Daal Makhani

In a medium bowl, add in the black gram and red kidney beans with 4 cups of water, and let it soak overnight or for 8 hours.

In a pressure cooker, on medium to high heat, add in the lentils along with the water. Add one more cup of water to cover the lentils completely. Add in a tsp of salt. Cover and let it whistle at least 6 to 7 times. Let it cool in the pressure cooker. If you do not have a pressure cooker, cook it in a large saucepan covered on medium heat and let it cook for 45 minutes to an hour. The water may reduce faster when boiling the lentils in this method. Add more water to make sure that the lentils are always covered. The lentil should be soft to the touch and should be completely smashed between your index finger and thumb on a light touch.

Grind the ginger, garlic and green chilies into a paste in a chopper/grinder.

In a medium saucepan, on medium heat, add in the ghee. Now add in the cumin seeds, asafoetida, cloves, cinnamon, cardamom pods, bay leaves and sauté for 30 seconds. Add in the ginger-garlic-green chili paste, and sauté for another minute. Add in the tomato paste and sauté for another minute to form a paste mixture. Add in the garam masala, remaining ½ tsp of salt (more If required) and red chili powder and mix well. Add in the boiled lentils, along with all the water and mix. Add in the dried fenugreek leaves and stir. Let the daal cook over medium heat for 25 minutes, stirring every couple of minutes to make sure that the daal does not stick to the bottom of the pan. Add the heavy cream halfway through the 25 minutes. Add 1 cup water if you see the daal is looking too thick.

Once the daal is done, garnish with the cilantro, drizzle with 1 tbsp heavy cream, and top with ginger slivers. The daal is ready to eat with naan, roti, or simply plain rice!

To make the Butter Garlic Naan: In a small bowl, add the yeast and sugar in warm water, and stir. Let it sit for 10 minutes. It should be foamy after 10 minutes.

In a large mixing bowl, add in the flours, salt and whisk to blend. Add in the yogurt, melted butter, yeast mixture, garlic and mix the dough with 2 hands to bring it together into a dough. Add ¼ cup more water if desired to mix well. Kneading will take about 10 minutes to bring the dough together. Oil the same mixing bowl, and let the dough rest for 2 hours, covered with a tea towel or plastic wrap.

Divide the dough into 12 pieces and roll them into balls. Keep them on a parchment paper and covered with a towel for 10 minutes.

Heat a flat griddle on the stove on medium heat. Now flatten each round dough piece. Sprinkle some flour on the board where you will roll out the dough with a rolling pin. Start rolling out the dough into a round shape, or elongated shape. It should roll out to about 7 to 8 inches diameter. Spread about 1 tsp grated garlic and 1 tsp chopped cilantro onto the rolled dough and press it lightly with your hands. Gently brush the griddle with vegetable oil. Now lay the rolled out dough garlic-side down onto the griddle and let it puff up for 2 minutes. You will see air pockets form on the surface. Turn it over and cook for another minute, pressing it lightly on the surface with your spatula. Air pockets will form. Lightly brush the garlic side with melted butter and remove it from the griddle.

Repeat the same with all the naans, and they are ready to eat!