Dal Makhani / Lentils And Kidney Beans Curry

Food is colloquial. We have Rice and Sambar in Southern parts of India, and Rotis and daal in northern parts of India. If one kind of food is dominant in a region, there are tons of varieties of that too. I don't think anyone can count the number of ways lentils is cooked in India if you count all the varieties and variations in each family. Same goes for rice preparations in Southern parts of India. Here is another pretty common daal preparation which has its own uniqueness. That uniqueness comes from using the whole black gram. This is not a very commonly used lentil for making daal in all parts of India. Lentil when combined with beans makes it a complete meal with a piece of bread. I warn you one thing though - if your body is not used to eating lentils, make sure you eat this when you are not at work. It can make you gassy.

One Year Back - Methi Malai Mutter (Fenugreek and peas curry in cheese sauce)
Ingredients:
Whole Black gram / Whole Urad - 1 1/2 cups
Kidney Beans / Rajma - 1/2 cup
Ginger - 1/2" piece kept whole
Garlic - 2 pods minced
Ginger - grated 1 TBSP
Green Chillies - 4 sliced thin
Onion - 2 small or 1 medium chopped fine
Tomatoes - 3 medium or 4 small pureed (Or use crushed tomatoes about 3/4 cup)
Oil - 3 - 4 TBSP
Cumin Seeds - 1/2 tsp
Coriander powder - 3/4 tsp
Garam Masala - 1 tsp
Red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp or to taste
Turmeric - a big pinch
Salt - to taste
Milk or heavy cream - 1/3 - 1/2 cup (Use heavy cream for a rich version and milk for low fat version)
Butter before serving - optional, I don't usually serve this unless there is company

Method:
Wash and rinse kidney beans and whole black gram. Soak in enough water overnight or at least 6 hours. Drain the water when ready to cook. Add about 6 cups of water, couple of pinches of salt and the whole piece of ginger to the beans and lentil mixture. Cook in the pressure cooker until very soft. It takes about 30 minutes for this to be done to the mushy consistency.

Heat oil in a pan. When hot, add cumin seeds. When they splutter, add ginger and garlic that you have minced or grated followed by chopped onions. Add turmeric and some salt and let it cook. Add the chopped green chillies at this stage and stir. When onions are cooked, add tomato puree or crushed tomatoes, garam masala, coriander powder, red chilli powder. Stir and let the tomatoes cook completely. Meanwhile, remove the whole piece of ginger that you cooked the lentils and beans with and discard. When the mixture in the pan start out leaving a bit of oil on the sides of the pan, add the cooked beans and lentil mixture. Depending on how much water was left when you cooked them in the pressure cooker, you might have to add about a cup of water to get the consistency. When it is all simmering, check for the seasonings and adjust if necessary. Add the milk or heavy cream and simmer for 2 minutes. Turn off the heat. Serve with rotis, pooris, naan or pita bread.
Linking it to blog hop friday here.

Enjoy.

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