PREP

Wash and soak 2 cups of whole black gram dal and ½ cup of dry red kidney beans in water for 6-7 hours or overnight.

Pressure cook these lentils (in an instant pot or traditional pressure cooker) with 4 cups of water, 2 bay leaves, 1-inch cinnamon stick, crushed garlic pod and 3-4 cloves until well cooked. Keep aside

Crush 3-4 pods of garlic and 1-inch ginger in a mortar pestle, keep aside.

Soak white watermelon seeds (alternatively, you can also use cashews) to 30 mins in warm water. Blend this to a smooth paste and set aside.

 COOK 

Add 1 tsp of neutral oil or vegan butter to a heated saucepan, add 1tsp of cumin seeds and crushed ginger-garlic paste.

Sauté for 2-3 minutes until the raw garlic smell is gone or they turn slightly brown.  

Add 1 cup chopped red onions and sauté until translucent.  

Next add 1.5 cups finely chopped tomatoes, ½ tsp turmeric, ½ tsp red chili powder, 1 tbsp coriander powder, ½ tsp cumin powder and 1 tsp garam masala and salt to taste. Cook until the tomatoes turn mushy and spices are aromatic. 

Stir in the cooked dal along with the water (from boiling). Gently mash some of the dal to get a thicker consistency (you could also additionally blend ½ cup of lentils to form a smooth paste).

Bring the dal to a boil and then simmer and low heat for about 10 mins. Add more water to adjust consistency (Slow simmered cooking is authentic to traditional dal makhani)

Stir in 1 tbsp of vegan butter, 1 tsp of crushed dried fenugreek leaves (kasoori methi) and 1 tbsp of blended watermelon cream. Give everything a good mix and cook for 5 mins. 

Turn off the heat, check salt (add more if needed) and garnish with grated ginger, drizzle of cream and slit green chillies (optional) 

 Serve with warm rice or roti or naan.