Dal Bukhara Recipe, Itc Style Dal Bukhara

Recipe for slow cooked Dal Bukhara, ITC style made with black urad dal – black lentils. With step by step pictures.

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 – Dal Bukhara was in a North Indian restaurant in Mountain View, CA. Dal Bukhara was a revelation. Dal Bukhara was rich, hearty and delicious. Dal Bukhara is a velvety smooth dal. Dal Bukhara 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 Bukhara on wood fire for at least 18 hours. Their Dal Bukhara is ultimate. Dal Bukhara is based on a very simple recipe. Dal Bukhara 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. Slightly mash everything with a potato masher here and there for a creamy dal.

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. Dal Bukhara is ready.

Serve Dal Bukhara hot with roti, chapati.

Here is a printable Dal Bukhara recipe.

• 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 1/4 cup water
• 8 Tomatoes
• 2 teaspoon chilli powder
• 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 2 teaspoon cumin powder
• 1.5 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup cream
• 3 tablespoon unsalted butter

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 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.
9. Serve hot with roti, chapati.

• Author: Kannamma - Suguna Vinodh
• Prep Time: 20 mins
• Cook Time: 2 hours
• Category: Gravy
• Cuisine: Indian

• 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 1/4 cup water
• 8 Tomatoes
• 2 teaspoon chilli powder
• 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 2 teaspoon cumin powder
• 1.5 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup cream
• 3 tablespoon unsalted butter

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 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.
9. Serve hot with roti, chapati.

• Author: Kannamma - Suguna Vinodh
• Prep Time: 20 mins
• Cook Time: 2 hours
• Category: Gravy
• Cuisine: Indian

Find it online : https://www.kannammacooks.com/itc-style-dal-bukhara/

Tamilnadu Style Muslim Chicken Biriyani – தமிழ் பாய் வீட்டு கோழி பிரியாணி

Thahira’s Tamilnadu Style Chicken Biriyani, Muslim Chicken Biryani

Recipe for Tamilnadu Style Chicken Biriyani. Very delicious. With step by step pictures.

Thahira is a very close friend of mine living in San Diego. She is an amazing cook. I have eaten tonnes of this biriyani made by her. We fondly call it as baai veetu biriyani-பாய் வீட்டு பிரியாணி. My toddler calls Thahira’s husband Sadak as Abba and because Abba brings Tamilnadu Style Chicken Biriyani every time he comes home, he named the dish as Abba Mummum. Mummum is food. So even today he calls this Tamilnadu Style Chicken Biriyani as Abba mummum. We have had some wonderful memories that revolve around this Tamilnadu Style Chicken Biriyani. I miss her a lot after moving to India and this Tamilnadu Style Chicken Biriyani is filled with a lot of nostalgic memories. Biriyani made in Tamilnadu is different. The rice is not precooked. Its cooked along with the chicken and because of that the flavors penetrate deep into the rice. This is my kind of Tamilnadu Style Chicken Biriyani. Thahira has two adorable sons Salman and Suhaib and the younger one Suhaib is my sons best buddy. Mine too. He is a rock star. I love you Suhaib.

Here is the recipe for Tamilnadu Style Chicken Biriyani. You will need the following ingredients.

Heat Oil in a pan and add in the spices. Cinnamon, Cloves and Cardamom. Add in the onions and saute until the onions are soft.

When the onions are sauteing, make a paste of ginger and garlic in a blender. Add up to 1/4 cup of water and grind it into a very smooth paste.

Once the onions are soft, Add in the tomatoes and the ginger garlic paste.

Saute the mixture until streaks of oil appear on the top. Then, add in the green chillies and the chicken.

Add in the salt, red chilli powder and the coriander powder. Add in the yogurt. Briefly saute for a minute to coat the chicken.

Cover the pan with a lid and cook on medium flame for 7-8 minutes. Do not add any additional water. Saute once in a while to avoid scorching at the bottom. When the chicken is cooking, soak the rice in cold water.

After 8 minutes, the chicken should be almost cooked. Remove the cooked meat to a bowl and roughly measure how much liquid is left behind. Mine had about 1.5 cups of liquid. Just measure roughly. It need not be accurate. Measurements used – 1 cup rice = 250 ml We are using 2 cups rice and 750 grams meat. We require 1.5 times water to the quantity of rice. So we need to add 3 cups water. There was already 1.5 cups gravy that we measured before. So I added 1.5 cups water to the mixture. Add back the meat. Let the mixture come to a boil.

Drain the rice and add it to the pan. Add in the coriander leaves, mint leaves and juice of a lemon.

I cooked the Tamilnadu Style Chicken Biriyani in the pressure cooker. If using pressure cooker, cover the lid and cook for exactly two whistles on medium flame. Approximately 4-5 minutes. If cooking directly on the pan, then cover the pan with a lid and let it cook for the first four minutes on medium flame. Open the lid. Gently mix once from the bottom, cover the lid again and simmer for 10 minutes on very low flame. Remove the pan from heat and set aside.

Wait for the pressure from the cooker to release naturally. If cooking in a pan, Do not disturb for the next 20 minutes. The rice will get swollen and absorb all the left out moisture. This time is very important. Do not rush.

Serve hot! Enjoy your Tamilnadu Style Chicken Biriyani.

If I was with Thahira, she would say Bismillah !

• 2 cups basmati rice
• 750 grams chicken with bone
• 4 tablespoon peanut oil
• 2 stick cinnamon
• 2 cardamom
• 2 cloves
• 2 medium onion, sliced
• 2 medium tomatoes, chopped
• 1 pod garlic
• 2 inch piece ginger
• 3 green chillies, slit
• 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon red chilli powder
• 2 teaspoon coriander powder
• 1/2 cup plain yogurt
• 15 - 20 mint leaves, coarsely chopped
• 6 - 7 sprigs coriander leaves, coarsely chopped
• Juice of a small lemon

1. Heat Oil in a pan and add in the spices. Cinnamon, Cloves and Cardamom. Add in the onions and saute until the onions are soft.
2. Once the onions are soft, Add in the tomatoes and the ginger garlic paste.
3. Saute the mixture until streaks of oil appear on the top. Then, add in the green chillies and the chicken. Briefly saute for a minute to coat the chicken.
4. Add in the salt, red chilli powder and the coriander powder. Add in the yogurt.
5. Cover the pan with a lid and cook on medium flame for 7-8 minutes. When the chicken is cooking, soak the rice in cold water.
6. After 8 minutes, the chicken should be almost cooked. Remove the cooked meat to a bowl and roughly measure how much liquid is left behind. Mine had about 1.5 cup of liquid. Just measure roughly. It need not be accurate. Measurements used – 1 cup rice = 250 ml. We are using 2 cups rice and 750 grams meat. We require 1.5 times water to the quantity of rice. Let the mixture come to a boil.
7. Drain the rice and add it to the pan. Add in the coriander leaves, mint leaves and juice of a lemon.
8. I cooked the biriyani in the pressure cooker. If using pressure cooker, cover the lid and cook for exactly two whistles. Approximately 4-5 minutes. If cooking directly on the pan, then cover the pan with a lid and let it cook for the first four minutes on medium flame. Open the lid. Gently mix once from the bottom, cover the lid again and simmer for 10 minutes on very low flame.
9. Remove the pan from heat and set aside.
10. Wait for the pressure from the cooker to release naturally. If cooking in a pan, Do not disturb for the next 20 minutes. The rice will get swollen and absorb all the left out moisture. This time is very important. Do not rush.
11. Serve hot!

Notes

Add or reduce green chillies and red chilli powder according to your taste preference. If you do not want it spicy, omit the green chillies.

Always use chicken with the bone. Bone has a lot of flavour. We use skinless chicken for the biriyani.

• Author: Kannamma - Suguna Vinodh
• Prep Time: 20 mins
• Cook Time: 1 hour
• Category: Biriyani
• Cuisine: South Indian