Low fat Dal Makhani

Dal Makhani, is probably the most recognized delicacy of northern india, originating in Punjab.It is also highly nutritious as it contains beans. A very popular vegetarian dish in northern India.It is part of a everyday punjabi meal. As all Punjabi cuisines,this dish is also heavy in dairy & hence fat.

On my quest of low-fat recreation of the popular indian dishes, I cooked it in the following way.
I was a bit in doubt, on the success of this experiment, as I planned to totally skip the main ingridient "makhan" (butter) in this makhani(buttery) dish. But it came out very well, and pretty close to the original. A tad less on the smoothness though (due to lack of butter & creame), but tasted very good.

Ingredients:

Whole urid dal(urd beans--black beans)--2 portions
Rajma dal(red coco beans/red kidney beans)-1 portion
green chillies-2
ginger--1 inch piece
garlic cloves-2
ginger-garlic paste-1 tbsp(apart from the above mentioned ginger-garlic)
1 bay leaf
1tsp turmeric
1tsp cumin seeds
1tsp cumin powder
1tsp corriander powder
1tsp chilli powder
1/2 cup milk (cream can be used for a more smoother version)

Method:

1.Soak 2 portions of whole urid dal and one portion of rajma overnight.
2. next day boil the soaked dal with some adrak and green chillies cut into small pieces.Use less water than normal.
3. When cooked, mash the dal a little, keep aside.
4. Heat a non stick pan and spray one noozle spray oil.Pop in the cumin seeds and the bay leaf (fat rich version uses 2-3 knobs of butter here, instead of spray oil) .
5. When cumin seeds are fried,add the ginger-garlic paste and cook until you get the nice aroma of garlic-ginger..
6. Add pureed tomato, cook till tomato is reduced.
7. Add cumin powder, coriander powder, chilli powder(if desired a hot version), fry for 5-6 mins.
8. Add the cooked dals & fry for a while.
9. Add milk to get the dal to required consistency.(For a richer version you can use single cream).
10.Sprinkle garam masala and cook covered for another 2 minutes.
11.Serve & NJOY.

Quick & easy lentil recipe

Easy to cook dal(lentils) oil free. I wish to share a very simple recipe. The following recipe tastes best with Moong dal(yellow lentils), but also works with red lentils. Give it a try, and share your experiences.
The quick & easy way is --

1.Wash the lentil/dal well.
2.Soak for 30 minutes, and then drain the water.
3.Add the lentil to a pan ( pressure cooker if using).
4.Add 3 times water(if using 1 cup of dal, use 3 cups water) and salt to taste.
5.Add chopped ginger and garlic.
6.Add a green chilli slitted(for less heat, remove the seeds before adding).
7.Cook in low-medium heat until lentils are soft.(if using pressure cooker, until the cooker whistels.)
8. Mash the lentils well, I use a hand beater.
9.Add chopped tomatoes, & chopped corriander, adjust water to required consistency, if too thick. Cook covered for another minute. If you wish to make it thicker,cook uncovered.
(If using pressure cooker, add tomatoes along with the lentils at step 3.)

This lentil goes very well with Plain rice/jeera rice /puffed rotis.
It is recommended that pressure cooker be used in cooking lentils, beans etc. It is a very efficient way to cook healthy meals in much lesser time, and also helps cut your energy bill. Try it and you'll fall in love with it.