Restaurant style Daal Makhni (Instant Pot Method)

It's October, we are almost 7 months from the time the world shut down, almost. Slowly the scare of covid is lessening. I don't know if it is a good thing. I still see the numbers going up and yet people seem to care less. 

That said, I do go into grocery stores and get what I want when the order isn't large enough for a curb side pick up and take care that I maintain a *very* safe distance from people. Specially those who pretend to wear a mask where their nose is not covered, the mask hangs down to under their chins. That's not the point folks! That's like when you see those aggravating men wearing jeans that are sitting near their knees leaving their underwear exposed, waddling uncomfortably, under the delusion they look cool. You want to poke them, sharpish, in the spine with a strong walking stick and whack their bottom and ask them to pull up their pants, even a toddler knows better. Ditto for the masks.

We still stick to our choice of being online where school is concerned. People have scoffed at this choice, but my logic is clear, in 30 years from now, no one will ask my son his scores in grade seven. It is more important for me to keep him safe, that is my priority. Our school opened and shut down in the first 2 weeks with a wave of positive cases (15+). A chill seeped into my heart, friends and coworkers were suffering, there was nothing I could do. I could have been in their position and exposed my family to covid too.

When will we be able to step out without fear, feel normal, go to a restaurant occasionally...? I see people thronging outside restaurants, no masks  and any thoughts I had about eating out vanish. I'm ok.  I prefer cooking at home, even if the boys miss going to a restaurant, specially when they feel like eating chicken (only because I haven't the guts to handle any kind of meat) and I cannot make any. They did get take out, it was unavoidable, the craving was too strong. They were happy while I had silent fits. I watched them anxiously over the next 2 weeks. All was well. Phew! 

Being vegetarian, my cravings are simpler and easy to satisfy at home.  

Every few years I review old recipes and see if I can tweak anything and make some changes. 

Today I decided to revisit  my old Daal Makhni recipe.  I saw a video of Chef Ranveer Brar making Daal Makhni. I like his recipes and how he explains everything, but this recipe had way too much butter for me to want to make it. I just could not... (but I did try another RB recipe with great success! coming up next).

Then I watched this video and the the ingredients were similar and I immediately wanted to try it. But in my Electric Pressure Cooker, similar to the Instant Pot.

The end result was a deliciously creamy Daal Makhni ( without the cream as I did not have any and I did not want to step out to buy just the one item), the Daal would taste better with it, no doubt, but the very fact that we overate was proof that I have a winner on my hands! 

 

Whole Black Urad and Rajma

                  

Recipe adapted from : BharatzKitchen

 1 cup Whole Black Urad daal

1/4 cup Rajma/ Kidney beans

3 medium Tomatoes

1 medium Onion

4-5 fat Garlic cloves

1 inch Ginger

2 Fresh Green Chilies

1/2 tsp Turmeric powder

1tsp Kashmiri Red chilies powder

2-3 Tbsp Oil

3-4 Cloves /Lavang

1 inch piece Cinnamon /Dalchini 

1 Bay leaf/ Tejpatta

1 Black Cardamom /Badi Elaichi

2 tsp Coriander powder / Dhaniya powder

1 tsp Amchur powder

1/2 tsp Ginger powder

1/2 tsp Garam Masala

1 Tbsp KasuriMethi

4 Tbsp Butter

Salt to Taste

Cream 

Serve with that 'little extra' butter cube on top, you won't regret it! 

Wash and soak the beans in plenty of water for at least 8 hours or over night. Discard the soaking water and rinse the beans, scrubbing them a little. You will notice that the water becomes black, this is what you want. Discard the water, Repeat again , once. 

Set the beans aside and  start prepping for the next step.

Finely chop the onion. 

In the blender jar add the garlic, ginger, green chilies and roughly chopped tomatoes. Blend to a smooth puree and set aside. Add 1/4 cup water to the blender jar and swill around  and get all the puree out. Add this water to the tomato puree.

In  a small bowl, mix the dry spices (coriander powder, amchur powder, dry ginger powder- also called saunth/sounth and garam masala) 

Start the Instant Pot / Electric Pressure cooker on Sear/ Sauté mode. Add oil. once the oil is hot, add the whole spices (cinnamon, cloves, black cardamom and bay leaf). Once the spices are aromatic, add the finely chopped onion. Sauté till the onion is cooked. Add the tomato-ginger-garlic-chilies puree. stir and cook. Add salt to taste mix and let the tomatoes cook till oil seeps at the corners. Add the turmeric and Kashmiri red chilies powder and mix.

Add the dry spices, mix  well. 

Add the beans and stir to coat the beans in the tomato mixture. Add water (I did not measure, added enough to cover the beans and a little over the top). Add crushed Kasuri Methi.

Cancel the sauté mode,  put the lid on the IP/ EPC and whistle on seal.

Cook on Manual mode for 30 minutes, Natural Pressure Release. 

Once the pin drops and the IP /EPC can be opened, add butter cubes and stir. 

Add cream and stir it in. 

Serve with buttery naan or Cumin Rice. 

Serve with mildly spiced Cumin Rice or Buttery Naan, this daal is a winner.

NOTES: 

• Adding Butter will make this daal taste better, if you are not calorie conscious, go for it! 
• The daal re-heats beautifully. 
• Serve with Fragrant Basmati rice (plain or cumin scented). 
• If you like your daal hot, add a spicy blend of red chilies powder and  a fresh green chili. 
• You can add water and adjust the consistency, I kept it chunky and thick because it was easy to scoop with a naan.  

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Finding comfort in a bowl of Rajma Curry

Over a decade ago, one very homesick Delhiite frowned and curled her lip in disdain and declared that Mumbai did not have good food. Pshaw!
And one very surprised Mumbai girl shook here head, vigorously, as if to stop the words from ringing in her ears. Forgive her Lord, she knows not.....
Thus began a quest for 'good food' in Mumbai.


To a Mumbaiite, it seems impossible that someone can make such a bold statement, but I guess one has to make allowances for homesickness and especially, when that person is your best friend.
We began on a quest, we had to find 'good food ' for this home-sick Delhi Girl. We went to various restaurants and experimented with different Choley Bhature, Chana Masala and the like, nothing seemed to get a thumbs up from her. There wasn't even a whiff of a Rajma Chawal or Kala Chana-Chawal on the menu, then, and the poor Girl longed for the comfort food she grew up on. I was at a loss, I had never eaten Rajma- Chawal, my comfort food varied so much from hers. And then, one day, we found this small cafe, tucked away in Vashi ( New Bombay or Navi Mumbai as it is now called) Chaat Cafe. It was bright colorful and inviting. The menu to our delight, had ALL the items a home-sick Delhiite wanted needed. That day, was the first time I tasted Rajma- Chawal. Okay, so I will admit it here, I was not too excited about it, I had ordered me a good ol' chaat platter , the chaat addict that I was (and still am). But we girls loved to share and  a forkful of the  Rajma- Chawal was good enough to convince me why the room suddenly lit up as if,with a 1000 watt bulb! It was my friend's happy face. She had found her comfort food, at last. Needless to say, that was the joint we haunted in sickness and in health.
I haven't been to Chaat Cafe in years, even when I was in India. The magic was when 2 BFF's  went there and made memories.


Today we are far away from each other, separated by time and distance, by a domestic routine so demanding that even a conversation is difficult. And today, I find comfort in Rajma-chawal, just like a very home-sick Delhi Girl once did.


Serves 4-6


1 Cup Rajma / dark red Kidney Beans ( soaked overnight or 8 hours)
1/2 tsp Salt
1 tsp. Turmeric powder
3Tbsp. Oil
2 Bay Leaves
2 Black Cardamoms
3 medium Onions grated
2 tsp. Ginger paste
1/2 Green chili paste
1/4 tsp. Garlic paste
3/4 tsp Red chili powder
4 large Tomatoes (pureed)
1/2 tsp. Garam Masala
2 Tbsp. Cilantro chopped

Pressure cook the kidney beans with 4 1/2 cups water, salt and 1/4 tsp. turmeric to one whistle. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 mins. Turn off the heat.


Heat 3 tbsp. Oil in a pan for 30 seconds, add bay leaves, black cardamom, onions, ginger, green chili and garlic paste.


Fry until light golden brown. Add 3/4 tsp turmeric and red chili powder and mix well.


Add the pureed tomato and fry until oil separates


Add the cooked kidney beans along with the water and salt to taste, bring it to a boil.


Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes


Add the chopped cilantro leaves and Garam masala. Turn off the heat.


Serve hot over a mound of fluffy Basmati rice ( pickle and papad optional) for a complete meal.

*NOTES:  
I cut the quantity in half, used a can of Kidney Beans and 2 whole peeled tomatoes (Roma) that I blended with some  water.

I used less water than asked for, the resultant curry was  thicker and chunkier, more to my taste.

Ideally this curry is enjoyed when ladeled over hot rice, but we ( M and I) enjoy it with  breads as well ( roti / fulkas and in my case even with  a slice of crusty French Bread)

This memory got me thinking, what is 'good food'? What do you look for in good food? 

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