Restaurant Style, Luxurious Dal Makhni with Garlic Butter Naan

Prashant Chandra
Jun 29, 2020
12 min read

Serving Size - 3-4 People

Cooking time for Dal Makhani - 20 Minutes to wash and prepare for soaking, 6 hours of soaking and then 2 hours for the main cook

Cooking time for Garlic Butter Naan - 20-25 minutes to prepare Dough, 2 hours of resting time, 30 minutes for the main cook

Restaurant Style, Luxurious Dal Makhni with Garlic Butter Naan Recipe. If eaten without Naan, very good for Low-Carbs diet. — Restaurant Style, Luxurious Dal Makhni with Garlic Butter Naan Recipe

So this has been requested by my good friend Dom Gaudio who I had the pleasure of working with, early in my career. I remember when all of us used to order Piazza at the office party, there would be a special order for Dom for Dal Makhni and Butter Naan. And I kinda understand why - It is just so good. I am quite a big fan of Dal Makhani myself (who is not?), but thanks to my miss-information, I always believed it to be very high on Carbs and therefor I kind of avoided it - Or ate with some guilt. Everyone knows (and as the name suggests) this Dal is quite high on fats, which I do not mind at all. But I was definitely concerned about the Carbs. So I did some cursory research. It turns out, it is not so bad after all. I mean, it is not the "Ideal" Keto food, but it is not excessively "High Carbs" either. According to my research, boiled Urad Dal has about 20% carbs and some 8% of those are in the form of Fiber. One serving would have some 50 gm of just Dal in it (Let's say). Even if I ignore the Fiber content and consider full 20%, that would be about 10 gm of total Carbs in one portion. That's not bad by any respectable Keto standards. Plus, the copious amount of Butter in the recipe, nudges it further in the direction of being acknowledged as a Keto-Ok recipe. Of course, nowhere in this discourse have I talked about the humble Garlic Butter Naan on the side. That my friends (I don't have to tell you) is definitely not Keto friendly. If you are on a balanced diet, you should not have to worry about it (although you may have to worry about the Fat spike). If you are on Keto, omit the Naan and you should be fine.

I researched about 5 different recipes on the internet for this cook and, in my version, I have done a few things that are somewhat unique to my method. For example, I have used some Home-Made Sour cream and I have used Canned tomatoes. Also, I have used a Hand Blender method which I will explain in detail in the recipe. I also used Garlic Butter for the last tempering of the Dal. The results were really quite amazing in my opinion. If you happen to try this recipe, do not forget to write back and let me know your thoughts. One thing that stood out as I was doing the research was that if you are interested in the history of how Dal Makhani came about, watch Chef Ranveer Brar's recipe video on YouTube. I love his historical research on food he makes. His Recipe is the main reference for my version. For Butter Naan, my main reference was of Chef John's Recipe from Food Wishes. Look him up. He is quite a character.

Dom, if you decide to make this, you will have to do some ingredient translations. I am too lazy for that. Sorry mate 🙂 And all the best!

Tbs - Is Tablespoon, Tsp - Is Teaspoon and Heaping Tbs - Is Table spoon that has a heap of content on top.

Ingredients for Dal Makhni

Whole Lentils (Black Urad Dal) - 2 Cups (approx 200 gm, uncooked) Wash it throughly and soak for a minimum 5 hours.
Unsalted Butter - 100 gm
Fresh Cream - 1 Tbs (For garnishing)
Sour Cream - 1 Tbs (Heaping)
Canned or Fresh Tomatoes - 1 Cup (Pureed)
Salt - 1 Tsp
Red Chilli Powder (Degi Mirch variety) - 1 and 1/2 Tsp
Ginger Garlic Paste - 1 Tbs
Fresh Garlic Cloves - 2
Garlic Infused Water - 5-6 Cloves finely chopped and soaked in hot water
Desi Ghee - 2 Tbs (Heaping) (There is option to replace this with Butter)
Roasted Kasuri Maithi - 1 Tsp

Ingredients for Garlic Butter Naan

AP Flour - 2 Cups
Baking Soda - 1 Tsp
Curd - 1 Tbs (Heaping)
Fresh Garlic Cloves - 3-4 (Finely chopped)
White Sugar - 2 Tsp
Salt - 1 Tsp
Butter - 1 Tbs (Heaping)
Milk - 3/4 Cup
Kalonji - 1 Tsp
White Sesame Seeds - 1 Tsp
Coriander - A small bunch (Finely chopped)

Method - Dal Makhani

Before we start with the actual recipe, let's talk about preparing the Dal for the cook - Because it will make or break the final flavour and texture. First, you have to wash it throughly. And the way to do it is to take it in a large enough bowl and fill it with fresh water. Then with both your hands, scoop the Dal from under the water and grind it between your hands with some pressure and fast movement. It is like rubbing your hands against each other, only you now have some Dal in between. It is quite a work but is oddly satisfying. As you are doing this, you will see that the water has turned from clear to pretty murky black. Don't be spooked. This stuff is not harmful as such but the reason for taking this out is to refine the taste. When the water has become murky like that, drain it out and repeat the process 4-5 times. Don't worry, the water will never come out totally clear - and that's ok. Just make sure that you have repeated the process 4-5 times, until at the final round, the water comes out "fairly" clean. Once you have drained water, it is time to add fresh water and let this soak for 5 hours - minimum. I soaked mine for 6. Ideally, they say it should be soaked overnight but my decision to cook came early in the morning and I HAD TO finish the cook at least 30-40 minutes before sundown, because otherwise, I would not have been be able to take the pictures in Daylight :) And what's the point of that? Also, the main cook itself was about 2 hours. So I had to work with the available time. Although I cannot scientifically prove its correctness, but in a hope to accelerate the macerating process, and make up for some lost soaking time, I used hot water to begin my soaking process and then replaced the water with hot water, every 2 hours. Roughly 6 hours later, my Dal had doubled in size and was ready for the main event.

Drain out the water from the Dal that has been soaking. Transfer Dal into a large pot and add fresh water so that the Dal is fully submerged and the water level is about 1cm above the Dal. Add Garlic Infused Water into this and boil until Dal becomes tender and starts releasing starch. There is an option to do this step in a pressure cooker, where you seal this in and cook until you hear 5-6 whistles. I went with the non-cooker, slow boil method and it took some 1 hour for Dal to be done on slow heat. When it comes to dishes like these that involves some kind of stewing, slow cooking always gives you better, more luxurious mouth-feel results. Another clear advantage of slow, open cooking method is that you can skim off any impurities that rise to the surface during the boiling process. By the way, every time that happens, it reminds me of my Metallurgy lessons during college where impurities rise to the top when you heat Iron Core. Lol. Sorry. Once you have reached this stage, add a Tsp of Salt to your Dal. Add half of the Butter to your Dal now and stir it in. Leave it simmering on slow heat. At this stage, the Dal will appear rather Grey and boring in its colour. Don't be discouraged. Now we will start with our first tempering mix to add flavour and colour to it.

Take a wide pan and bring it to heat. Add all of the Desi Ghee. There is option to replace Ghee with butter at this step. If you are using butter, do not let it get brown at all. You have to manage the heat here. To this, add the Ginger Garlic paste and cook it for 2 minutes. Add 1 Tbs of your Red Chilli powder (from the total quantity) and make sure that you do not cook the Chilli Powder too much - Otherwise it will loose it's colour. Add a Tbs of water after 30 seconds of cooking Chilli Powder in Ghee to arrest over-cooking. To this, add Tomato Puree. Cook for 2-3 minutes until the Ghee is separated from the Tomato paste. Once that has happened, add this mix to your Dal that is still simmering away. Incorporate the the Tempering mix throughly in your Dal. You will see that the Dal has changed colour now and appears a much more pleasing and appetising reddish tone.

Now comes a somewhat tedious process of smashing some of the Dal against the bottom of your pot, while it is simmering and is continuously becoming tenderer. In vernacular, it is called "Dal ko Kadhna". You can use a Potato Masher for this. The main idea is to smash some (about 1/3, not all) of your Dal into paste that will add to the creaminess and give a body that is unique to Dal Makhni. That's the traditional method. I came up with a hack for this. I used my Hand Blender to blend some of the Dal (along with some the liquid form the pot) into a fine liquid. I added this liquid back into the pot and Wallah! I just saved an arm workout. And I personally feel that the results were much better than traditional hand-smashing method. Why not put the modern technology to use? Once you have accomplished this partial liquefaction process and are satisfied with the consistency of your Dal, add the rest of the butter and mix it in. Add Kasuri Maithi (save just a pinch of it for later, for plating) and stir it in. Between the first Tempering and the Smashing process, you must have spent another 30-40 minutes in the cooking of the Dal. Once all the butter and Kasuri Maithi is incorporated, comes the pre-final step of adding cream. But please make sure that you have turned the heat off before we begin to do that.

Here again, I deviated a little bit from the traditional recipe. Instead of Fresh Cream, I added 1 heaping Tbs of Home Made Sour Cream. I believe that the use of Sour Cream gives the Dal a more creamier taste, but more importantly, adds a slightly sour dimension to it. Which is very-very desired in this recipe. I love it!

The final step is to give this Dal a second tempering for more colour and richness to improve its aesthetics. Take 1 Tbs of Desi Ghee (or Butter), bring it to heat and add the finely chopped Fresh Garlic. Cook for 1-2 minutes. To this, add 1/2 Tsp of Red Chilli Powder. Once again, do not over cook the Chilli Powder. It will loose the colour. Right after some 30 seconds of adding the Chilli Powder in Ghee, pour this mixture on top of your Dal, with the help of a spoon. Stir this in lightly. The idea is to not incorporate this mix into the Dal completely. Rather, some of this Chilli Ghee should be floating around (in Patches) on the surface. Traditionally, second Tempering mix is added directly to the pot in which you have cooked your Dal. But I believe that it gives you more bang for your bucks if you add this to the Serving Bowl and not the cooking pot. That way, the Dal looks more dramatic and your guests will be more impressed. If you add it to the cooking pot, it mostly gets incorporated fully in Dal during service and you loose (visually) that beautiful, bright-red Chilli Ghee that looks so good in the Serving Bowl.

At this point, we have finished the cooking of our Dal Makhni. But Wait! Don't eat it right away. It will be crazy hot and because of its very thick consistency, it will retain a LOT of heat. If you eat it right away, you will basically burn all your taste buds and what's the point of cooking this very long recipe, without getting to enjoy the layers of flavours in it. Let it rest for a minimum 20 minutes and THEN (AND ONLY THEN), eat it. Use this time to take pictures for Instagram 🙂 Also, this is a good time to utilise for preparing your Naans for service.

Method - Garlic Butter Naan

Heat a wide pan and throw in half of the Butter and bring it to sizzle. Be careful not to burn the Butter. Now, to your sizzling Butter, add all the Chopped Garlic. Let the Garlic sizzle in Butter. And when you feel that amazing smell of Garlic cooking in Butter, remind yourself that it is the moments like this that we love cooking so much 🙂 Anyways, after 4-5 minutes of cooking on low heat, your beautiful Garlic Butter must be ready to be used. We will use this butter in the Dough, as well as for basting our Naan in the final step. And it is ok if you made a little extra of this. Because it is so tasty on its own and can be used for a ton of other stuff.

Another thing we need to prepare before we get started with our dough is the Baking Soda and Curd mix. Please note, this is the Baking Soda recipe. There is another Recipe that uses Dry Yeast but since I could not find any (Thanks to the bread-making rage during lockdown), I went the Baking Soda way. Anyways, mix the Baking Soda into the Curd in a small cup and you will see that the Soda is activated after a few seconds and the mixture becomes somewhat frothy and foamy - It is ready. One important detail - Make sure that your Curd is at the room temperature. Do not use cold Curd; straight out of the Fridge.

Finally, let's get started with the dough. In a large enough bowl, add 2 cups of AP flour. Mix in the Salt and Sugar while the Flour is still dry. Make a well in the middle and add the Curd and Baking Soda mix. Add 3 Tbs of the Garlic Butter we made earlier. If your Butter is hot, do not add it on top of the Curd-Soda foam. Instead, pour it around the centre, on the dry Flour. It is ok to have some of the Garlic chunks into this mix, along with the butter. Mix all of this lightly (we are not Kneading yet). Once you have roughly mixed everything, make a well again in the middle and add Milk in increments of 1-2 Tbs at a time. Now, as you mix the Milk in, the Kneading process starts. You can also do this initial Kneading in a Food Processor if you like. But in any case, you will have to finish the Kneading with hands. Keep Kneading until you reach a dough consistency that is firm but soft to touch. During this process, you may have to add 1-2 Tbs of Milk to get the right consistency. That's ok. Just make sure you add not more than 1 Tbs of Milk at a time to avoid the risk of ending up with a dough that's too runny. You do not want the dough to be too loose. Also, it is important that you Knead this for at-least 10-15 minutes to develop the Gluten properly. Once you have reached that stage, make a ball of the Dough, brush some Oil on the surface and cover it with a damp cheese cloth. Let it rest for 2 hours at room temperature.

After two hours, the Dough must have risen a little bit. That's a good sign. Now, divide this Dough Ball into 4-6 smaller Balls and start Rolling them into a somewhat elliptical shape with a Rolling Pin (I do not have one, so I used an empty Wine bottle). The thickness should be some 3 mm. Just when you have achieved the final form and are happy with it, sprinkle some Kalonji seeds, White Sesame Seeds and finely chopped Coriander Leaves and press them into the Naan with a final roll of the Pin (or the Wine Bottle).

Now, apply water on one side of the Naan and place it on a wide and VERY HOT (to the point of smoking) pan. The Naan will stick to the pan. As soon as you see some bubbles forming, invert the pan so that now the bubbles are exposed to direct flame. Hold it like that and intermittently check the bubbles #until_golden_brown. At this point, either the Naan will separate from the pan on its own and fall (hopefully not to the floor) or you may have to nudge it a little with a spoon (or something) and help it separate. After this, you just have to decide how many you want to make and get going with it.

By now, hopefully, your Dal Makhani must have nicely rested. We are ready for Plating and Service 🙂

Plating

Pour the Dal Makhni in a deep Bowl and Drip some cream in a circular pattern. As I mentioned earlier, I highly recommend that you save your second Tempering for this stage and pour it directly into the Serving Bowl. Sprinkle some dry, roasted Kasuri Maithi, just for a visual interest. Butter Naan goes on a plate but try not to stack your Naans. They will loose some of their essential crispy bits. We are ready to dig in!