaining cream and brown butter. Scatter over the chopped chilli and ginger matchsticks and serve.

DAL MAKHANI (SPICY BLACK LENTILS)

Steps:

• Clean, wash and soak the whole black lentils and kidney beans overnight. Drain and keep aside.
• Combine the lentils and beans with salt and 2 cups of water and cook till the dals are overcooked. Whisk well till the mixture is almost mashed.
• Heat the butter in a pan and add the cumin seeds.
• When the cumin seeds crackle, add the green chillies, cinnamon, cloves, green cardamom, onions, ginger-garlic paste and sauté till the onions turn golden brown in color.
• Add the chilli powder, turmeric powder and tomato puree and cook over a medium flame till the oil separates from the tomato gravy.
• Add the dal mixture, water and salt if required and simmer for 10 t 15 minutes.
• Add the cream and mix well.
• Garnish with the cilantro and serve hot.