Madras Dhal Food

INSTANT POT DAL MAKHANI WITH BROWN RICE

Steps:

• Rinse and soak black gram beans and red kidney beans in 3 cups of water. Overnight or 6-8 hours. Drain the water after soaking and keep the beans aside.
• Set Instant Pot to sauté mode and heat oil. Add cumin seeds to the oil and allow them to sizzle. Add onions and mix well.
• Add ginger, garlic, turmeric, red chili powder, salt, tomatoes and beans. Add water and mix well.
• To make pot-in-pot brown rice (optional step)- Add rice, water, and salt to a stainless steel container. Put a tall trivet over the beans. Place the rice container on the trivet.
• Close Instant Pot with pressure valve to sealing. Pressure Cook (Hi) for 30 minutes followed by Natural Pressure Release.
• Open Instant Pot and set to sauté mode. Carefully take out the Rice container and the trivet. Stir in cream, add garam masala and garnish with cilantro and dried fenugreek leaves.

DHAL RECIPE

Steps:

• Sieve through the lentils with a colander.
• Rinse with water a few times.
• Soak the lentils in water for a few hours.
• Bring the water to a boil. Add the lentils to the boiling water, then reduce to a simmer.
• Add one teaspoon of turmeric powder.
• Cook until it turns soft, which will take about forty-five minutes.
• Season the dahl with salt.
• Melt the ghee or butter in a saucepan.
• Add the cumin seeds along with mustard seeds.
• Add the chopped onion and sautéed until lightly golden and translucent.
• Next, add the minced garlic and ginger.
• Add the chopped tomatoes once the garlic starts to turn to light brown,
• Add the ground coriander, garam masala, curry leaves, and dry chiles. Mixed well
• Combine the spices with the soften lentils
• Cook further for a few minutes until it becomes homogeneous.
• Garnish with a dollop of yogurt, some fried shallots, and fresh coriander leaves.

DAL (INDIAN LENTIL CURRY)

Steps:

• Soak Lentils: Rinse lentils and leave to soak in plenty of water for 1 hour. Drain in colander.
• Heat ghee/oil in a heavy based saucepan over high heat. Add green chillies and fry for a minute until starting to blister.
• Add onions and fry until softened.
• Lower heat to medium, add garlic, ginger and curry leaves. Cook for 1 minute until garlic starts to turn golden and smells amazing.
• Add tomatoes and cumin, cook until tomatoes start to break down and thicken to a paste - about 2 minutes.
• Add lentils, water, tumeric and salt. Stir, bring to simmer, cover and simmer gently for 1 hour. Stir two or three times during the hour.
• Remove lid and simmer gently for 30 minutes to thicken, stirring every now and then. The dal is ready when it has a consistency like porridge - some lentils should be intact but some have broken down to thicken the sauce.
• Stir through garam masala at the end. Adjust salt if desired.
• Pour over Tadka, if using, and stir through.
• Serve Dal over rice, garnished with a sprig of coriander if desired.

PUNJABI DAL MAKHANI

Steps:

• Soak whole black urad and rajma overnight in 3-4 cups of water.
• Cook the soaked dal and rajma in the same water with salt, red chili powder and half the chopped ginger till dal and rajma are cooked and soft.
• Peel and chop the onion, ginger and garlic finely. Also chop the tomatoes.
• Heat oil and butter in a thick-bottomed pan. Add cumin seeds, when it crackles add chopped onions and fry till golden brown.
• Add chopped ginger, garlic and chopped tomatoes. Sauté till tomatoes are well mashed and fat starts to leave the masala. Add boiled dal and rajma to this.Do not add the liquid at first.Crush(mash) the dals with the back of the ladle while stirring continuously, this gives that creamy texture to the dal .
• Add the liquid and some water if required and simmer on very low heat for fifteen minutes.
• Add fresh cream and garam masala powder let it simmer for another five minutes. Finish off with a couple of pinch of Kasoori methi powdered.
• Serve hot with Naan or Paraatha.
• Tip: Replacing the tomatoes with 4 tablespoons of thick tomato paste will enhance the taste and colour of the dish manifold.

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.

EASY MASOOR DAAL

Steps:

• Rinse lentils thoroughly and place in a medium saucepan along with ginger, turmeric, salt and cayenne pepper. Cover with about 1 inch of water and bring to a boil. Skim off any foam that forms on top of the lentils. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until beans are tender and soupy.
• Meanwhile, in a microwave safe dish combine oil, dried onion and cumin seeds. Microwave on high for 45 seconds to 1 minute; be sure to brown, but not burn, onions. Stir into lentil mixture.

CHICKPEA DAAL (INDIAN)

Steps:

• Wash chickpeas in water.
• Put chickpeas in fresh water with salt, two parts water to one part chickpeas.
• Leave overnight to soak.
• Put chickpeas (with water they were soaked in) into a large pot. Top up water to maintain 2 parts water to 1 part chickpea ratio if necessary. Bring water to a boil.
• Cover and turn down to medium (level 5) heat, skim off any white foam.
• Leave to simmer until chickpeas are tender, usually 2 or 3 hours.
• Take off heat.
• In a large pot, sauté onions and garlic on high heat, then turn down to (medium-high) level 8.
• When onions are thoroughly transparent put in ginger.
• Continue to sauté until mixture is sticking to bottom and brown bits are evident.
• Put onion mixture in a food processor and mix (not steadily) until smooth.
• Process tomato, 1/2 tomato portions at a time.
• Put mixture back into large pot.
• Add green onion.
• Heat should be at (medium-high) level 8.
• When mixture starts to bubble add tomato paste.
• Stir for 1 to 2 minutes until butter is released and mixture does not stick to pot.
• Add in potatoes.
• Add in chana masala.
• Reduce heat to level 7.
• Put in chickpeas with a slotted spoon.
• Water is NOT put in, but put aside for later.
• Mix for about 2 minutes Add in red pepper, masala.
• Mix for a further 2 minutes.
• Add water from chickpeas, additional water can be added to give mixture a watery consistency (mixture should not be too thick looking initially, as mixture will reduce, usually you can add in another cup of water).
• Add turmeric.
• Bring mixture to a boiling point on max heat, then reduce heat to level 7. Cover partially and mix infrequently.
• Once potatoes are tender, the daal is done.
• This daal is typically eaten with Indian bread- naan or chapati.
• As with most Indian cooking there is no"true" recipe, the cook decides what the recipe needs (somewhat of a hit and miss strategy, but it works).
• If you are unable to find garam masala the following can be used: 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin, 1/2 teaspoon paprika, 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon cayenne, 1/4 teaspoon cracked dried bay leaves, and 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves.

DAL MAKHANI (INDIAN LENTILS)

Steps:

• Place lentils and kidney beans in a large bowl; cover with plenty of water. Soak for at least 2 hours or overnight. Drain.
• Cook lentils, kidney beans, 5 cups water, and salt in a pot over medium heat until tender, stirring occasionally, about 1 hour. Remove from heat and set aside. Keep the lentils, kidney beans, and any excess cooking water in the pot.
• Heat vegetable oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook cumin seeds in the hot oil until they begin to pop, 1 to 2 minutes. Add cardamom pods, cinnamon stick, bay leaves, and cloves; cook until bay leaves turn brown, about 1 minute. Reduce heat to medium-low; add ginger paste, garlic paste, turmeric, and cayenne pepper. Stir to coat.
• Stir tomato puree into spice mixture; cook over medium heat until slightly reduced, about 5 minutes. Add chili powder, coriander, and butter; cook and stir until butter is melted.
• Stir lentils, kidney beans and any leftover cooking water into tomato mixture; bring to a boil, reduce heat to low. Stir fenugreek into lentil mixture. Cover saucepan and simmer until heated through, stirring occasionally, about 45 minutes. Add cream and cook until heated through, 2 to 4 minutes.