Dal Makhani is indeed the queen of all dals, and its primary ingredients include whole black lentils, red beans, along with seasonings and butter and cream. The vegetarians are passionate about Dal Makhani in the same way as the non-vegetarians are about the Butter Chicken.
The non-vegetarians across the country can’t thank the inventor of the Butter Chicken enough, for bestowing upon mankind the ever-so creamy and sumptuous delight. The vegetarians on the other hand, echo similar sentiments about Dal Makhani. Both the dishes were the brainchild of a single man, who came up with the lip-smacking recipes in a bid to make his ingredients last longer.
The invention of Dal Makhni is closely linked with the invention of Butter Chicken. To save the chicken hanging on the seekhs above the tandoor all day from drying out, he came up with the brilliant idea of simmering the chicken in a luscious gravy with tomatoes, butter, cream and some spices to help them retain moisture. He applied the same recipe with his black urad dal, and gave birth to Dal Makhani too around the same time. It is said that Kundan Lal Gujral, founder of Moti Mahal chain of restaurants, revolutionized the traditional preparation of black urad lentil.
Black whole urad dal served with hot unleavened flatbread (roti) was a specialty of West Pakistan, which Gujaral brought along with him. However, the turning point for the traditional black urad dal preparation came about when Gujaral mixed cream and tomatoes as a souring agent to the dal. No one had ever done this before. Even if they did require a souring agent, yogurt was used.
That’s all folks! It’s then and now that we cannot ignore Dal Makhani any time…
Relish this dish with your loved ones from one of the best Indian Restaurant’s in Budapest. Due to the current ongoing Covid restrictions we are open only for home deliveries and takeaways.
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