The Dal Makhani & Paratha combo is a favorite with the kids and they simply love to dip the parathas into the creamy dal. I most often also pack the box with some plain yogurt or curd rice to make the meal complete and making their lunch box filling and nutritious.

Ingredients

3/4 cup whole black urad dal

1/4 cup red kidney beans/ rajma

1 large tomato, pureed

an inch piece of ginger, grated

2 cloves garlic, grated

2 green chillies, chopped finely

1 teaspoon turmeric powder

1/2 teaspoon cumin powder

1 teaspoon of garam masala powder

1 teaspoon cardamom powder

1 teaspoon oil

1/4 cup cream

a small bunch of coriander leaves, finely chopped

1 teaspoon kasuri methi / dried fenugreek leaves

Salt to taste

Directions for Dal Makhani Dhaba Style Recipe

Soak the black urad dal and rajma together in 4 cups of water for about 8 hours. Cook the dals along with the soaked water and salt until very soft and mushy. See Video Recipe of How to Cook Legumes in Pressure Cooker.

You will know the dal is cooked well, when you press it between your fingers, it will mash easily.

Heat oil in a heavy bottomed pan; add the ginger, garlic and sauté it for a few seconds. Stir the tomatoes, green chillies, turmeric powder, garam masala, cardamom powder and cumin powder and sauté everything until the tomatoes begin to bubble, approximately for about a minute.

Next stir in the cooked dal into the pan with the tomatoes, adjust the consistency of the dal by adding a little water if too thick. Cover the pan and simmer the dal along with the spices for at least 15 to 20 minutes. At this stage check the salt and spice levels and adjust according to taste.

Simmering this dal makhani for a longer time, will ensure that the spices get absorbed into the dal thoroughly, therefore enhancing the flavors of the dal makhani

Traditionally Punjabi's have been known to simmer their dals for more than an hour or two, to get the intense richness and taste from the dal makhani. But make sure that when you