Dal Makhani

Dal Makhni is one of the best delicacies of North India. It is not easy to prepare but with a blend of perfect ingredients, patience, and hard work, you can easily earn accolades. Lets see its preparation :

Ingredients:

1) Black daal

2) Small Cardamom

3) Big Cardamom

4) Cinnamon

5) Black Pepper (Not the Powder)

6) 2 - 3 pieces of clove

7) Cumin

8) Ajwain seeds

9) Fenugreek (Methi seeds)

10) Kasuri Methi (Optional)

11) Ginger

12) Garlic

13) Coriander Powder.

14) Onion

15) Tomatoes

16) Green Chillies

17) Rajma

18) Salt to taste

Procedure:

Let's suppose that you are preparing Dal Makhni for four people.
We will begin with mixing Daal and Rajma in a vessel (for boiling purpose) or to be precise, in a pressure cooker (The quantity of Rajma should be half of the quantity of Daal). Add water in to the cooker to such an extent that the quantity of the water should be double the quantity of Daal & Rajma.

Now here comes the major and the most significant part. We need to add all the spices one by one in to the vessel. The proportion of each and every spice should be perfect because if you put any spice more than required then it will spoil the taste of Dal Makhni. The flavor of these spices is very strong so we should always take extra precaution while adding them in to the curry.
So after putting water, as described above, we will put these spices one by one. Lets start with Ginger and Garlic. Please please never ever use ginger garlic paste. Its unhealthy, and it just spoils the taste. Grind them or cut them in to small pieces, as per your wish. Then put 3 small Cardamom and one big Cardamom. After this, put little Cinnamon, 10 - 15 Methi seeds (Fenugreek), Ajwain seeds (1/4 of a very small spoon), 4 - 5 pieces of Black Pepper and 2 - 3 pieces of Cloves. Now just close the vessel and let it boil. Boil it till 5 whistles and then keep it for 40 minutes on a slow gas.

Take another vessel (not for boiling purpose) and put some oil in it. Once the oil is heated up, put some Cumin. After cumin becomes brown put chopped Onions. Fry them until the color becomes brown. After that, add chopped Tomatoes and two big spoons of Coriander powder. Cook it for 15 minutes on a slow gas.

Now comes the mixing part. When Daal gets properly boiled, put the Onion Tomato paste (prepared above) in to it. Stir it for next five minutes and once it is bolied, keep it on slow gas for 20 minutes.

That's it and your yummy Dal Makhni is ready. While serving, put some coriander leaves and butter on top. Always remember, presentation matters a lot in everything. Everybody is creative in their own way so you can present it in a different style.

The main trick of preparing a tasty Dal Makhni is adding the right amount of spices and cooking it on a slow gas for 20 mins or more, once you add the Onion Tomato paste.
Please feel free to add your own creativity. I would love to hear from you.