The Dishoom Black Daal

Fifi Crouton says: Dishoom ftw. Add extra cinnamon. I use 3 bulbs of roasted garlic instead of the paste. (Just roast whole then cut the tops off and squish em out)

  1. Place the daal into a large bowl, cover with water and whisk for 10 seconds. Let the daal settle, then pour out the water. Repeat three or four times, until the water is clear.

  2. Tip the daal into a large saucepan and pour in at least 4 litres of cold water. Bring to the boil and steadily cook for 2-3 hours. Skim any impurities that rise to the surface, and add more boiling water as required to keep the grains completely covered. The daal grains need to become completely soft, with the skins coming away from the white grain. When pressed, the white part should be creamy, rather than crumbly. When cooked, turn off the heat and allow the pan to sit for 15 minutes.

  3. In a bowl, mix the ginger and garlic pastes, tomato purée, salt, chilli powder and garam masala to a paste.

  4. Carefully pour off the daal cooking water then pour on enough freshly boiling water to cover the daal by 3-4cm. Bring to the boil over a medium-high heat and add the aromatic paste and butter. Cook rapidly for 30 minutes, stirring regularly to prevent the mixture from sticking.

  5. Lower the heat and simmer for 1 to 1.5 hours, stirring very regularly to prevent it from sticking and adding a little boiling water if the liquid level gets near the level of the grains. Eventually, it will become thick and creamy. The creaminess must come from the grains disintegrating into the liquid, not from the water being allowed to evaporate leaving only the grains behind.

  6. Add the cream and cook for a further 15 minutes.

  7. Serve with chapatis or other Indian breads.

Course🍽️Main Course

Diets🥕Vegetarian...

Category🍲Daal

Cuisine🇮🇳Indian

Occasions🍲Comfort Food📆Everyday

Season🔁Year-round

DifficultyEasy ⏰ 1h

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