Easy recipes: Dal Makhani

Thursday, April 17, 2025

instant pot dal makhani served in a navy blue rimmed white glass bowl with a brass spoon on the side on a white marble board

3 tbsp butter – salted or unsalted
½ tsp cumin seeds
2 to 3 cloves
2 to 3 green cardamoms
1 black cardamom
1 inch cinnamon
1 bay leaf
½ cup or 50 grams onions – finely chopped
1 tsp or 1 to 2 green chilies – chopped
2 tsp ginger-garlic paste or 6 to 7 small to medium-sized peeled garlic + 1 inch peeled ginger – crushed to a paste in mortar-pestle
200 grams or 2 large tomatoes – roughly chopped and pureed or 1 cup tomato puree
½ tsp red chili powder
2 to 3 pinches nutmeg – grated or ground nutmeg powder
1 cup water or add as required
¼ to ⅓ cup light cream (25% to 30% fat) or half & half or 2 tablespoons whipping or heavy cream
¼ tsp dry fenugreek leaves – crushed, (kasturi methi), optional
salt as required

1 to 2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves
1 tbsp light cream (25% to 30% fat) or few teaspoons of whipping cream – optional
1 inch ginger julienne – optional

Soak both the whole urad dal and rajma overnight in enough water for 8 to 9 hours or overnight. Later drain them well.
Rinse both the lentils a couple of times in water.
Drain again and then add them in a 3 liter pressure cooker. Add water and stir well.
Pressure cook for 18 to 20 whistles on a high flame, till both the urad dal and rajma have cooked thoroughly and softened. If they are under-cooked, then add about ½ cup water again and pressure cook for 4 to 5 whistles more.
The urad dal should melt in the mouth and should not give any bite or resistance when eaten. You can also just mash the urad dal with a spoon or with your fingers to check the doneness. The same rule applies for kidney beans too. Keep the cooked lentils and beans aside.
In a blender or mixer jar, take chopped tomatoes and blend to a fine and smooth puree. Set aside.
You can also add ready 1 cup tomato puree instead of blending the tomatoes. No need to blanch the tomatoes while pureeing.

In a pan, now heat butter. Keep heat to medium-low.
Add the whole spices – jeera, cloves, green cardamoms, black cardamom, cinnamon and bay leaf.
Fry for some seconds till the spices sputter and become aromatic.
Add finely chopped onions.
Stir and sauté the onions on a low or medium-low heat often till they become light golden.
Add the ginger garlic paste. Stir again and sauté for some seconds till the raw aroma of ginger-garlic goes away.
Add the chopped green chilies and sauté for a minute.
Add the prepared tomato puree and mix well.
Add red chili powder and 2 to 3 pinches of grated nutmeg or nutmeg powder.
Mix very well and sauté this mixture on a low to medium flame, till you see fat releasing from the sides.
Add the cooked lentils and kidney beans together with the stock. Also add 1 cup water or as needed.

Mix very well and simmer the dal makhani uncovered on a low heat.
Keep on stirring often, so that the lentils don’t stuck to the bottom of the pan.
Once it has begun to thicken, add salt as required.
Stir very well and continue to simmer on a low heat. Keep on stirring when the lentils are simmering on low heat.
When simmering you can add more water if the consistency looks thick or dry. The longer you keep dal makhani to simmer, the better it tastes.
I kept it for about an overall 25 minutes on a low heat. Do keep on stirring at intervals.
When the consistency has thickened enough, add cream. Dal makhani is not too thick or too thin. It has a medium consistency.
Mix the cream very well. Then turn off the heat.
Add crushed dried fenugreek leaves (kasuri methi and mix again.
Cover with a lid and set the Dal Makhani aside, if you are proceeding to the dhungar method. Or else you can serve Dal Makhani straightaway.

Lentils: Use split urad dal with the husks or beluga lentils (black lentils), whole red lentils (masoor dal) and whole moong lentils. The taste with all these lentils will be different and the cooking time will also change.
Whole Spices: Substitute whole spices with ½ teaspoon of garam masala powder. Add garam masala powder at the step when kasturi methi (dried methi leaves) are added. Add ½ teaspoon curry powder if you do not have garam masala.
Fresh tomatoes: Use canned tomatoes or packaged tomato puree (1 cup) in place of fresh tomatoes. You may need to add some more water as packaged tomato puree is usually thick.

Easy recipes