Black Dhal

Dhal is one of my favourites. For me, its a comfort food. As mentioned on this blog a few times by now , I assume, the Indian culture, and therefore Indian cuisine has been central in my life since I was born. Whenever I’m not well or down, I enjoy making dhal (or ordering it takeaway) and enjoying it with rice and yogurt. Dhal is an easy dish to prepare made with spices and lentils. Black dhal is, in my opinion, a fancy dhal. It originated in Punjabi, in the North of India and is creamy and has a very different taste to traditional (yellow) Dhal. I’ve tried to make it a few times but this last time was the first time I truly succeeded. It tasted as it should. The black lentils (urad dhal) take a very long time to cook in comparison to other lentils. If you don’t have a pressure cooker, then you’ll need to cook it gently overnight to get the same effect.

I’m looking forward to making this again. Its delicious. I usually make way too much as it freezes really well.

1 cup black urad dal
2 tbsp kidney beans
2 tbsp chickpeas
5 cups water
salt to taste
red chilli powder to taste
1 onion, finely chopped
1/2 tsp garlic paste
1 tsp ginger paste
4 tbsp ghee
4 pureed tomatoes
2 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp garam masala
1 tsp butter
1-2 tbsp tomato ketchup
medium bunch coriander

Soak 1 cup black urad dal, 2 tbsp kidney beans and 2 tbsp chickpeas in cold water for 5-6 hours.

Drain water from soaked dals. Add 5 cups of water, 1.5 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp garlic paste, 1/2 tsp ginger paste, 1 tbsp ghee and 1/4 tsp red chilli powder. Put these in a pressure cooker.

After first whistle, boil on low flame for 40-45 minutes.

Heat 3 tbsp ghee in a pan. Add 4 pureed tomatoes and cook till tomatoes become a little dry. Add 2 tsp coriander powder, 1/2 tsp garam masala, 1/4 tsp garlic paste, 1/2 tsp ginger paste and 1/4 tsp red chili powder. Cook till oil separates.

Add boiled dal to this tomato mixture with 1 tsp butter and 1-2 tbsp tomato sauce.

Mix and cook for 10-15 minutes on medium flame mashing some of the dal occasionally to create a nice thick texture.

Garnish with fresh coriander leaves and cream.



Sathya-rating ****