Dal Makhani Recipe | Madras Lentils

North Indian comfort food, Dal Makhani is a lightly spiced creamy lentil dish that is cooked to perfection with warm spices such as garam masala and turmeric. Traditionally slow-cooked for hours, this easy, hands-off Instant Pot Dal Makhani recipe delivers authentic flavor and creamy texture in less than an hour! The best part is that you can also cook brown rice at the same time using pot in pot method.

The recipe was originally posted in Oct 2017 and has been updated with new photos and video

What is Dal Makhani

Dal Makhani or Makhni is a North Indian(Punjabi) dish made by slow-cooking whole black urad dal (black gram beans) and rajma (red kidney beans) for hours with butter, onion, tomatoes, ginger garlic paste, and spices. This restaurant-favorite dish is easy to make at home, especially in the Instant Pot which uses this mostly hands-free recipe that is cooked in just 50 minutes. A protein-packed, gluten-free, and vegetarian meal that the whole family will enjoy.

Ingredients for Dal Makhani

• Whole Urad Dal and Rajma - Traditionally the black gram beans and red kidney beans are soaked overnight which reduces the overall pressure cooking time. But you can cook them unsoaked, by simply increasing the cooking time to 60 minutes and adding an extra cup of water.
• Veggies - Onion, tomatoes, ginger, and garlic paste
• Spices - cumin seeds, turmeric, red chili powder, and garam masala
• Garnish - Heavy cream, cilantro, and dried fenugreek leaves

How to make Daal Makhani in Instant Pot

• Rinse and soak black gram beans (whole urad) and red kidney beans (rajma) in 3 cups of water for 6 hours or overnight.
• Set Instant Pot to Sauté mode and heat oil. Add cumin seeds and onions and mix well. 
• Add ginger, garlic, turmeric, red chili powder, salt, tomatoes, and beans (photos 1 - 2).

• Add 2 cups of water and give a quick stir.
• For optional pot-in-pot brown rice, place a tall trivet over the beans. Add rice, 2 cups of water, and salt to a stainless steel container. Place the rice container on the trivet (photos 3 - 4)

• Close the Instant Pot with the pressure valve to sealing. Pressure Cook for 30 minutes followed by Natural Pressure Release. Open the Instant Pot and set it to sauté mode.
• Carefully take out the rice bowl and the trivet. Mash the beans with the back of a spoon for a creamy texture. Stir in cream, garam masala, and garnish with cilantro. (photos 5 - 6)

How to serve Dal Makhani

Serve the Dal Makhani with brown rice with a side of beet raita or cucumber salad. If you are gluten-free, you can also pair it with Jowar Roti or Chilla. In India, the restaurant-style Dal makhani is often served with Roti or Parathas, and Jeera rice.

Storing

Any leftovers can be refrigerated for up to 5 days making it perfect for meal prep. This is also a great make-ahead recipe as the flavors continue to develop over time. I often cook Dal Makhani the night before especially when I have to serve it for a party or get-together. You can also freeze Dal makhani - I would recommend leaving out the cream and adding it just before serving.

Variations and Substitutions

1. Don't have time to soak the beans? - Add an extra one cup of water and pressure cook for 60 minutes
2. Stove Top Recipe - Pressure cook for 45 minutes on medium heat and allow the pressure to release naturally
3. Vegan Dal Makhani  - Use coconut cream or cashew cream(blend cashews in water)Variations
4. Diced tomatoes can be substituted with store-bought tomato puree

What are Madras Lentils

Have you tried Costco's "Tasty Bites Madras Lentils"? They are similar to the North Indian Dal Makhani except lighter on spices. And if you are curious, here are the ingredients on the package - water, tomatoes, lentils(adzuki beans or "chori" in hindi), onions, red kidney beans, cream, butter, oil, salt, ginger, cumin, and chilies.

Difference between Madras Lentils and Dal makhani

So here is the basic difference between Madras Lentils and my Dal Makhani recipe:

• Whole black gram beans are used to make Dal Makhani, while the Costco Madras Lentils have adzuki beans
• Dal Makhani also has garlic, cumin powder, coriander powder, and garam masala.

More Indian Recipes with Lentils and Beans

• Spinach dal
• Black eyed peas curry
• Rajma Masala
• Matki Chi Usal
• Chana Masala
• Curried Chickpeas with Spinach

Recipe

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Instant Pot Dal Makhani with Brown Rice

A creamy lentil dish cooked with whole black lentils and kidney beans, lightly spiced to enjoy as a chili or over rice!

Prep Time10 mins

Cook Time50 mins

Total Time1 hr

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Indian

Servings: 6

Calories: 328kcal

Author: Archana Mundhe

Equipment

• Instant Pot Pressure Cooker
• Tall Trivet
• Stainless steel pot

Ingredients

• ▢ 1 cup black gram beans (adzuki beans or whole brown lentils) **
• ▢ ⅓ cup red kidney beans **
• ▢ 1 tablespoon oil (ghee or butter)
• ▢ 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• ▢ 1 medium yellow onion finely diced
• ▢ 1 tablespoon ginger paste
• ▢ 1 tablespoon garlic paste
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon ground turmeric
• ▢ 2 teaspoons Kashmiri red chili powder
• ▢ 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• ▢ 2 cups tomatoes diced
• ▢ 2 cups water
• ▢ ½ cup light cream **
• ▢ 1 teaspoon garam masala
• ▢ ¼ cup cilantro chopped
• ▢ 1 tablespoons dried fenugreek leaves optional

Optional Pot in Pot rice

• ▢ 1 cup brown rice rinsed and drained
• ▢ 2 cups water
• ▢ 1 teaspoon salt

Instructions

• Rinse and soak black gram beans and red kidney beans in 3 cups of water. Overnight or 6-8 hours. Drain the water after soaking and keep the beans aside.
• Set Instant Pot to sauté mode and heat oil. Add cumin seeds to the oil and allow them to sizzle. Add onions and mix well.
• Add ginger, garlic, turmeric, red chili powder, salt, tomatoes and beans. Add water and mix well. 
• To make pot-in-pot brown rice (optional step)- Add rice, water, and salt to a stainless steel container. Put a tall trivet over the beans. Place the rice container on the trivet.
• Close Instant Pot with pressure valve to sealing. Pressure Cook (Hi) for 30 minutes followed by Natural Pressure Release. See notes for stove top method.
• Open Instant Pot and set to sauté mode. Carefully take out the Rice container and the trivet. Stir in cream, add garam masala and garnish with cilantro and dried fenugreek leaves.

Video

Notes

Don't have time to soak the beans? - Add an extra one cup of water and pressure cook for 60 minutes

Vegan Dal Makhani  - Replace ghee with oil. Use coconut cream or cashew cream(blend cashews in water)

Variations - If using dry beans, add an extra 1 cup of water and increase the pressure cooking time to 60 minutes 

Stove Top Recipe - Pressure cook for 45 minutes on medium heat and allow the pressure to release naturally. 

No Pressure Cooker? - Cook covered on low-medium heat in a heavy bottom pot until the lentils are soft and mushy. This may take two to three hours. Add one to two cups of water as needed and adjust salt, red chili powder, and garam masala to taste.

Nutrition

Calories: 328kcal | Carbohydrates: 55g | Protein: 12g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 11mg | Sodium: 1185mg | Potassium: 746mg | Fiber: 8g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 471IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 58mg | Iron: 3mg

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