ITC Style Dal Bukhara

I am from a perfect Sambar eating South Indian family where yellow lentils are mainstay. We never cooked with black lentils. The first time I had black lentils was in a North Indian restaurant in Mountain View, CA. It was a revelation. It was rich, hearty and delicious. It was a velvety smooth dal. It was a perfect vehicle for Indian Naan and Roti. Dal Bukhara is a slow cooked black lentil simmered in a tomato based sauce for hours. The world famous ITC Bukhara restaurant in Delhi slow cooks the dal on wood fire for at least 18 hours. Their dal is ultimate. Dal Bukhara is based on a very simple recipe. It just needs to cook for a long time to get that velvety smooth texture and taste on the dal.

Soak the Black urad dal in water over-nite. Then pressure cook the dal until soft and set aside. Use 3.5 cups of water for every cup of dal in a pressure cooker. It should take about 6-7 whistles or 15 minutes on medium flame.

Take a very heavy bottomed pan. We are going to slow cook the dal. So its important the sauce doesn’t get scorched at the bottom. Heat the pan with a tablespoon of oil and add in the cumin seeds and the cinnamon.

Add in the onions and fry till soft. About 3 minutes on medium flame. Add in the ginger garlic paste and briefly fry for a minute.

This sauce is a tomato based sauce. So make sure you pick ripe tomatoes. We need a good 7-8 tomatoes. Run the whole tomatoes in a blender and add it to the pan.

Immediately, add in the chilli powder, turmeric powder, cumin powder and the salt.

Add in the cooked dal.

To the dal, add in 500 ml of water.

Now, reduce the flame to the lowest possible. Cover the pan with a lid and let it simmer for one hour. Keep stirring every 10 minutes to avoid the dal scorching at the bottom.

After one hour, the dal would have become creamy and thick.

Add in 1/2 a cup of cream and 3-4 tablespoon of butter. Now don’t skip this step. This is what makes this dish what it is. Simmer briefly for a minute and remove the pan from heat.

Serve hot with roti, chapati.

ITC Style Dal Bukhara

 

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Prep time

20 mins

Cook time

2 hours

Total time

2 hours 20 mins

 

Recipe for slow cooked Dal Bukhara, ITC style made with black urad dal – black lentils. Measurements Used – 1 Cup = 250ml

Author: Kannamma – Suguna Vinodh

Recipe type: Gravy

Cuisine: Indian

Serves: 6

Ingredients

• 1 cup Urad Dal
• 2 tablespoon oil
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 2 sticks cinnamon
• 2 medium onions, chopped
• 1 pod garlic and 2 inch piece ginger, pureed to a paste with ¼ cup water
• 8 Tomatoes
• 2 teaspoon chilli powder
• 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 2 teaspoon cumin powder
• 1.5 teaspoon salt
• ½ cup cream
• 3 tablespoon unsalted butter

Instructions

1. Heat the pan with a tablespoon of oil and add in the cumin seeds and the cinnamon.
2. Add in the onions and fry till soft. About 3 minutes on medium flame. Add in the ginger garlic paste and briefly fry for a minute.
3. Run the whole tomatoes in a blender and add it to the pan.
4. Immediately, add in the chilli powder, turmeric powder, cumin powder and the salt.
5. Add in the cooked dal. To the dal, add in 500 ml of water.
6. Now, reduce the flame to the lowest possible. Cover the pan with a lid and let it simmer for one hour. Keep stirring every 10 minutes to avoid the dal scorching at the bottom.
7. After one hour, the dal would have become creamy and thick.
8. Add in ½ a cup of cream and 3-4 tablespoon of butter. Now don’t skip this step. This is what makes this dish what it is. Simmer briefly for a minute and remove the pan from heat.
9. Serve hot with roti, chapati.

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