Dal Makhani and Naan

I love lentils, and if they are Indian hot spicy lentils, then I love them even better!!

Since I have my electric pressure cooker, I make them in this pot. I was always afraid of pressure cooker, and I didn't like the idea of cooking lentils and chickpeas in a regular pot wasting energy. Now, I can eat them often.

Dal Makhani 

1 cup urad dal (black gram lentils)
1/2 cup red kidney beans
3 cups of water
2 cups of tomato paste or 4 tomatoes chopped and blended
ghee
1 onion chopped
1 piece of ginger (3 cm) chopped
3 garlic cloves chopped
1 teaspoon cumin seeds grinded
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon garam masala
1 teaspoon coriander seeds grinded
1 teaspoon dry chilli powder (kashmiri)
2 teaspoons of salt

Clean the urad dal and red kidney beans, and soak them for 8 hours or overnight.

In the pot, in a sautee mode, sautee the onion, garlic and ginger. When they are translucent, add the cumin, turmeric, garam masala, dry chili powder, and salt. Turn off the pot, and let the spices release their aroma for 5 minutes.

Add the tomato paste, the water, and the lentils with beans. Put them in high pressure mode for 15 minutes. Let them in the pot for 5 hours. Serve warm with basmati rice.

Naan

1 teaspoon of sugar
1/2 cup of warm water
2 teaspoons of dry yeast
1 tablespoon of sourdough starter (optional)
1/2 cup of yogurt
2 1/2 cup of flour
water as needed.

Mix the warm water, sugar and yeast. Let it be foamy. Add the sourdough if you have it.

Mix the yogurt with the foamy yeast mix. Add the flour, and add water if needed. You need a sticky dough. Let it rise for 2 hours. Divide it in 10 balls, and flatten them with a roll pin. In a iron cast pan, brush with a little oil and cook the naan until it expands. Flip it over, and do it again.

TIP: I'm preparing this dough in advance, and freeze it for 2 days. Then, I let it defrost, and prepare the naans. The naans are much softer and less chewier.