Swarupa's Dal Makhani

I wrote recently about a delicious Indian dinner I shared with friends, all cooked by my lovely Learning Team friend Swarupa.



By request, here is the recipe for one of the dishes! (Shown above)

This recipe is a slight deviation from the real traditional Indian Dal Makhani.

Ingredients (Serves 4 people)

• Dal – Black lentils (can be easily found in Indian store or Kruger’s) – 1 cup
• Chopped tomatoes – 1 large
• Chopped onion – 1 medium
• Chopped green chilli – 3 (you can forgo them)
• Cumin seeds – 1 tablespoon
• Garam Masala – 1 tablespoon
• Turmeric powder (yellow) – ¼ tablespoon
• Salt to taste
• Heavy cream – ¼ pint.
• Red Kidney beans – ½ can
• Grated ginger – ½ inch piece
• Chopped cilantro – few twigs to garnish.
• You can also add ½ -1 tablespoon of red crushed pepper to make it spicy – but it is optional.
• Oil – 3-4 tablespoons.

Procedure

1. Pressure cook lentils for 2 whistles – if you don’t have a pressure cooker, you can soak the lentils for 4-5 hours and cook in a pot with 3 cups of water for 30 mins. Remove from flame as soon as the lentils are soft and edible.
2. Put oil in a pan. Add cumin seeds. Let them splutter.
3. Add chopped onions, green chillies and grated ginger.
4. Once the onions turn golden, add turmeric powder and stir.
5. Add tomatoes.
6. Once the tomatoes are cooked, add garam masala and salt.
7. Add ½ a can of red kidney (or pinto) beans.
8. Add the cooked lentils to the pan
9. Let all these simmer for 10 minutes on medium flame
10. Add ¼ pint of fresh cream 2-3 minutes before you are about to turn off the flame (shouldn’t leave the fresh cream to cook for long as it may curdle)
11. Add chopped cilantro.