Dal Makhni is probably my most favourite indian dish, I could actually eat this all day every day, but going vegan limits when I can now eat this, as traditionally this dal is full of butter or ghee. It comes generally and historically from the Punjab region of India and eat with rice or paratha. Urad Dal is a deep dark whole dal known as black dal, you can find these lentils in any indian shop or the whole foods section of you local supermarket like Tescos or Sainsburys.
I was a little confused if I should title this as Dal Makhni is direct translation is 'Buttery lentils' and the word "Makhni" actually means cooked in butter/ghee, and I have not used any diary so I added 'vegan' to the title. It's almost like an oxymoron!
Although lentils are healthy, eating Dal Makhni at a restuarant will never be healthy with the amount of butter/ghee and oil use, so beaware! Now such I love this dal so much, I decided to make a healthy version as well as making it dairy free, and honestly you can tell the difference as it's not as rich, but the flavours are still so delicious you won't sit heavy in the belly that you will actually prefer it, I know I and my family loved it. I was hoping to freeze some for myself for those quick fast dinners however we ate it all.
I actually made this for an evening of traditional indian food night for my neighbours, to give them a taste of my childhood but the healthy way, as they both watch what they eat and following slimming world currently so wanted to keep this a clean and healthy as possible, so apparent from the tbsp oil this meal was almost syn free specially if only served with rice.
Ingredients:
1 Tbsp Oil
1/2 Tsp Cumin seeds
2-3 Bay leaves
1 Large chopped onion
1 Tbsp Ginger
3 Garlic Cloves
1 Tin of Chopped Tomatoes
1 Tsp Garam masala
1/2 Tsp Salt
1/2 Tsp Chilli Powder
1/4 Tsp Cumin Powder
1/4 Tsp Coriander Powder
1/4 Tsp Turmeric Powder
200g Cooked Whole Urad Dal
50g Cooked Red Kidney Beans
1 Tsp Lemon Juice
In a heavy bottom saucepan add the tablespoon of oil and heat over medium heat 30 second, then add cumin seeds and bay leaves.
Add the chopped onion, crushed garlic and finely grated ginger to the pan and stir cooking about 1-2 minutes.
Then add tin of chopped tomatoes, garam masala, salt, chilli powder, cumin powder, coriander powder and turmeric powder and stir well, allow to cook for about 3-4 minutes.
Add cooked Whole urad dal and kidney beans to the sauce pan and stir well, bring to the boil and then allow to simmer covered for about 20 minutes for all the flavours to infused.
Stir in the lemon juice just before serving, sprinkle on a little fresh coriander and wedge of lime for garnish.
You can freeze this for up to 3-6 months for use later. Enjoy
Vegan Dal Makhni (Urad Dal)
Vegan & Healthy version of Dal Makhni