Dal Makhani Recipe (Restaurant Style)
Updated: April 28, 2023, By Swasthi
Dal Makhani Recipe with stovetop and instant pot instructions. Dal Makhani is a classic North Indian dish made with whole urad dal, rajma, butter and spices. It is one of the most popular lentil dishes originated in the Punjab region of India and Pakistan. This Punjabi Dal Makhani recipe is a keeper. One bite of this flavorsome lentil goodness, your family & guests will be amazed! I am sure you will love how rich, creamy, flavorful and delicious it tastes!
About Dal Makhani
Dal makhani is a popular North Indian dish where whole black lentils & red kidney beans are slow cooked with spices, butter & cream. Dhal or Dal refers to lentils and Makhani translates to buttery. Dal Makhani literally means Buttery dal.
Traditionally Dal Makhani is prepared by cooking lentils on wood/coal fire for several hours. This slow cooking for prolonged hours yield a creamy, thick and best tasting buttery dal.
Making a good Dal Makhani is easy & needs only a few ingredients but it does take time as the lentils need to be slow cooked. So this is an amazing dish to make for a weekend or special festive meal.
Serve this Dal Makhani with fluffy Basmati Rice, Jeera Rice, garlic Butter naan, Tandoori Roti, Chapati or roti.
It is believed that Dal Makhani was invented by Kundal Lal Jaggi and Kundan Lal Gujral, who were Punjabi Hindu immigrants from Peshawar. After a roaring success with their Butter Chicken, they were keen to come-up with a vegetarian version.
Since urad dal was a popular staple among the Punjabis, they made the dish using the same. Dal Makhani was first served in their own restaurant named Moti Mahal in Delhi.
Later as years passed by, it became popular and now it is one of the most ordered special lentil dish across India. Others were inspired with this and came up with similar specials like Dal Bhukara and Dal Maharani.
Ingredients & Substitutes
Lentils – I use black lentils (whole urad dal) and red kidney beans (rajma). For 1 cup urad dal I use ¼ cup rajma. Many people also add a small quantity of chana dal (Bengal gram) for texture. If you prefer you can use 2 tbsp in the recipe or may substitute rajma with chana dal.
Cream – Cooking cream, whipping cream, heavy cream or homemade malai (cream) works well. If using homemade malai, then blend it well in a small blender jar until smooth. Then transfer this to a small cup and stir together a few tbsps of dal makhani. Then pour that to the pot. This way cream will not split.
Kasuri methi or dried fenugreek leaves – A small quantity of kasuri methi makes a huge difference here. However if you do not have you may skip it. There is no substitute.
Similar recipes
Brown Lentils (Whole Masoor Dal)
Red Lentil Curry
Kadhi Pakora
Chole recipe
Chana masala
Rajma recipe
Photo Guide
How to Make Dal Makhani (Stepwise Photos)
1.Soaking lentils: Add 1 cup urad dal (black lentils) & ¼ cup rajma (red kidney beans) to a large pot and rinse thoroughly a few times. Drain the water and pour 3 to 4 cups fresh water. Soak them for at least 6 to 8 hours. To speed up the soaking process you may pour boiling water and soak for 4 hours.
2.Cooking lentils: After they are soaked well, drain the water and pour 4 cups fresh water. Pressure cook on a medium heat for 10 whistles. It takes about 35 to 40 mins. If using an Instant pot pressure cook for 20 mins. If cooking in a pot add more water as required and cook until they become tender. This is how they look after pressure cooking them.
3.Check if cooked well: When the pressure releases naturally, open the lid and check if the dal is well cooked. Both rajma and urad dal have to be softened. Press down a rajma and few urad dal in between your thumb and fore finger. They should get mashed very well easily. They should not be aldente or even slightly hard.
If they are under-cooked, add half cup more hot water and cook for a little longer about 3 to 4 whistles.
While the dal cooks, chop 1 medium onion finely. Make 1 tablespoon of ginger garlic paste. Chop 210 grams of tomatoes (about 1 heaped cup chopped). Puree in a blender. We will need 1 cup tomato puree here. Measure it and keep aside.
Make Masala
4.Heat a heavy bottom pot. Add 1½ tablespoon butter and 1 tablespoon ghee. If using whole spices (optional), add 1 bay leaf, 1 black cardamom and 2 green cardamoms. Saute them for half a minute. Then add 1 medium onion finely chopped. Saute until golden or light brown.
5.Then stir in 1 tablespoon ginger garlic paste. Saute for 1 minute until the raw smell disappears.
6.Next add 1 cup tomato puree (210 grams) and saute for a while.
7.Stir in 1 teaspoon salt, ¾ to 1½ teaspoon red chilli powder and 1 teaspoon garam masala. Adjust the chilli powder to suit your taste. I use 1½ teaspoon kashmiri red chilli powder. If you are using hot chilli powder then cut down . I used this punjabi garam masala. Please ensure you use a good one.
8.Saute until the masala cooks well and turns thick. The masala begins to smell good when done.
9.Mash the cooked lentils slightly and transfer to the pot along with the stock. Stir well and add 1 cup hot boiling water.
Slow Cook Dal
10.Stir and continue to cook on the lowest possible heat stirring often to avoid burning. After 60 mins, you will need to add another half cup hot water each time and cook until the dal thickens. I add about 2 cups water in total (1 + ½ + ½).
11.Continue to cook on a low flame for a total of 80 mins stirring every now and then to prevent the dal sticking at the bottom.
12.Taste the dal makhani. Add more salt as needed. Take ½ teaspoon kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves) and crush it in between your palms. Then add it. This brings out the flavor.
13. Stir in ¼ cup cream and continue to cook for another 10 mins. If you are making ahead for later use, you may add cream, butter and kasuri methi when you reheat it. So just make the dal makhani without all of the 3, cool and refrigerate or freeze. When you reheat add all of them.
14.This was the consistency I got after 90 mins of total cooking. Thick, creamy & flavorful. Then stir in 1½ tablespoon butter. Turn off the heat.
Smoke Dal Makhani (Optional)
Please avoid this if you are a novice cook. Dal makhani tastes good even without this step.
Place a tall steel cup or bowl in the center of the pot. Ensure it doesn’t get submerged in the dal. Hold a piece of wood coal with a tong over direct fire. For extra safety use a stove lighter or a candle instead of a larger source of fire.
After a few minutes, the coal will turn red & hot. Then carefully place it inside the cup and pour ¼ teaspoon of ghee. You will immediately see fumes emitted by the coal. Cover the pot immediately and leave for 3 to 4 mins.
You may repeat pouring another ¼ teaspoon ghee to smoke for longer. Smoking too long will leave a very strong flavor so 3 to 4 mins is good enough for our taste.
Dal makhani goes very well with Indian breads like butter naan, roti, tandoori roti and even with jeera rice or plain Basmati Rice. Garnish dal makhani with cream or butter before serving.
Pro Tips
Soak black lentils and rajma for at least 8 hours. Well soaked lentils cook up to a creamy texture which is very important to make a delicious dal makhani. To speed up the soaking process, you may soak them in boiling hot water for 4 hours.
Precook the lentils well before adding them to the makhani masala. Even slightly undercooked dal will not work well here.
Butter is the key ingredient to make a flavorful dal makhani. Be generous & use a good amount of butter. In India, cultured butter is used which actually brings an amazing flavor. You can also use the regular butter like the way I did.
But be generous & add a good amount of it. If you are on a low fat diet, cut down your portion size instead of making a low fat dal makhani.
I prefer to use half butter and half ghee for cooking the masala as using only butter burns quickly. You may use one for the other.
Slow cooking lentils on a lowest heat brings out the best flavors. Dal makhani served in restaurants is so much flavorful as the lentils are cooked overnight or whole day on slow fire.
Without simmering you won’t really get the essential flavors in your dal makhani. I suggest simmering for at least 90 mins after adding the cooked lentils to the tempering or masala.
More Tips
Spices are used in minimum quantities here to keep the flavor of slow cooked black lentils dominant. Most standard Indian restaurants use whole spices like bay leaf, black cardamoms & green cardamoms especially in the tempering.
These spices make a huge difference as they release a unique aroma to the dal when slow cooked for several hours. However you may use either whole spices or ground spices or a mix of both. More in the recipe notes.
Smoking dal makhani – Traditionally made dish is cooked on coal fire for long hours which naturally imparts a smoky aroma to the dish. To some extent the smoky flavor can be recreated at home by smoking the final dish. This step is optional. I have shown it in detail in the video you may take a look.
If you prefer to smoke your dal makhani, ensure you use wood coal that has no additives or fuel added to it. Many people also add liquid smoke to the dish to get that strong flavor.
Faqs
Dal makhani is made with whole black lentils, unsalted butter, spices, tomatoes, onions, herbs & cream.
Sabut urad dal is used in dal makhani. It is also known as black lentils or black gram.
Just skip the onions and follow the recipe as is. There will be no change in the taste.
Though the major flavors come from slow cooking the lentils, a small quantity of whole or ground spices do elevate the flavors of the dish. So for best flavors, use the spices as mentioned.
For best flavors, cool it immediately, transfer to smaller freezer safe glass bowls & freeze within 2 hours of cooking. This way the flavors are retained to a maximum extent. When you prefer to use, thaw it in the fridge overnight or for 10 to 12 hours.
To reheat, transfer to a pot and cook until bubbling & very hot. If needed pour little water. Alternately transfer to a steel bowl and reheat in instant pot (PIP) on a high pressure for 3 to 4 mins. I do not add any water for reheating in the IP.
How to double the recipe?
To double this recipe, double all the ingredients. Pressure cook the lentils for the same amount of time. I slow cook the dal makhani for longer than 2 hours after adding the cooked lentils to the masala.
Related Recipes
Recipe Card
Dal Makhani Recipe (Restaurant Style)
For best results follow the step-by-step photos above the recipe card
Ingredients (US cup = 240ml )
To Pressure Cook
- 1 cup whole black lentil (200 grams black gram – whole urad dal)
- ¼ cup rajma (red kidney beans) (optional)
- 4 cups water for pressure cooking – more for pot
To Temper/ Masala
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter (divided – 1 ½ tbsp + 1 ½ tbsp)
- 1 tablespoon ghee
- 1 medium onion finely chopped (65 grams)
- 1 tablespoon ginger garlic paste
- 1 cup tomato puree (210 grams)
- 2 teaspoons salt (adjust to taste)
- ¾ to 1½ teaspoons red chilli powder (adjust to taste) (I use 1½)
- 1 teaspoon garam masala (use fragrant spice blend)
- 2 cups water (preferably boiling hot)
- ½ teaspoon kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves) (optional)
- ¼ cup cream (more for garnish, heavy cream, whipping cream)
Whole Spices (optional)
- 1 bay leaf (optional)
- 2 green cardamoms (optional)
- 1 black cardamom (optional)
Instructions
Preparation
- Add urad dal and rajma to a large pot and rinse them well a few times. Drain the water and soak them in 3 to 4 cups of water for 7 to 8 hours. To reduce the soaking time, you may soak them in boiling hot water for 4 to 5 hours.
- Later drain the water and rinse them well.
How to make Dal Makhani
- Pour 4 cups fresh water and pressure cook for 10 whistles on a medium heat. You can also cook in a pot until soft and tender adding more water as needed. If cooking in instant pot, pressure cook on high pressure for 20 mins.
- Both urad dal and rajma must cook to very soft. When mashed with a spoon the dal and rajma must be soft and get mashed well easily. If not then pour another half cup hot water and continue to cook for another 3 to 4 whistles on a medium heat.
- Heat a heavy bottom pot with butter & ghee. If using whole spices, add them and saute for half a minute. Then add onions and fry until they turn golden.
- Stir in ginger garlic paste and saute for 1 minute until the raw smell goes away.
- Then transfer tomato puree and cook for 3 to 4 minutes until thick.
- Add salt, chilli powder & garam masala. Saute well until the masala smells good and turns thick.
- Mash the cooked urad dal slightly and pour it along with the stock. Pour another 1 cup hot boiling water & mix.
- Cook on a low flame until the dal thickens stirring often in between to prevent burning the bottom. After 60 mins, the dal thickens.
- Add another ½ to 1 cup hot boiling water and continue to cook until thick. This takes another 30 mins. Totally cook for about 90 mins from the time you added the cooked dal to the pot.
- Then add kasuri methi and pour cream. Stir and cook again for 6 to 8 mins until it becomes thick and creamy.
- Taste and add more salt if needed. Add butter and mix well.
Dhungar – Smoking (optional)
- Place a small piece of foil or a tall steel cup on the dal makhani. Hold 1 to 2 inch piece of natural wood charcoal with a tong and burn it on direct fire until red hot. Then place it on the foil kept over dal or in the steel cup.
- Quickly pour ¼ tsp ghee on the hot coal. Immediately cover the pot and allow to smoke for 3 to 4 mins. For stronger flavor, add another ¼ tsp ghee on the coal and repeat the smoking.
- Garnish dal makhani with butter or cream & serve with fluffy Basmati rice or naan.
Instant Pot Dal Makhani
- Press SAUTE button on the Instant pot. Add ghee and butter to the steel insert.
- Once the butter melts, add onions and saute until transparent. Add ginger garlic paste and saute for 30 seconds.
- Pour the tomato puree, red chilli powder & garam masala. Saute for 3 to 5 mins.
- Drain the water from the lentils and add them. Pour 3 cups water and deglaze the pot by scrubbing the bottom with a wooden spatula.
- Press CANCEL button. Secure the Instant pot with the lid. Position the steam release handle to sealing.
- Press PRESSURE COOK button and set the timer to 30 mins.
- When the IP finishes it will beep. Wait for the pressure to release naturally.
- Open the lid. You will see the dal being runny at this stage. Add salt & slightly mash the urad dal, not rajma.
- Press SAUTE button. Adjust the setting to LOW by pressing the saute button twice.
- Cook further stirring often until thick. When most of the moisture evaporates, dal turns thicker. Optional – I prefer to add 1 more cup of hot water in 2 batches, ½ cup each time. Cook further until really creamy and thick.
- Then add cream and kasuri methi. Continue to cook until creamy.
- Stir in the butter and garnish dal makhani with cream.
Notes
- You can halve the recipe to make 2 to 3 servings. Cut down the cook time to 60 mins.
- Older stock of lentils & beans (aged) often take longer to cook. So buy them from a store which sells fresher stocks.
- If you do not like to use rajma, just skip them. Keep all the quantities of ingredients same.
- You may use whole spices in tempering – 1 black cardamom, 2 to 3 green cardamoms and 1 bay leaf.
- You can use bottled or homemade tomato puree. To make the puree, chop and blend a little over 1 cup tomatoes to make 1 cup puree.
- You can cook the lentils in a pot if you don’t have a cooker. It may take about 60 to 90 mins. Add more water than mentioned in the recipe.
- Simmer the dal for at least 90 minutes to get the best texture. If you double the recipe, simmer for longer.
- Dal makhani tastes best when slow cooked on a low flame for long time. So do not cook even on a medium flame.
- To get the authentic taste you can cook the dal for as long as 3 hours on the lowest flame, adding more water as needed.
- Keep stirring consistently to prevent burning.
Video
Watch Dal Makhani Video
NUTRITION INFO (estimation only)
© Swasthi’s Recipes
About Swasthi
I’m Swasthi Shreekanth, the recipe developer, food photographer & food writer behind Swasthi’s Recipes. My aim is to help you cook great Indian food with my time-tested recipes. After 2 decades of experience in practical Indian cooking I started this blog to help people cook better & more often at home. Whether you are a novice or an experienced cook I am sure Swasthi’s Recipes will assist you to enhance your cooking skills. More about me
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Comments
Hi- I was wondering, could I make this recipe without a pressure cooker? What could I do differently?
Hi Anit,
Soak them overnight and drain the water. Add 4 cups fresh water and bring to a rolling boil on a high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and cook until they become tender and soft. Add more hot water if required. You don’t need to make any changes to the recipe. Hope you get to try!
Love this makhani dal! My house smells amazing every time I make this. Have made it many times. I’ve read some recipes & disagree with low spices. Don’t change a thing and follow as written in this recipe. The first time I made it, I thought less spices would be better and cut down the garam masala. I put more next time as mentioned in this recipe and gave it enough time to simmer. It was fabulous!
That’s lovely to read Cristina. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. That’s going to help others. Appreciate your time.
Always amazing recipes 👌👌👌🥂
Thank you Mita
Hi Swathi, I am new to indian cooking but loved your tikka masala recipe as my first try. This might be an obvious question, but do you still need to soak the dal if you’re cooking in an instapot? In other cuisines normally the instapot negates the need for soaking legumes but wanted to double check. Thanks
Hi Ally,
Thank you! Yes soaking urad dal is very important to achieve the creamy consistency. Else you will end up cooking too long. Also urad dal causes lot of stomach gas if not soaked well. Hope you enjoy the dish
Ji Swathi., thank you so much for the wonderful dal makhani receipe.
Can you let mer know if I need to cover the dal to slow cook or is it uncovered.
Thanks
Hi Beena,
Yes cover the pot while cooking
The recipe seems do able. I am going to try it. However I have people in my home who cannot eat the black udad dal. Can we replace with akka Moong? Please let me know where I can find this option. would the recipe be the same in that case?
Hi Sue,
Thank you. This recipe is specially designed for black urad dal. I have a separate recipe to make with green moong here. Please check that. Hope your family enjoys!
Like many of your recipes, this dal makhani is fantastic. I made a test batch and loved it. I’m going to make a larger batch to serve 20 but want to clarify a few points before I proceed. What kind of tomatoes do you use? 1 cup tomato puree is pureed tomatoes or canned tomato puree? Can this be subbed with tomato paste? I have learnt to appreciate whole spices in Indian dishes. Guide me on the usage of cinnamon, cloves and star anise. At what stage would you add these whole spices?
Thanks Annie. Very happy to know that your test batch turned out fantastic. I use canned tomato puree – passata. 1 cup tomato puree mentioned in the recipe is for canned puree. You can sub that with 3 to 4 tbsps paste. Dal makhani is not a tomato based dish, so don’t use a lot. Whole spices like star anise and cloves are not used in this dish and can easily alter the flavors. The dish is supposed to have more dal flavor rather than the flavor from spices. But if you want to get experimental, go ahead adding them to the tempering before the onions. Hope this helps. Would love to know how the whole spice version goes for you.
This dal makhani is AMAZINGLY GOOD, must say ADDICTIVELY GOOD. Like every other recipe on swasthi’s, this one is excellent. I used half cup of half and half before finishing. Doubled kasuri methi and honestly it tasted fabulous! Next time I would love experimenting with whole spices.
Thank you so much for the kind words Jeka. So happy to read that!
Delicious like most of your other recipes! Made 3x to serve 14 people and everyone loved the meal. We also had your tikka masala, bharta, raita, mango chutney and frozen naans. Thank you for sharing your recipes
Wow! That’s an exciting meal. Thank you Ian for sharing back
Please let me know what dishes go well with dal makhani. I am planning for a special dinner and so far have this dish on the list. I want to make something with eggs, vegetables and a dessert. Thanks for your reply.
You can make a basmati rice dish – plain or flavored like this saffron rice or jeera rice
This egg curry or egg butter masala. For the vegetables try out aloo gobi or jeera aloo. Carrot halwa, kheer and basundi for the desserts. Please use the search button to locate the recipes on the blog. Hope this helps
I love you recipies and make them regularly, but my dal is always too runny at 60 minutes and at 90 minutes. The dal is cooked in an instapot for 20 minutes with 4 cups of water and I add 1 cup boiling at when combining with the masala and and another half cup at the 60 minute mark. What am I doing wrong!
Hi Candi,
Thank you. You either used a different kind of black lentils or they are too old, sitting in the shelves/stores for many years. Black lentils used in this recipe is the Indian variety and are labelled as Black urad dal. I assume you tried this recipe with a different kind of black lentils (like beluga) which are not suitable for this recipe. Because urad dal upon cooking well turns thick and has a viscous texture. As you cook longer (adding more water), it keeps getting thicker and thicker. If that doesn’t happen it means either the lentils are not black urad or they are too old. Some stores also carry urad dal from Africa which are not great for this recipe as they won’t thicken. Please buy them from a Indian grocery and make sure they are from India. Hope this helps
I have made so many of your recipes and everything I have tried so far is delicious. This dal makhani is a family favorite and I have got many appreciations. Last night I also made your naan and chicken pilau for a special dinner. Thank you for the beautiful recipes and clear instructions
That’s a lovely meal Sally. I am delighted to know the recipes worked well for you. Appreciate your time to share back with us.
Thanks for this great recipe Swasthi, I have made it many times and every time it was a success! I do have one question I am always wondering about!
It says to mash the cooked urad dal slightly and pour it along with the stock. However, there is no mention of stock/quantity in the ingredients list. There is only the water. Should there be stock in addition to the water or just the water?
Many thanks again! 🙂
Hi Myriam,
So happy to read that. Here stock refers to the liquid/water in which we cooked the dal. There is no additional stock used in the recipe. Hope this clears
Best recipe. Worked out really well
Came out so good in the instant pot
I needed a written recipe for makhani dal and this worked out so well. Great spice profile and I finished with little liquid smoke instead of smoking with wood coal. Thank you
So delicious! I didn’t try smoking it, but next time! I love this recipe!
This dal makhani is a huge hit with my family & friends. Anyone who has tasted this left rave reviews and asked me for the recipe. I am a non-Indian and thought chicken makhani and dal makhani are made similarly but I was wrong. I am yet to make your butter chicken and have scheduled it for Sunday lunch. Thank you for the beautiful website and please keep posting!
Amara
Excellent recipe. Easy to follow. I use this dal makhani reciple all of the time.
Glad you like this dal makhani Mandy. Thank you for writing back to us!
This looks like an amazing recipe. I made one no where near as complex or delicious, I remember however my gf at the time looking at it watery in the slow-cooker but when it was done she almost literally ate the entire pot it was so good.
I’m especially looking forward to this as I have made my own homemade butter from double-cream and ghee from that, and just made my own garam masala. I will most definitely report back.
Thanks Michael,
Hope you like this version!
This was a wonderful recipe, thank you. We’ve just returned from India and I was keen to recreate the Makhani I had there. This is perfect!
Thank you so much Lynn for sharing back with us! Happy to read that!