Dal Makhani, India’s most loved dal specially in north India is a creamy and buttery dal that is cooked for hours over a low flame with addition of lots of tomato puree, butter and cream.
Making good Dal Makhani is easy and need few ingredients with slow cooking of lentils. It is best when served with Butter Naan, Tandoori roti or Rice. We usually cook it on weekends and on special occasions. This recipe is a keeper and have never failed to amaze me, my family and guests.
Here I am sharing some tips and tricks to make this simple, rich and delicious Dala Makhani.
Soak urad dal and rajma for at least 8-10 hours or overnight. Well soaked lentils cook up to a creamy texture which gives a delicious dal.
Slow cook on low flame for long time to get best flavours of dal, a lot of restaurants who are known for their amazing dal makhani is actually because they keep it on simmer for whole day.
Butter and cream is the key ingredient, be generous and use a good amount of both. You can also use half butter and half ghee. and can substitute homemade malai instead of store bought cream.
Less is more when it comes to adding spices after trying so many recipes available I have come to a conclusion that dal makhani only needs salt, kashmiri red chili powder, ginger, garlic, butter cream, kasuri methi and slow cooking.
If you do try this recipe, just click a picture and tag me @culinarychaser or #culinarychaser on Instagram.
Ingredients
- 1 Cup Urad dal
- 1/4 Cup Rajma
- 4-5 Cups water
- Salt as per taste
- 1/2 Cup butter
- 1 Tsp oil
- 1 Tbsp Ginger paste
- 1 Tbsp Garlic paste
- 2 Tsp Kashmiri chili powder
- 1.5 Cup Tomato puree (Use red tomatoes)
For final tempering
- 1 Tbsp oil
- 1 Tsp chopped garlic
- 2 Tbsp butter
- 1 Tsp Dried methi leaves
- 1/2 Cream / Malai
How to make Dal Makhani
- Wash and soak urad dal and rajma in a large bowl with 3-4 cups of water overnight.
- Next day drain all the water, transfer it to a pressure cooker. Add in 2-3 cups water with salt and pressure cook it for 10-12 whistles.
- Let the pressure release naturally, open the lid and check by pressing dal in your fingers you should be able to mash it easily.
- If there is now water add a cup of water and keep it on a low flame to cook, add in butter and let it cook meanwhile we will make the masala for it.
- In a pan add oil, butter once butter melts add Kashmiri red chili powder mix it. Add ginger garlic paste stir it for a minute and then add tomato puree.
- Cook the puree till oil oozes out, add this masala to the dal. Once it is cooked for good 3-4 hours we will make a final tempering.
- In a small pan add oil, butter and chopped garlic. Once the garlic give a nice aroma, transfer this to dal.
- Finally add kasuri methi and cream. Stir it well and it’s ready to serve.
You could make this dal on weekends or special occasions to win hearts of your family and guests. Anyway you try it, you are going to love every bit of! And when you do, do drop me a line with your feedback, I’d love to hear from you. You could also share some pictures with me on Instagram 🙂