Recipe: Quick Daal Makhani

It’s no secret, I can’t grocery shop! I tend to overspend, under analyze and leave the store with more things than I really need or my family can consume. The worst is, for the life of me, I can’t differentiate between a good tomato to a bad tomato unless of course if there is fungus involved!
Keeping all that in mind and ensuring weekends are away from errand running, my dear hubby steps up the game. He does all our grocery shopping. The freako planner in me, sends him a list of things we are out of and must haves and then it's fair game for him. I love him. I really do, and not just because he grocery shops or not just because he never fails to make fun of my fruit spotting... just because, he 'voluntarily' helps me out here. Occasionally when we do go together.. I am Alice in Wonderland!
A while ago, I asked him to get daal.. and he did. He just didn’t get the green moong one I needed, but got the black udat instead. By the way telepathy is not his forte. Daal is daal. He got me there!

Hmm.. so I am stuck with Black udat and I scratched my mind, searched the internet... and here is my revised recipe for a quicker Daal Makhani. Well it’s not that quick.. but prep time is not much and then cooking time is what it is. But I assure you, the lazy me cooks it at least twice or thrice a month on weeknights! So it can’t be that hard.

Prep time: 10-15 minutes Cooking time: 45-60 minutes

Ingredients
1.5 cup whole urad dal (black lentils) - I have Black Split Udat, which works fine as well.
0.5 cup Rajma (red kidney beans) - Canned ones are fine
0.5 cup Channa dal (Bengal gram dal)
0.5 cup Chickpeas/garbanzo beans - Canned ones are fine
1/2 inch ginger, peeled and chopped finely
2 – 3 garlic cloves
2 green chillies
1 onion Finely chopped
1.5 tomato Finely chopped
salt to taste

Masala:
Store baught: Daal Makhani Masala tastes fantastic and very repeatable with consistent taste.
Alternatively:
0.5 tspn or more chilli powder
0.5 tspn garam masala
0.5 tspn Haldi

for tadka
1-2 tspn ghee
1 tspn cumin
1/2 Bay Leaves
1/2 Cloves
Just a little Cinnamon.

To finish
1/2 cup Yogurt or cream (I prefer Yogurt for the tangy taste and definitely healthier than cream)
Finely chopped coriander

Process
1. Soak all of the lentils (udat, rajma, chole and channa dal) in water for 6 hours, or preferably overnight. I tend to soak them in the morning before work and return to make it for dinner. Wash 3-4 times before making the daal.
2. Heat ghee in a pressure cooker and add cumin, cloves, bay leaves, cinnamon
3. When bubbling, add garlic, ginger, onions and sauté till translucent
4. Now add 2-3 tspns of the Daal Makhani masala. Saute a bit more
5. Add chopped chilli and tomatoes. Sautee till cooked (about 5 min.)
6. Add all the soaked lentils.
7. Add 4-5 cups of water (I prefer our daals a bit thicker, but add water based on the consistency you like)
8. Close the pressure cooker and leave the gas on low-medium.
9. The daals take a good 45 minutes before the first whistle. The longer is stays in, the better the flavors.
10. Once the daal is done, open the pressure cooker, mix/ blend the daal. Adjust seasoning.
----- You can add an additional tadka if you like the look of fresh tadka!
11. Add whisked yogurt and reduce the gas for another 15 minutes.
12. Top with freshly chopped coriander.

Eat away!

I know, it sounds like a long process, but trust me, while the daal is getting cooked, I tend to finish making the remainder dinner, clean up, and get time to play with V.
Plus nothing better than fresh hot daal! High in proteins and healthy. I consistently get the hi-five from my daughter. Best of all, hubby and I enjoy it with chopped onions on the side.
As you can see, the grocery shopping arrangement in our family is working brilliantly.
Wink Wink!