Dal makhani is a popular dish made in India especially in North Indian states like Punjab. My hubby had introduced me to this dish soon after my marriage. He loves this dish and I too love it since then. My favorite vegetarian dishes are paneer butter masala and this rich, buttery and creamy gravy made with whole black lentils and kidney beans. Today’s post is about how to prepare dal makhani. You can find step-by-step photos to prepare dal makhani in this recipe post.
Traditionally preparing dal makhani takes at least 24 hours. But we can prepare this dish with lentils and beans with instant pot or pressure cookers within 1 to 2 hours. Butter and milk cream is added to this recipe. Some people even add milk.
Dal makhani is rich and creamy gravy made with whole black lentils and kidney beans. It tastes good when it is cooked in a slow cooker.
This recipe is also known as maa ki dal in some places. The recipe to prepare dal makhani is very easy. Soak urad dal and rajma overnight or for 6 to 8 hours.
Then pressure cook till the urad dal and rajma are cooked. Heat oil and butter and add spices. Then sauté onion till it turns pinkish.
Add ginger garlic paste in sauted onions. I prefer to use freshly crushed ginger garlic paste.
Add tomatoes and saute till it becomes mushy. Add spice powders and mix well.
Slightly mash the cooked lentils and kidney beans and pour it in the kadai where tomatoes and onion is getting sauted.
Mix well and simmer on low flame.
Add fresh cream, kasuri methi and salt and mix well.
You can serve this dish with jeera rice or paneer paratha.
Dal Makhani
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup whole black lentil or sabut urad dal or black gram
- 4 tablespoon rajma / kidney beans
- 1 medium sized onion finely chopped
- 2 medium sized tomatoes finely chopped
- 2 tablespoon Butter
- 3 tablespoon fresh cream to add in curry
- 1 tablespoon fresh cream for garnish
For ginger-garlic paste:
- 8 pods garlic peeled and crushed into paste
- 1/2 inch ginger peeled and crushed into paste
Spices:
- 1 inch cinnamon
- 3 cardamom pods
- 4 cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds / jeera
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 teaspoon kasuri methi crushed
Spice powders:
- 1 teaspoon coriander powder
- 1 teaspoon red chili powder
- 2 tablespoon oil
- To taste Salt
Instructions
Boil dal and beans by pressure cooking:
- To start making dal makhani, soak lentils and kidney beans in 5 cups water for 8 hours or overnight.
- Drain and later pressure cook the urad dal (lentils) and kidney beans by adding 3 cups water for 5 to 6 whistles or until the dal and rajma are cooked nicely. Let the pressure from cooker get released on its own.
- Mash some dal and rajma by using a masher.
Let us now cook dal makhani:
- Heat a kadai and add oil. After oil gets heated, add butter.
- Add spices and let them get infused in oil.
- Now add finely chopped onion and sauté till onion turns pinkish.
- Next add ginger garlic paste and sauté till raw aroma from garlic goes away.
- Now add chopped tomatoes, mix and cover the kadai. After sometime sauté till tomatoes turn mushy.
- Next add the spice powders and mix well. Sauté till oil gets released from onion and tomato mixture in the sides.
- Now pour the cooked dal and beans from the pressure cooker along with any water from the cooker. Mix well. Add ½ cup water if dal becomes too thick.
- After sometime, dal will start thickening. Keep stirring occasionally, else dal will stick to the bottom of the kadai.
- Add ¼ th cup fresh cream and mix well. Switch off the gas.
- Take kasuri methi in between palms of the hands and crush it. Add this on top of the dal makhani.
- Garnish with fresh cream.
Delicious! I love dal makhani and it is so perfect for the season 🙂
thanks