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Dishoom House Black Daal

Dishoom House Black Daal is a creamy black daal, the Dishoom version of daal makhani and their signature restaurant dish! It's rich, filled with flavorful spices (but not spicy!), and oh so creamy. I loved this dish and was honestly surprised by it. (I guessed I'd love the Dishoom Chicken Ruby, but was more skeptical of this dish.)
Prepare time to make this dish - it will take almost 5 hours! You need to be close to the stove to be stirring it frequently, so it doesn't stick to the edges of the pot or burn. You can make it the day before you need to serve it, or make it in the morning and keep it warm until mealtime in the slow cooker warm setting (this is what I did and it worked great).
To make this like the restaurant does with more depth of flavor, you'll need to make your own garam masala. If you want to make it faster, you can use store-bought garam masala.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 4 hours 30 minutes
Total Time 4 hours 50 minutes
Servings 8
Author Dishoom Restaurant

Ingredients

Homemade Garam Masala (If you're simplifying the recipe, don't make this and use store-bought Garam Masala)

  • 1 black cardamom pod
  • 4 whole cloves
  • 5 g black peppercorns (1 teaspoon)
  • 2 large cinnamon sticks
  • 10 g coriander seeds (2 teaspoons)
  • 5 g cumin seeds (1 teaspoon)
  • 4 g fennel seeds (just under 1 teaspoon)
  • 2 g star anise (1/2 teaspoon)
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 2 g mace blades (1/2 teaspoon)
  • 10 g poppy seeds (2 teaspoons)
  • 2 g dried rose petals

Dishoom House Black Daal

  • 300 g whole (black) urad daal (about 1.5 cups)
  • 4 liters cold water
  • 12 g garlic paste (2.5 teaspoons)
  • 10 g ginger paste (2 teaspoons)
  • 70 g tomato puree (not paste and not sauce - look for canned tomato puree - I got the Kroger brand)
  • 8 g salt (1.5 teaspoons)
  • 2/3 teaspoon deggi mirch chilli powder
  • 1 teaspoon garam masala (slightly upped from original recipe)
  • 90 g unsalted butter (7 tablespoons)
  • 90 g heavy cream (1/2 cup)

Instructions

Homemade Garam Masala

  • If you are making this exact to the restaurant version, and making your own garam masala, you'll want to do this first.
  • ut everything except the poppy seeds and rose petals into a cold, dry frying pan and place over a medium heat to warm, shaking the pan occasionally.
    Toast for 2 minutes, then turn off the heat.
  • Add the poppy seeds and rose petals, and let the mixture cool in the pan.
  • Transfer the cooled spice mix to a  or coffee grinder and grind to a fine powder.

House Black Daal

  • Put the dal into a large bowl, cover with water and whisk for 10 seconds. Let the dal settle, then pour out the water. Repeat three or four times, until the water is clear.
  • Tip the dal into a large saucepan and pour in at least four litres of cold water. Bring to a boil and cook steadily for two to three hours. Skim off any impurities that rise to the surface, and add more boiling water as required to keep the grains well covered. The dal 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 set aside for 15 minutes.
  • In a bowl, mix the garlic and ginger pastes, tomato puree, salt, chilli powder and garam masala into a paste.
  • Carefully pour off the dal cooking water, then pour on enough freshly boiled water to cover the dal by 3-4cm. Bring to a boil over a medium-high heat, then add the aromatic paste and butter. Cook rapidly for 30 minutes, stirring regularly to prevent the mixture from sticking.
  • Lower the heat and simmer for one to one and a half hours more, stirring regularly to prevent it from sticking, and adding a little boiling water if the liquid level gets near the level of the grains. Eventually, the dal will turn thick and creamy. The creaminess must come from the grains disintegrating into the liquid and enriching it, not from the water being allowed to evaporate, leaving only the grains behind.
  • Add the cream and cook for a further 15 minutes. Serve with naan or other Indian breads. When reheating any leftover daal, you may need to add a little more liquid; use cream or cream and water, rather than just water alone.
  • (If transferring to a slow cooker, add to slow cooker and keep on warm setting until ready to serve. Before serving you may need to add just a little more cream to loosen it up.)
    Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.