BLACK GRAM LENTIL CURRY WITH BUTTER & CREAM

I sincerely hope you would share the same passion as me!

The black gram lentil curry is a Punjabi dish, commonly known as “Maa Dhi Dhal”.  The pulse is soaked and cooked prior to eating.

Simply scrumptious; creamy texture, enriched with butter and spices.

Black gram (Vigna Mungo) also known as ‘Urad Dal’ is related to black-eyed peas and mung beans.

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Ingredients
  • Fresh Coriander for garnish

  • 50ml Oil

  • 250 – 300ml Single Cream

  • 400gm Tinned Tomatoes

  • 250g Black Gram Lentils

  • 10gm Garlic Puree

  • 20gm Tomato puree

  • 20gm Ginger Puree

  • 4gm Cumin Powder

  • 4gm Coriander Powder

  • 1gm Turmeric Powder

  • 1gm Red Chilli Powder

  • 12gm Salt

  • 200gm Butter

  • 4 Medium Shallots

Step No 1

Soak the lentils overnight, in plenty of water.

Drain the water from the soaked lentils and transfer to a saucepan, top the saucepan with plenty of water and bring to a boil
Step No 2

Simmer on a low heat.  Skim the froth that comes to the surface.

Continue cooking for about 30 minutes until soft and most of the water has been absorbed.

Step No 3

Drain any excess water and transfer the lentils in a bowl, and set aside.
Step No 4

Roughly chop the shallots.

Step No 5

Heat some oil in a saucepan add the shallots to the pan, stir and sauté with salt, ginger and garlic puree.

Stir to mix together.

Cook until the shallots are translucent. 
Step No 6

Drop in the tomato puree.

Stir and cook for a minute.

Step No 7

Sprinkle in the dry spices.
Step No 8

Stir and continue cooking for a couple of minutes until all combined. 

Step No 9

Add tinned tomatoes to the pan.
Step No 10

Mix the sauce together.

Cook the sauce for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring regularly to stop the build-up on the bottom of the pan. 

Step No 11

Drop the cooked lentils into the sauce.
Step No 12

 Stir well to combine together.

Step No 13

Add chunks of butter and stir to melt into the mixture.
Step No 14

Finally pour the cream.

Give it a quick stir.

Step No 15

Cover the saucepan with a lid and transfer to a preheated oven at 160C Fan.

Cook for about 1½ hours.

Check the consistency of the mixture, if necessary add water to maintain the pouring consistency.
Step No 16

Serve in a bowl, garnished with fresh coriander.

You could also serve with rice, or a flat bread.