Dal Makhani

Hello, boys and girls!

Welcome to this year's very first edition of cooking with Varun! I hope all your hangovers have subsided and you are are now alert and sprightly once again! I myself, was (rather uncharacteristically) very out of it this new years eve, thanks, in no small part to copious amounts of alcohol courtesy all the tequila shots and the beers! (I'm still afraid to check my credit card statements!). A few friends and I went out to paint the town red and boy did we ever! The highlight of the night, however, was when I spoke to (emboldened no doubt by all the alcohol), quite possibly, the prettiest girl in the city, at the party! I know you're thinking, 'Beer goggles!', but I kid you not, this girl was absolutely stunning, and the worst part is, I don't know if I'll ever see her again!

But as they say, life goes on.. and so does this blog post, on to what we can control. Something to help aid the recovery process. A balm for the soul, if you may. Food. The one thing that never disappoints. Always there to pick you up when you're down. Your very best friend.

Some time ago, when we looked at the recipe for butter chicken, we talked about how it, along with some other signature dishes was one of the most ordered dishes at any restaurant or dhaba. Today we will look at the recipe for it's most popular companion, dal makhani. Thick and rich and buttery, with rajma (kidney beans) and a tadka of garlic and chillies, this is best eaten with a soft butter naan and/or another few types of naan!

For Dal Makhani, you will need the following:

Black urad dal	1 cup
Rajma (kidney beans)	1 big handful
Ginger	2 inch piece
Green chillies	2
Red chilli powder	2-3 tsp
Garlic	2-3 cloves
Jeera (cumin)	1 heaped tsp
Salt	to taste
Ghee (clarified butter)	big dollop
Butter	big dollop

Prep:

1. Soak the rajma in hot water for about an hour.
2. Julienne the ginger. (Basically just slice it into straws).
3. Chop the chillies.
4. Horizontally slice the garlic cloves.
5. Rinse the dal 3 or 4 times with cold water.

Method:

1. Grab a pressure cooker.
2. Drop in the dal.
3. Struggle to un-stick the wet dal at the bottom of the bowl.
4. Unsuccessfully use a spoon, a knife and your finger to dislodge the stuck dal.
5. Give up and stick the bowl in the sink to wash.
6. Drain and throw in the rajma.
7. Slide in the ginger.
8. Add water until the dal is submerged about 3 fingers deep.
9. Add in about half the red chilli powder.
10. Sprinkle in some salt.
11. Lock the pressure cooker.
12. Turn the gas on.
13. Crank it up to high.
14. Bung the cooker on the gas.
15. Wait until the first whistle.
16. Bump the heat down to low.
17. Mentally note the time.
18. Do whatever you want for the next 25-30 minutes. (In this time, the cooker will whine, groan and whistle. Remember to be brave and ignore all the sounds that it is making.)
19. After 30 minutes, turn the heat off and set the cooker aside to let the steam escape. (Do not open it!)
20. Turn on another (preferably smaller) burner.
21. Bung a pan on.
22. Drop in the ghee dollop.
23. Watch it melt into golden-y goodness.
24. Add in the jeera.
25. Snap, crackle and pop baby!
26. Add in the green chillies and the garlic.
27. More snapping, crackling and popping!
28. Cook for a minute or so.
29. Add in the rest of the chilli powder.
30. Cook for another minute.
31. Turn the gas off.
32. Switch your attention back to the pressure cooker.
33. Lift the weight to let the last of the steam out.
34. Open the cooker.
35. Use a wooden spoon (or any other spoon) to check that the dal is cooked and the water has almost all gone.
36. Turn the gas on.
37. Bung the cooker back on.
38. Add in the contents of the pan and mix well.
39. Either add in or dry off the water in the dal until it reaches the desired consistency. (Traditionally, this is not served too runny or too dry. It has a of a sort of batter-y
    consistency.) 
40. Taste test for salt.
41. Empty the dal into a bowl.
42. Drop in the butter dollop and mix.
43. Serve with (an optional) swirl of cream and warm naan.
44. Stuff face.
45. Bask in the glory of your successfully executed dish.

Tip: Since this is a very rich dish, if you plan to have it often, you could cut back on the ghee and butter or substitute them for olive oil and margarine. This will, however, compromise the flavour to a degree.

And remember, overeating is a myth. A full tummy is a happy tummy!