Dal Makhani, the Mother of all dals! This Instant pot Dal Makhani recipe is Creamy, Buttery and delicious, just like how a good dal should be! Pair it with some rotis, plain rice or pulavs for a very comforting meal!
As a vegetarian, you can’t have enough lentil recipes. Lentils are a great source of protein and used pretty extensively in Indian cuisine. Each Region has its share of recipes using lentils be it different kinds of dal, sambars, lentil crepes or sundals.
Most of the lentil recipes are simple to make, quick recipes that are healthy and perfect for everyday cooking. We usually have a sambar with lots of lentils or some kind of dal/ kootu everyday in our home. For dinner some kind of dal with rotis or rice is pretty common at least once or twice a week.
Of all the dal recipes, this instant pot dal makhani has to be my absolute favorite. It is as good as the ones you get in any restaurant!
Dal makhani is the king of all dals and rightly so! It is creamy, luscious, rich and so so comforting. It is also a pretty simple recipe and it is amazing that such simple ingredients can produce such a delicious dish!
What makes Dal Makhani so special?
Dal Makhani is made with black whole Urad dal, kidney beans and chana dal. The trio of dals are slow cooked (most often overnight) in a tomato onion base with spices until they become melt in your mouth buttery and creamy. Lots of butter (makhan) and cream is added to the dal which makes it even more special.
How do you make the best Restaurant / dabha style Dal Makhani?
The key to a good restaurant style Dal Makhani is the texture and flavor. As I said earlier, this dish does not need a whole lot of complex spices. Here, less is always more! A mantra I am trying to incorporate in lot of my recipes these days. So even if you are tempted to add a lot of spices, do refrain from doing so in this recipe. And to get the restaurant / dabha style smoky flavor, you can use the dhungar mehtod to infuse some of the smokey flavor to the dal ( I mostly skip this part unless I am making this for a special occasions)
Traditionally this dal is cooked for a long period of time. But our Instant pot Dal makhani makes that job simple and the cooking time is reduced considerably. You could slow cook for 6 to 8 hours if you wish, but you can get similar results by following this recipe.
As the suggests, this dish has a lot of dairy in it. So if you are looking for authentic rich and creamy dal makhani, I would suggest not skipping the dairy in this recipe. That said, it is still possible to make creamy Vegan Dal makhani without all the butter and cream. If that’s somthing you are interested in, check out the recipe here – Vegan Dal Makhani
Why should you try this Instant pot Dal Makhani?
This Instant pot Dal makhani is
- Creamy
- Buttery
- Restaurant style
- Comforting
- Perfect for special occasions and weekend cookings!
Looking for otherInstant pot lentil recipes ? You might like this
Want to make a VEGAN version of dal Makhani? Check out the recipe here – Vegan Dal Makhani
Whole black urad dal cooked with tomatoes, onions to a creamy, luscious and butter dal
-
3/4
cup
Whole black Urad Dal 
-
1/4
cup
Red kidney beams / Rajma - 1/4 cup chana dal (Optional)
- 1 onion chopped finely
- 2 tomatoes pureed/ finely chopped
- 11/2 tbsp tomato paste (substitute with 1 more big tomato)
- 1/2 tsp crushed kasuri methi
- 1 tbsp finely minced ginger- garlic
- 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
- 2 tsp coriander powder
- 1/4 tsp garam masala
- 1 tsp kashmiri chilli powder
- 1/4 cup cream
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 tbsp ghee/ oil
- salt to taste
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Wash and rinse the lentils in water. Soak the lentils overnight in water. When you are ready to cook, drain the water and rinse again.
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Switch on the saute mode in your instant pot. When it heats up, add the butter and oil and add the cumin seeds.
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When the cumin sizzles, add the ginger garlic and saute for a minute. Then add the finely chopped onions and saute until they turn golden brown.
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Now add the tomatoes, tomato paste, kashmiri chilly powder, coriander powder and saute for 2 to 3 minutes.
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Add the soaked lentils, 31/2 cups water, salt and cook on manual / pressure cook mode for 30 minutes
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When done, release pressure naturally. Add the kasuri methi, garam masala and mix. Now take about 1/3rd cup of the dal, grind it to a puree and add it back to the instant pot with the remaining dal.
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Add the cream and let it simmer in low heat setting for 10 to 15 minutes or even more. Keep stirring occassionally to prevent burning in the bottom. You can add more water as needed to adjust the consistency
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Serve hot topped with salted butter, lemon juice, cilantro and chopped onions.
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To make this in normal pressure cooker, follow the same instructions in a pressure cooker. Cook for 7 to 8 whistles. Release pressure naturally. Blend some dal and add it to the rest of the dal and simmer for sometime.
- If you want to make this recipe vegan, check out my blog post on vegan dal makhani.
- If you wish you can skip the cream or reduce the amount of cream added. Also ghee can be substituted with oil. But in that case make sure you serve it with a dollop of butter to give it the rich buttery taste.
- To get the smokey flavor you can use charcoal to get that flavor. To do that, place a small piece of hot charcoal (with fumes) in a small cup and keep it on top of the dal on a trivet. Close it and let the fumes infuse with the dal for about 2 to 3 minutes. Remove and serve hot.
- I would recommend to use some tomato paste for the rich tomato flavor. But it can be substituted with more tomatoes. In that case reduce the tomatoes to a thick paste while sauteeing, so the tomato becomes sweet and intense in flavor.
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Hi there. Can you make this without a pressure cooker?
Should you boil the legumes before adding to the tomato base ?
And if so how long do you recommend cooking on the stove for great flavour ?
Hi Sue.. Yes, you can do this without a pressure cooker. You will have to cook the lentils separately in the stove until they are soft and then add it to the tomato base. Once the lentils and tomatoes base are added they can be slow cooked overnight for great flavor. If you can cook it overnight, you can cook it for 30 to 45 minjutes in low flame so the flavors infuse and the dal becomes creamy. Hope that helps!
Made this last week! It was perfect for our weekday craving for a simple but elaborate meal. So easy to make and really yummy and just like how I used to have it in restaurants! Now this will pop often in my weekday menus! Thanks for the recipe and looking forward to try a lot more recipes from your blog!😍😍😋🙏
Thanks so much Vidya! It is a recipe I make almost every week too. Also a great recipe to add protein in our diet 🙂