Pulse by Jenny Chandler

Author:Jenny Chandler
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Pavilion Books
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

A special occasion dal, served in restaurants all over northern India. Indulgence is what the dish is all about, so we are piling in the butter and cream. There are plenty of healthier dals to choose from; this one’s a high days and holidays recipe. Delicious alongside a curry spread, but also a meal in itself with some naan bread.

Track down the little black urad dal (which are in fact beans, not lentils) in Asian shops or online. You will need to begin soaking them 10 hours in advance.

BUTTERED DAL

DAL MAKAHNI

Serves 6–8 as a side dish, 4 as a main with rice or flatbread

150 g/5½ oz/¾ cup whole urad dal (black gram), well picked over, rinsed and soaked overnight

85 g/3 oz/generous 1⁄3 cup dried red kidney beans, soaked overnight

½ tsp ground turmeric

2 green chillies, deseeded if wished (see here), chopped finely

3 garlic cloves, crushed

2.5-cm/1-inch piece of fresh ginger, finely chopped

FOR THE TARKA

1 tbsp ghee or unsalted butter

½ onion, finely diced

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1 tsp ground cumin

2 tbsp tomato purée

salt

TO FINISH

100 g/3½ oz/7 tbsp unsalted butter

2–3 tbsp double (heavy) cream

1 tsp garam masala (see here)

handful of fresh coriander (cilantro), roughly chopped

Drain the urad dal and kidney beans and place them in a large saucepan with the turmeric, chillies, garlic and ginger. Cover with about 2 cm/about 1 inch of cold water and bring to the boil. Cover and bubble away for 10 minutes before lowering the heat to a gentle simmer. The beans will take anything from 1 to 1½ hours to become soft and tender. Check them regularly and top up the pan with water when necessary (the beans should only just be covered).

Once the beans are cooked, purée about a third of them. I find it easiest to do this with a hand-held blender in the pan. It’s traditionally done with the back of a ladle and plenty of elbow grease (a potato masher would do the trick).

For the tarka, melt the ghee in a small frying pan and cook the onion until golden. Add the garlic and cumin, and once you’re enveloped in wonderful smells, add the tomato purée. Stir the tarka into the beans along with a good sprinkling of salt and cook over a really low heat for about 10 minutes.

The dal will taste pretty good right now and you could just serve it with a dollop of yogurt, but it isn’t dal makahni. If you’re going for the real thing, stir in the butter, cream and a good teaspoon of garam masala. Taste and add more salt or chilli to balance. Sprinkle with fresh coriander and serve.

HOW ABOUT?

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