Punjabi Style Dal Makhni (Maa ke Daal)

Dal Makhni  is a flavorful and creamy staple food every Punjabi grew up eating with. In this restaurant style recipe, soaked dals and rajma are cooked in pressure cooker until soft and then they are tempered with spices and mixed with fresh cream. The calcium and protein rich whole urad dal, chana dal, rajma, butter, fresh cream and spices makes it wholesome, nutritious and simply irresistible. Because of its ease of preparation, wholesome goodness and flexibility in choosing locally grown lentils, it has become popular vegetarian dish in all parts of India with even few naming it as Maa ki Daal.It has very creamy, rich and medium spicy taste. And it is made from whole urad with rajma. Butter and cream is used in this recipe to make it creamy and rich. Butter is used in the recipe that’s why it is called Dal Makhani. Makhani means buttery.It is light in texture with spicy taste. It is kind of everyday healthy dal recipe because there is no butter or cream used.

Ingredients:
1 cup whole black urad dal (black gram dal)
1/2 cup small rajma (red kidney beans)
1/4 cup split black urad dal
3 tbsp chana dal (Bengal gram)
1 tbsp ghee (clarified butter)
1 tbsp oil (any vegetable oil or olive oil)
1 big onions finely chopped
2  tomatoes
3/4 cup luke warm milk
2 tsp kashmiri red chili powder
1 inch ginger paste
4- 5 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp Turmeric powder
1 tsp imile pulp or aamchur powder
1 1/2 tsp dry fennel powder (saunf powder)
2 tsp Crushed kasuri methi (Dry methi leaves crushed)
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp coriander powder
Salt to taste
Cream and coriander leaves
for garnishing (preferably home made white makhan or can be a store bought)

Recipe:

1. Soak black urad dal and kidney beans for 7 to 8 hours..pressure cook it with a potli of all garam masalas..cotton or malmal ki potli of sabut garam masalas whichever you have at home..and add salt to the dal n beans..and pressure cook it for 4 to 5 whistles.
2.Now take onions tomatoes kashmiri chilly powder, coriander powder Ginger and Garlic, 5 to 6 cashewnuts in a mixture and grind it well..now take oil  in a cooker add cumin seeds this tomoto onion paste
3. Now add all other spices(chushed kasturi methi,  fennel seed powder, imile pulp and salt )cook till oil seperates
4. Add your boiled dal Add little of water if required. Mix all well and cook for 4-5 minutes on medium low flame.Now slowly add luke warm milk in dal. (keep stirring dal with other hand while adding milk to it)You will notice dal to be more creamier after adding milk. Turn the flame to low and allow it to cook for 5min.
5. Stir in between to avoid sticking dal to the bottom of the pan. After 5 minutes, dal will be little thick and creamy. (if it is too much thick you can add little water)
6.Turn the flame off, pour the dal in a serving bowl and garnish it with cream.

7.Serve it with naan or Laccha paratha and salted sliced onions with green chutney and Enjoy!! 🙂