RECIPE: Black dal with Not Your Nana's Piccalilli Kraut

Black dal with Not Your Nana's Piccalilli Kraut

This is a special recipe because it's Dishoom's house black dal. If you've never been to this Bombay restaurant it's well worth checking out next time you're in Edinburgh, London or Birmingham. Drool-worthy, spice-kissed gorgeousness awaits!

Urad dal can sometimes be hard to come across but we found a giant bag of them in our local Asian supermarket, which supplies a lot of ingredients for Indian cooking. Urad dal is a small bean with a black outer coating and white inside that gets very creamy when cooked, giving the delicious thick texture to the finished dal.

Urad dal (mungo bean, black urad bean)

This is also a neat dish to get more plant protein and fibre into your diet, which when topped off with a helping of live cultures from our Not Your Nana's Piccalilli Kraut makes for a damn fine gut-friendly meal!

Because it takes a bit of time to prepare we'd recommend making a double batch so that you can freeze some for later and enjoy over and over again.

Ingredients (serves 5)

Urad dal x 300g (also known as mungo or urad beans)

Garlic, pureed x 12g

Ginger, pureed x 10g

Tomato paste x 70g

Salt x 1 tsp

Chilli powder x 2/3 tsp

Garam masala x 1/3 tsp

Butter x 90g

Double cream x 90ml

Not Your Nana's Piccalilli Kraut x 200g

To serve... chapatis, roti, flatbread etc

Method

1. Place dal in a colander or sieve and rinse with water until the water runs clear

2. Place in a large saucepan (or pressure cooker) and add 4 litres of cold water. Bring to a boil and cook for 2-3 hours (1-1.5 hours in a pressure cooker). If any scum rises to the surface, skim it off with a spoon. Add more water if needed

3. When you can smush the grains between your fingers and it inside is creamy, you're good to go. Turn off the heat and leave to one side for 15 mins.

4. In a bowl mix together the garlic, ginger, tomato, salt and spices

5. Pour off the cooking water on the dal and add freshly boiled water, enough to cover the dal by 3cm

6. Bring to a boil and lower to medium high. Add the spice paste and butter and stir well, cooking for roughly 30 mins - stir often.

7. Lower the heat and simmer for another hour, stirring regularly and adding more water if the liquid gets low. you're looking for a thick, creamy consistency as the grains start to breakdown.

8. Add the cream, cook for a further 15 mins and serve topped with a healthy spoonful of Not Your Nana's Piccalilli Kraut!

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