Dhungar dal Makhani - Chef Recipe by Ashish Gagneja.

Ingredients

1 cup whole black lentils (soaked overnight)
1 Tbs fenugreek
2 cups tomato purée
2 tsp garlic paste
1 Tbs ghee
200g unsalted butter
1 cup thickened cream
5 green cardamom pods
2 black cardamom pods
2 cinnamon sticks
2 star anise
6 peppercorns
1 tsp cumin
2 bay leaves
Salt to taste
1 piece food grade charcoal
A pinch of asafoetida
1 tsp pepper powder

Method

Dal preparation:

Wash the black lentils with water and soak in water overnight.

Drain and refill the water in the dal the next morning.

Add a pinch of asafoetida.

Boil dal over a slow flame for 1 hour, stirring regularly.

Masala preparation:

Heat ghee in a pot over a slow flame. Add garlic and roast until golden brown.

Add tomato purée and cook for 5 minutes. Add fenugreek and all the whole herbs and cook again for 5 minutes.

Pour the cooked dal onto the tomato masala. Stir and add cream.

Add water, salt, pepper powder and roasted cumin.

Cook over a slow flame for 1 hour with regular stirring.

Add unsalted butter and cook again for 1 1/2 hours.

Smoking the dal:

Burn a piece of charcoal on the direct flame until it turns white.

Make a small bowl of aluminium foil and keep it in the dal.

Put burnt and hot charcoal onto the aluminium foil bowl.

Pour 1 teaspoon of ghee into the charcoal and immediately close the lid of the dal container to infuse the smoke into the dal.

It should be a thick, creamy reddish-brown curry with a gentle aroma of smoked charcoal.

Garnish with 2 threads of julienned ginger.

Recipe provided by Chakra