MyMusingsSangSpeak-Pet Puja - Daal Makhani(Maa ki Daal)

Daal Makhani(Maa ki Daal)

The quintessential Punjabi dish- Daal Makhani(Maa ki Daal), a highly nutritious dish that is full of proteins . It took me quite a while to perfect this recipe by tasting, trying, experimenting and asking Punjabi friends and I think I have come quite close to the typical Punjabi Daal Makhani. My daughter loves it, so, all the more reason for me to learn to make it.

You will see many versions of Daal Makhani in the restaurants, one that is cooked in combination with rajma, one that is plain cooked with only black gram, one that has Makhana(puffed lotus seeds) in it and so on. The best taste you may experience in a typical Punjabi Dhaba with slowly cooked, perfect concoction of daal, spices and loads of cream.

Daal Makhani is a traditional Punjabi dish and used to be cooked on mud stoves for hours together to get that perfect smooth creamy texture. The ingredients matter too, it is a rich dish cooked in milk cream and butter, hence the name.

My recipe is slightly simplified as I cook in a pressure cooker on gas stove and I don’t make it as rich as it is supposed to be, but, still it tastes good.

Half day preparation time is required for this recipe as the daal needs to be soaked for minimum 10-12 hours. Rest cooking is done in easy steps.

Daal Makhani tastes good with roti as well as rice. Choice is up to you.

Ingredients

Whole Black Gram(Black Lentil/Vigna Mungo/Whole Urad)- 200 grams

Onions - 3 medium

Tomatoes- 1 medium

Garlic - 10-12 cloves

Ginger - 1n ½ inch piece

Cumin Powder - ½ teaspoon

Coriander Powder - ½ teaspoon

Whole Garam Masala - 1 inch piece of cinnamon, 4-5 cloves, 4-5 peppercorns, 2 big cardamoms

Garam Masala - ½ teaspoon

Red Chilly Powder - ½ teaspoon

Butter - 100 gms

Milk Cream - 50 gms

Salt - As per taste

Water - For soaking and cooking

Chopped Fresh Coriander and Grated Ginger for garnish

Method

Soak whole black gram in water for about 10-12 hours. Chop one onion lengthwise. Heat 50 gms of butter in a pan and splutter the whole garam masala. Add chopped onion and sauté till light brown. Take the soaked daal in a pressure cooker and add the fried ingredients to it. Add cumin and coriander powders and salt along with about 750 ml of water and pressure cook on low flame till about 7-8 whistles are done. The daal should be cooked very soft. Set it aside.

Make a paste of the remaining onions, tomato, garlic and ginger. Heat remaining butter in a pan and fry this masala paste till oil separates and add garam masala and chilly powder. Add this masala paste to the cooked daal and cook on low flame for about 10 minutes. Finally add cream and cook for further 2 minutes. Serve hot garnished on top with chopped coriander leaves, grated ginger and a dash of cream. This daal tastes good with roti, naan.parathas or rice.

Note - This quantity should be enough for 5-6 people. The pre cooking time is about 10-12 hours and cooking time is 1 hour.
Variation can be done by adding small quantity of Rajma Beans, and sometimes you may add lotus seeds(Makhanas) too.
https://mymusings-sangita.blogspot.in/2015/01/pet-puja-garam-masala.html
https://mymusings-sangita.blogspot.in/2016/01/pet-puja-ajwaini-paratha.html