Punjabi Chole -No Onion No Garlic

By now, the veggies that I had got from Mustafa and some from India are all over and some repeated over and over again. There is nothing interesting to come up with these dishes and so now it is time to make some interesting legumes. However, legumes like chole or rajma, cannot taste even close to good without the two important ingredients, onion and garlic. Myth! True it is that onions and garlic lift up the flavors of this dish but this recipe without onion and garlic tastes equally good, maybe even better. In fact, I got confused momentarily that I had added garlic by mistake. Such superb was the taste and I am thinking of making my chole with this recipe henceforth. Why shed those tears while cutting onions when you can make it with a smiling face! :)

Ingredients

1 cup chick peas or chole (I added about 1/2 cup more as I wanted to finish it off)

2 big tomatoes or 3 small

1 medium bunch of coriander (I used chinese parsley as coriander was not available)

1 heaped tablespoon ginger paste

2-3 green chillies

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp cumin powder

1 tsp coriander powder

1 tbsp pomegranate seeds powder

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

1 tsp red chilli powder (I used kashmiri chilli)

Salt to taste

2 tbsp olive oil or any oil

Ginger juliennes for garnishing

Direction 

Wash and soak the chick peas overnight or at least for 5-6 hours. Drain and pressure cook with freshly added water until done. 

Meanwhile, make a paste with the ginger, coriander, tomatoes, and green chillies. Heat oil in a pan and splutter the cumin seeds. Now add the paste and saute on medium flame for 3-5 minutes till raw smell disappears. Now add the dry spices and salt and mix well. Fry further for about 2-3 minutes till everything well incorporated. Now add the boiled chick peas, reserving 10-12 pieces. Mix well. Make a paste with the reserved chick peas either with a potato masher or the blender and add it to the pan along with the boiled chick pea liquid. Add any additional water if required or dry up the excess water if you desire a drier consistency. Garnish with ginger juliennes and serve hot with naan/kulcha/roti or jeera rice.

                                          

Dal Makhani

There must have been umpteen times when you have had dal makhani in Indian restaurants and might have tried to recreate it at home as well. While I have made this a few times previously as well, but wasn't able to recreate the restaurant quality taste. This recipe is an update of my previously posted recipe as I found the taste and texture amazingly better than my previous attempt. I did a few alterations with the procedure and the ingredients and the result I am sharing with you today as I am fully satisfied and happy with my changes. So here is the "tried and tested" Dal Makhani recipe through my Experiments with Food!

                                      

Ingredients

1 cup black urad dal

1/4 cup rajma

2 medium onions, chopped

1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste

6 tbsp tomato puree (I prefer store bought)

1/2 cup cream, divided

1 tsp red chilli powder

1 tsp garam masala powder

1 tsp coriander powder

1 tbsp kasuri methi crushed

Salt to taste

1 tbsp butter

1 tbsp olive oil or any other refined oil

1 tsp cumin seeds

Chopped coriander leaves for garnishing

1-2 tbsp fried onions for garnishing (you can use cream as well; I didn't want to make it heavier)

Directions

Wash and clean and soak the urad dal and rajma overnight with sufficient water.

In a pressure cooker, put the washed and drained pulses and pressure cook with sufficient water until tender. Remove from heat and let the pressure release on its own.

In a medium skillet, heat the butter and oil and add the cumin seeds and let it crackle. Add the chopped onions and fry till translucent. Add the tomato puree and fry till the water dries up and oil starts separating. Add the ginger garlic paste and fry further. Now tip in the salt, coriander powder, red chilli powder, and garam masala and stir for few more minutes. Add the boiled daal and mash it a bit with the back of the spoon. Bring it to a boil and add the cream. Give a good stir and simmer and cover cook for 5-10 minutes. Add the crushed kasuri methi and check for seasoning. If you find the gravy too thick, you can add 1/2 cup warm water. Also, if you intend to have it a few hours later, the daal will get a little thicker and so adjust the water accordingly. Remove from heat and garnish with coriander leaves and fried onions (or cream). Serve with roti, naan, rice or pulao.