Dal Makhani and Cooking 4 all Seasons

Delicious looking Daal Makhani......Served!

I like all kind of lentils. But as a kid I was never exposed to so many varieties of Daal that we get now. By daal I dont mean dried lentils but the daal preparations. Daal Maharani, Daal tadka, Daal Makhani, Rajasthani Daal, Hyderabadi Daal, Palak daal, Mango Daal, Tomato daal, Aamti, Varan... ohhh and the list just goes on.... Guess we can have a whole event just on daal varieties....:) isnt it?? Well so the daal that I knew was dal fry that my mom used to make at home to go along with her yummy fluffy phulkas or chawal. I am so surprised to open a restaurant menu card and see so many varieties of daal now. We never used to get so many varieties believe me. Atleast I have never seen or tasted them. So, when I am seeing so many varieties now, I almost everytime get confused. How it will this daal taste? How is it different fro my Daal fry?.But then,thanx to the modern culture of going to restaurants...and ofcourse my friends, I am exposed so many varieties now.

I learnt a lot about the traditional south Indian pappu (daal) from my mother in law... who taught me to make a variety of pappus like Pala kura pappu, tomato pappu, mamadikaya pappu... which me and my hubby simply loveeeeeeeeeee......!

So Coming to My daal Makahni, I wanted a recipe which will be simple and easy to make as well traditional with all the flavours intact. In short the exact one we get in restaurants in India... ummmmm! Yummy. I came across such a recipe in Srivalli's blog and just jumped on to make it. So today, I am presenting Srivalli's Daal Makhani and her Lovely blog.... Cooking 4 all seasons..:)

I made few changes from Srivalli's recipe.....but the base recipe is the same...:) So to make this

you need :

Sabut Urad Daal / Black lentils - 1 cup (soaked overnight)

Rajma /Kidney beans - 1/2 cup ( I used canned, u may use dried & then soak them overnight)

Butter / ghee - 1 tbsp

Oil - 2tsp

Jeera /Cumin seeds - 1tsp

Onions - 1 medium finely chopped

Tomatoes - 2 finely chopped

Garam masala powder - 2 tsp

Turmeric powder - 1 tsp

Red chilli powder - 3 tsp

Ginger - around 2 tsp (finely chopped)

Garlic - 5 pods (finely chopped)

Low fat Cream - 1 1/2 tbsp ( Ok I used Low fat sour cream here...dont look at me like that....:P)

Low fat Yoghurt - 1 1/2 tbsp

Salt to taste

Fresh coriander leaves to garnish

Method:

Pressure cook both the soaked daal with a bit of salt. Mash it with the back of the ladle and keep it aside. See that the lentils are seen and that to dont make it into a paste.

Add the youghurt and the sour cream together and mix well. Keep it aside.

In a pan, take the oil and jut in the jeera and allow it to splutter. I addded jeera to my Daal as I love the aroma jeera gives and secondly as jeera is good for digestion, I prefer using it with all my lentil preperations...;). So once the jeera is ready, add the chopped ginger, garlic and onions. Saute well. Add in the tomatoes and the masala and mix well. Let it cook till the tomato are tender and a bit mushy. Add salt. Remember u have already added some salt to ur lentils while pressure cooking.Now add the lentils and around 1/2 glass of water to it.Let it cook and take in all the flavours. Cook covered for around 8 minutes on medium-low. Mix it and add the yoghurt and sour cream. mix well once again. Cook open for another 6-7 minutes on medium low. Your Daal is ready.

Transfer to a serving bowl and garnish with fresh coriander leaves and serve hot with Paratha or rice.

My lunch plater ready with laccha paratha, onions and delicious Daal Makhani.

Now somethings about Srivalli and her lovely blog Cooking4all Seasons.

If you have ever heard of the Events.....Microwave cooking, microwave cakes event....Dosa mela or the on going Roti mela... I am so sure you know srivalli too. She is the one who started this lovely event on her even more lovely blog...Cooking 4all seasons. I Simply love her blog. Its nice with lovely recipes and tempting photographs, Stories about her kids and her family. So much of affection and love flows in this blog....Dont miss her Tom and Jerry sketches...check it out!

Do not miss the amazing dosa variety and the traditional andhra style dishes.....she has in her blog... I simply adore it. What creativity and patience....phew.... god please give me that.... I pray... all day ! Iam sure gonna try more and more from her blog.... specially the andhra variety....as my hubby is from hyderabad... and I am sure he will appreciate it and maybe give me a pat on my back....:D. So Srivalli, thanx for the lovely 230 and more recipes u have shared with us.... U simply rock...:) to know more about her...and her recipes... Check her blog..:)

So, again thats it from me for now...... will post another great recipe that I always wanted to try and a blog that I adore...:)....there are sooooo many of them..... ohh my god... Is may enough??!! I am thinking.....................n thinking.... and still thinking....................................;)