Are you familiar with dal makhani? It’s a rich, spiced, lentil-based stew made for special occasions in India (especially in the Punjab region in northern India). Someday, I hope to travel there and taste it for myself. Maybe next year, if I’m lucky. For now, I’ll enjoy this dal makhani at home. Dal makhani traditionally takes quite a long time to make, starting with soaking the lentils and then cooking them for hours on the stove (or more quickly in a pressure cooker). It’s often reserved for special occasions, like birthdays and holidays.
I couldn’t find traditional whole black lentils (urad dal) in grocery stores, so I used regular black lentils instead, which cook much faster. I also used canned kidney beans rather than dried, so this dish only requires about 45 minutes on the stove. Dal makhani is generally made creamy with lots of butter and cream, but I stole a trick from my favorite lentil soup to make this creamy—I blended up about two cups of the cooked stew and stirred it back into the pot. The starchy lentils get nice and creamy that way.
You’re welcome to stir in cream (or coconut milk) at the end, if you’d like, but it dulls the flavor a bit. If you order this dish at a restaurant, it will probably arrive with a beautiful swirl of cream on top. Since this dish is rich, the spices in this recipe are more subtle. Garam masala is a warming spice blend made with cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, cumin, black pepper and coriander. Indian cooking typically starts by dry-toasting whole spices, but I cheated and used a ground spice blend.
Frontier Co-op’s blend smells and tastes so fresh that I don’t feel like I’m missing out. Great spices really do make a difference, and I feel so spoiled with a spice drawer full of Frontier products. Ground coriander (made from the seeds of the cilantro plant) and cumin liven up the dish, and a splash of lime at the end works wonders. If you’re craving a creamy, curried, satisfying stew, this is exactly that!
This post was created in partnership with Frontier Co-op and I received compensation for my participation. Opinions are my own, always. Thank you for supporting the sponsors who support C+K! *Change it up: While untraditional, I also love this recipe with regular curry powder instead of garam masala. **Lentil note: This recipe is not designed for traditional urad dal (whole black gram lentils), which take forever to cook. Standard lentils (the brownish/greenish kind) will work in place of the black lentils. Just keep an eye on them, since they may be done cooking about 5 to 10 minutes sooner.
