Dal Makhani and Dahi Methi Bhindi

I had blogged earlier about the bhindi recipe, but nothing like simple good creamy dal Makhani. I recently made this to teach Aeisha how to make this.

She is an interesting person who has made her way to my culinary studio. She is a second generation American-Pakistani who ideally would love someone to teach her Pakistani cooking but will settle for Indian, as long as the spices are not too different. As I tell her, the spices are almost the same but their use is sometime not the same across the different parts of the sub-continent or even the country we call India. Anyhow, good food is a universal thing.

Dal Makhani - Creamy Urad Dal and Red Kidney Beans

Serves 6

Ingredients

1/2 cup whole urad dal (mapte beans)
2 tsp salt
2 tbsp oil
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 onion finely chopped
1 tsp finely grated ginger
2 tomatoes finely chopped
1 can red kidney beans
1 tbsp garam masala
1 tsp red chili powder
1/3 cup cream
2 tbsp finely chopped cilantro

Method of Preparation
1. Pressure cook the dal with 2 cups water and salt for 15 minutes.
2. Heat the oil and add the cumin followed by the onion and ginger after a few seconds.
3. Add the tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes.
4. Add the dal and drained kidney beans, chili powder and simmer for 30 minutes.
5 . Stir in the remaining ingredients and serve with rice or roti.