Daal Makhani and Turmeric Potatoes
Last night, I cooked Daal Makhani and Vij's Turmeric Potatoes along with basmati rice for dinner. I think they both turned out pretty good for a first attempt.
Vij's Turmeric Potatoes are really easy to make, and his instructions are excellent. He recommends using new potatoes... I couldn't get my hands on any, so I used the best potatoes I could find - organic yellow nuggets. The potatoes get sliced into 1/4 inch rounds. They're tossed into a heavy pan with sauteed onions, turmeric, salt, a touch of cayenne, and 1/4 cup of water, mixed and covered for 15 minutes until soft but not losing their shape.
I had never cooked nor eaten Daal Makhani before last night. It turns out that "daal" is a catch-all phrase that refers to the spectrum of legumes and beans - not just lentils. Anyhow, this dish consists mainly of black beans and a small amount of red kidney beans. Some people add split chick peas. "Makhani", as I understand, means "buttered;" my impression is that this refers more to the intended texture than the ingredient, as only a dash of butter is called for.
I roughly followed the recipe from this website (and accompanying video): http://www.ifood.tv/recipe/dal_makhani
I brought a sample of my Daal Makhani for Ashok to taste. After much coercing, I was able to get him to try it. His main comments were that I added too much tomato paste, and that the daal weren't mooshy enough.
Here's how he reccomends making it:
Boil the black beans in a pot of water until they're very soft. Mash them gently. Open a can of cooked red kidney beans, mash them thoroughly, and add a relatively small amount compared to the black beans. Heat a pan with oil. Add cumin seeds and fenugreek seeds to toast. Add ginger/ garlic paste, then add the onions and sautee. Add (a small amount of) tomato puree*, butter, and whipping cream. Finally, add the cooked daal. Season with salt, pepper, and cayenne to taste. Garnish with cilantro.
*This tomato puree seems to be a key ingredient in several Indian dishes. It can be made by roughly chopping whole tomatoes and cooking them with butter. Once it has softened, blend it into a puree, and put it back onto the stove until all the water has evaporated (thus developing and concentrating the flavor).