Dal Nawabi

A royal lentil delicacy made with black gram, Bengal gram, and kidney beans, slow-cooked with rich spices, curd, cream, and paneer for a truly luxurious dish.

Ingredients

• 1 cup split black gram lentils (urad dal)
• ½ cup Bengal gram (chana dal)
• ½ cup red kidney beans (rajma)
• 1 piece ginger
• 4 onions
• 7–8 garlic cloves
• 6 tomatoes
• Small piece tamarind
• 2 green chilies, finely chopped
• Fresh coriander leaves, for garnish
• 50 g cottage cheese (paneer), cubed
• ½ cup curd
• 1 cup fresh cream
• ½ tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 2 tsp salt (or to taste)
• ½ tsp red chili powder
• ½ tsp black pepper powder
• 2 tsp sugar
• 4 tbsp clarified butter (ghee)

Method

1. Soak urad dal, chana dal, and kidney beans for 6–7 hours. Pressure-cook with turmeric and salt until soft. Set aside.
2. Grind ginger, garlic, and onions into a paste. Chop tomatoes and green chilies. Soak tamarind in ½ cup water for 30 minutes and strain the pulp.
3. Heat ghee in a pan, fry paneer cubes until golden, and remove.
4. In the same ghee, crackle cumin seeds. Add the onion paste and sauté until light pink.
5. Add tomatoes and cook for a few minutes. Stir in curd and keep stirring to prevent curdling.
6. Add red chili powder, black pepper powder, sugar, tamarind pulp, and a little cream. Cook for 2–3 minutes.
7. Mix in the boiled dals and fried paneer cubes. Simmer gently for 5 minutes.
8. Finish with cream and garnish with coriander leaves.
9. Serve hot with naan, roti, or steamed rice.