Easy Dal Makhani | Indian Lentil Curry | Makhni Dal
Dal Makhani is a popular classic recipe from Indian cuisine prepared using black urad dal (black lentils), rajma (kidney beans), and some aromatic spices.Dal Makhani can be served with Indian bread like naan, roti, chapatis, and ghee rice or brown butter rice.
Servings: 8
Calories: 209kcal
Ingredients
- ¼ cup Rajma or Kidney beans
- 1 ½ cups Black sabut urad dal or split urad dal
- 4 to 5 cups Water
Ingredients for chopping
- 2 Onions
- 1 inch Ginger , finely chopped
- 6 to 8 Garlic cloves , finely chopped
- 3 to 4 Green chilies , slit or chopped
- 6 to 8 strands Cilantro or Coriander leaves, chopped
- 3 Tomatoes , roughly chopped
Other Ingredients used
- 2 tablespoon Oil or Butter
- 1 teaspoon Cumin seeds or Jeera
- 2 Green cardamom or Elaichi
- 2 Cloves or Laung
- 1 Bay leaf or Tej patta
- 1 to 1 ½ teaspoon Red chile powder
- ½ to 1 teaspoon Garam masala powder
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1 to 2 teaspoon Kasuri Methi or Dried fenugreek leaves
- ¼ to ⅓ cup Heavy cream
Instructions
Cooking Dal
- In a bowl, wash and soak rajma (kidney beans) overnight. If you are using sabut urad dal, you can wash and soak this in water overnight.¼ cup Rajma
- Next morning drain the water. In the pressure cooker, add soaked kidney beans and urad dal with 4 to 5 cups of water and pressure cook for 4 to 5 whistles—one on high flame and rest all on medium flame. Switch off the flame and let the pressure release naturally.1 ½ cups Black sabut urad dal, 4 to 5 cups Water
Making Of Dal Makhani
- In a blender or mixer, add chopped tomatoes and blend to a smooth puree. Keep this aside.3 Tomatoes
- In a pan on medium flame, add oil or butter or both. Once hot, add cumin seeds, cardamom pods, cloves, bay leaf, and saute for a few seconds. To this, add onions and saute until translucent.2 tablespoon Oil, 1 teaspoon Cumin seeds, 2 Green cardamom, 2 Cloves, 1 Bay leaf, 2 Onions
- Add ginger, garlic, green chile, and saute for 30 seconds to 1 minute.1 inch Ginger, 6 to 8 Garlic cloves, 3 to 4 Green chilies
- To this, add tomato puree, cooked dal, one cup of water, red chile powder, garam masala powder, salt, and mix well. Bring it to a boil. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes on medium-low flame. Keep stirring to avoid it from burning from the bottom.1 to 1 ½ teaspoon Red chile powder, ½ to 1 teaspoon Garam masala powder, 1 teaspoon Salt
- Now add kasuri methi, heavy cream, and mix. Simmer it for another 5 minutes or until it becomes creamy and thick. You can check out the making of dal makhani here.1 to 2 teaspoon Kasuri Methi, ¼ to ⅓ cup Heavy cream
- Easy dal makhani is now ready. Garnish it with more heavy cream, ginger juliennes, and coriander leaves, and serve with naan, roti, chapatis, ghee rice or brown butter rice, and enjoy.6 to 8 strands Cilantro
Notes
- Adjust the spices to taste. You can skip dried fenugreek leaves if you can’t find them.
- You can either add whole garam masala spices or garam masala powder, or both. Adjust to taste
- If you cannot find black urad dal, you can also use urad dal (split/whole without skin) OR red lentils (masoor dal) OR moong dal.
- I have used heavy cream. You can use half and half or thick whole milk in the recipe.
- Tomatoes can be replaced with canned tomato puree. Using canned tomato puree will enhance the taste too.
- Traditionally sabut or whole urad dal is used. I have used split ones as it was available in my pantry today 🙂
- If you do not have rajma or kidney beans, you can skip it. Canned kidney beans can also be used in the recipe.
- The consistency of dal makhani is neither too thick nor thin.
- Add more cream for additional richness.
- You can increase the amount of butter up to 4 tablespoon if needed.
- Dal should be cooked properly. That is, when you press the cooked dal between your fingers, you should be able to mash it easily.
- Read the post above for few FAQ's and how to make dal makhani in instant pot.
Nutrition
Calories: 209kcal | Carbohydrates: 27g | Protein: 11g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 8mg | Sodium: 364mg | Potassium: 209mg | Fiber: 10g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 595IU | Vitamin C: 13mg | Calcium: 54mg | Iron: 4mg