Dal Makhani (Buttery Black Lentils)

4.73 from 11 votes

Dal Makhani (Buttery Black Lentils)

Dal Makhani is a vegetarian dish made with whole urad lentils. Typically it is made with lots of butter, ghee, and cream.

Prep Time15

Cook Time50

Total Time1 5

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Indian

Keyword: black lentils, dal

Servings:

Calories: 305kcal

Author: Puja

Ingredients

1 ½ cups whole urad black lentils
3 Tbsp oil or ghee separated
4 cups water
2 Tbsp tomato paste
1 ½ Tbsp ginger-garlic paste
1 green chili finely chopped (or to taste)
1 tsp Kashmiri chili powder
¼ cup heavy cream
5 Tbsp cold butter
1 15 oz can kidney beans rinsed and drained
1 tsp kasoori methi
¼ tsp cayenne or to taste
Chopped cilantro for garnish
1 tsp salt or to taste

Instructions

Rinse dal thoroughly. Add to Instant Pot with 1/2 tablespoon of ghee (or oil) and 2 cups of water. Cook on high pressure for 25 minutes followed by quick release.
Remove dal and wipe the pot clean. Add 1 tablespoon of ghee (or oil), heat on saute mode.
When the oil is hot, add ginger, garlic and tomato paste. Stir and cook until the mixture is bubbly. Add a splash of water if it sticks and deglaze. Continue cooking until the mixture is bubbling.
Add cooked dal and kidney beans. Then add 3 tablespoons of butter, salt, cayenne pepper and green chili. Add up to 1/2 cup water if the dal too thick. Simmer for 20 minutes, every few minutes.

Vaghar

In a separate pan, heat 1 tablespoon of ghee.
Add 1 teaspoon kasoori methi and kashmiri chili powder. Immediately remove from heat.
Pour the mixture into the dal and mix.

Finishing

Stir 2 tablespoons of cold butter into the dal.
Garnish with cream and cilantro.

Video

Notes

To make without a pressure cooker or Instant Pot, the only change is to the first step:

Wash the dal thoroughly, then, in a covered pot, boil 2 cups of water, with 1/2 tablespoon of ghee, and 1 1/2 cups urad dal, until the urad dal is soft. It should take about 65 minutes.

Nutrition