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!
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.
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
This Instant pot Dal makhani is
Whole black urad dal cooked with tomatoes, onions to a creamy, luscious and butter dal
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.
Switch on the saute mode in your instant pot. When it heats up, add the butter and oil and add the cumin seeds.
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.
Now add the tomatoes, tomato paste, kashmiri chilly powder, coriander powder and saute for 2 to 3 minutes.
Add the soaked lentils, 31/2 cups water, salt and cook on manual / pressure cook mode for 30 minutes
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.
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
Serve hot topped with salted butter, lemon juice, cilantro and chopped onions.
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.
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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 :)