Dal Makhani Recipe (Restaurant Style)

A bite of this Punjabi Dal Makhani will instantly transport you to flavor heaven. It’s luxurious, creamy and super delicious. This is India’s most popular lentil dish and I’ll show you how to make the BEST Dal Makhani on stovetop and in the instant pot. My time-tested recipe has been a reader’s favorite on Swasthi’s.

About Dal Makhani

Dal Makhani is a popular North Indian dish made by slow cooking soaked whole urad dal (black dal) & Rajma (red kidney beans) with tomatoes, butter and spices. It’s finished with a small amount of fresh cream and a generous amount of cultured butter. It is best eaten with Jeera Rice, basmati rice & flatbreads like Tandoori Roti or Butter Naan.

Dal Makhani did not originate in the home kitchens but was born in a restaurant named Moti Mahal in Delhi. It was inspired from the home-style Punjabi maa ki daal, which was enriched to make a luxurious vegetarian dish that was as good as their Butter Chicken.

Traditionally, the process would start in the night where soaked lentils were left to slow-cook on the residual heat of a Tandoor (a clay oven). In the morning, a tempering made with onions, tomatoes and spices was added before leaving it to simmer for 1 to 2 hours until creamy and luscious.

Over the years, restaurants and dhabas adapted to cook this on wood/coal fire and pressure cookers. Now it’s one of the most popular dishes made all over India for special occasions like parties, weddings, festivals etc. Few other dishes like dal bhukara and dal maharani were developed based on dal makhani.

This recipe uses only a handful of ingredients but the main flavor comes from slow-cooking so don’t hurry up.

Ingredients & Substitutes

• Black Dal – Black whole urad dal (sabut urad) when cooked becomes thick and viscous, which is its unique character and this is what makes it a popular dal. You cannot get the same texture with any other lentils, so there is no substitute.
• Rajma – While the black dal cooks down to a creamy texture, kidney beans retain their texture in the dish and is used mainly for texture & flavor. If you don’t have access to these you may sub with the same amount of urad dal. Adding other beans will alter the flavor or dal makhani.
• Chana Dal – I’ve not used Chana dal here but if you want you may use 2 tablespoons. I’ve another urad dal recipe on the blog and I use chana dal in that but not here.
• Cream – Fresh cream, whipping cream, cooking cream or homemade malai are ideal in this recipe. A small amount of cream not only cuts down the sticky and vicious texture but also imparts richness and flavor. To use homemade malai, blend it in until smooth and stir with a few tbsps of dal before adding to the pot.
• Butter – Don’t compromise on the quality of butter. Use cultured unsalted butter if possible else use regular butter.
• Spices – My recipe uses an ideal amount of fragrant garam masala and red chili powder. Dal makhani is not made spice heavy, instead the flavors of lentils are left to shine through. If you do not have a fragrant garam masala you may also add 2 green cardamoms and 1 black cardamom in the tempering.
• Onions, tomatoes, ginger and garlic form the base of the dal. I like to use pureed fresh tomatoes or bottled passata.
• Kasuri methi – A small quantity of dried fenugreek leaves rounds out the overall flavors. If you don’t have you omit it.

How to make this plant based?

Use neutral oil to saute and cashew cream at the end. Soak ¼ cup good quality cashews in ½ cup boiling water and blend until smooth. Add it during the last 4 to 5 mins of cooking.

Similar recipes
Brown Lentils (Whole Masoor Dal)
Red Lentil Curry
Kadhi Pakora
Chole recipe
Chana masala

Photo Guide

How to make Dal Makhani (Stepwise Photos)

1. Soaking lentils: Add 1 cup urad dal (200 grams Indian black lentils) & ¼ cup rajma (55 grams red kidney beans) to a large pot and rinse thoroughly a few times. Drain the water and pour 4 cups fresh water. Soak them overnight, uncovered. To speed up the soaking process you may pour boiling water and soak for 4 hours.

2. Cooking lentils: After they are soaked well, drain the water and pour 4 cups fresh water. Pressure cook on a medium heat for 10 whistles. It takes about 35 to 40 mins. If using an Instant pot pressure cook for 20 mins. If cooking in a pot add more water as required and cook until they become tender. This is how they look after pressure cooking them.

3. Check if cooked well: When the pressure releases naturally, open the lid and check if the dal is well cooked. Both rajma and urad dal have to be softened. Press down a rajma and few urad dal in between your thumb and fore finger. They should get mashed very well easily. They should not be aldente or even slightly hard.

If they are under-cooked, add half cup more hot water and cook for a little longer about 3 to 4 whistles.

4. While the dal cooks, prep up the following ingredients

• Fine chop 1 small to medium onion to make about ½ cup chopped (65 grams)
• 1 tablespoon ginger and garlic paste (18 grams). Alternately you may grate 4 to 5 garlic cloves (9 grams) and 1 inch ginger (9 grams) to make ¾ tbsp each grated.
• 1 cup tomato puree (220 grams bottled like passata or chop 2 to 3 medium tomatoes & puree in a blender).

Make Masala

5. Heat a heavy bottom pot with 2 tablespoon ghee. If using optional whole spices, add 1 bay leaf, 1 black cardamom and 2 green cardamoms. When they begin to sizzle, add the half cup chopped onions. Saute until golden or light brown, for 7 to 8 mins.

6. Stir in 1 tablespoon ginger garlic paste. Saute for 1 minute until it smells aromatic.

7. Pour 1 cup tomato puree (220 grams) and saute for 3 to 4 mins.

8. Stir in

• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• ¾ to 1½ teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder (or use paprika). Adjust to your preference. I use 1 to 1½ teaspoon. If you are using hot chili powder cut down.
• 1 teaspoon garam masala. I use this punjabi garam masala. Please ensure you use a good one.

9. Saute until the masala cooks well and turns thick, for another 4 mins. The masala begins to smell good when done.

10. Mash the cooked lentils slightly and transfer to the pot along with the stock (dal cooked water). Stir well and add 1 cup hot boiling water (240 ml).

Slow Cook Dal

11. Stir and continue to cook on the lowest possible heat stirring often to avoid burning. After 60 mins, you will need another half to 1 cup hot water (240 ml) and cook until the dal thickens. I add about 2 cups water in total (1 + ½ + ½).

12. Continue to cook on a low flame for a total of 90 mins stirring every now and then to prevent the dal sticking at the bottom.

13. Taste the dal makhani to adjust salt & garam masala (half tsp more if you want) to your preference. Crush 1 tablespoon kasuri methi and crush in between your palms. (This brings out the flavor). Add it here.

14. Stir in ¼ to ⅓ cup heavy cream (60 to 80 ml, cooking cream/whipping cream) and continue to cook for another 10 mins. If you are making ahead for later use, you may add cream, butter and kasuri methi when you reheat it. So just make the dal makhani without all of the 3, cool and refrigerate or freeze. Add them when you reheat.

15. This is the consistency I got after 90 mins of total cooking (apart from the initial pressure cooking). Thick, creamy & flavorful. Then stir in 3 tablespoon unsalted butter (cultured if you can). Turn off the heat.

Smoking Dal Makhani (Optional)

Please avoid this if you are a novice cook. Dal makhani tastes good even without this step.

Place a tall steel cup or disposable aluminum foil bowl in the center of the pot. Ensure it doesn’t get submerged in the dal. Hold a piece of wood coal with a tong over direct fire. For extra safety use a stove lighter or a candle instead of a larger source of fire.

After a few minutes, the coal will turn red & hot. Then carefully place it inside the cup and pour ¼ teaspoon of ghee. You will immediately see fumes emitted by the coal. Cover the pot immediately and leave for 3 to 4 mins.

You may repeat pouring another ¼ teaspoon ghee to smoke for longer. Smoking too long will leave a very strong flavor so 3 to 4 mins is good enough for our taste.

Dal makhani goes very well with Indian breads like butter naan, roti, tandoori roti and even with jeera rice or plain Basmati Rice. Garnish dal makhani with cream or butter before serving.

Expert Tips

• Preventing dark blackish dal – If your dal makhani turns black instead of deep brown, blanch them before soaking. Add them to a bowl and pour hot water. Let them sit for 2 mins and drain off the water. Pour cold water and repeat rubbing and rinsing 2 to 3 times. Soak overnight and follow the recipe.
• Soaking Lentils – Soak lentils for a minimum of 8 hours to prevent bloating and help them cook easily to a creamy consistency. To speed up the soaking process you may soak them in boiling hot water for 4 hours. Drain the water and cook.
• Precook lentils – It is essential to precook the soaked dal well before adding to the makhani masala. Even slightly undercooked dal will not work well here. The acidity in tomatoes will slow down their cooking and takes longer to get the creamy consistency.
• Butter & cream – Be generous with butter and cream else you won’t get that rich taste. If you are on a low fat diet, cut down your portion size rather than making the dish low fat. I prefer to use half butter and half ghee for cooking the masala as using only butter burns quickly. You may use one for the other here.
• Slow Cooking – Don’t hurry up while cooking. You need to cook them slowly and this brings out the best flavors of dal. Remember we want to mimic the restaurant flavors which is achieved by slow cooking overnight on tandoor or wood/coal fire. I suggest simmering for at least 90 mins after adding the cooked lentils to the tempering or masala.

Smoking dal makhani

Traditionally made dish is cooked on tandoor or coal fire for long hours which naturally imparts a smoky aroma to the dish. To some extent the smoky flavor can be recreated at home by smoking the final dish. This step is optional. I have shown it in detail in the video you may take a look.

If you prefer to smoke your dal makhani, ensure you use wood coal that has no additives or fuel added to it. Many people also add liquid smoke to the dish to get that strong flavor.

Faqs

• How to freeze dal makhani? – For best flavors, cool it immediately using an ice bath. Transfer to smaller freezer safe glass containers & freeze within 2 hours of cooking. This way the flavors are retained to a maximum extent. When you prefer to use, thaw it in the fridge overnight or for 10 to 12 hours.
• How to reheat? – To reheat, transfer to a pot and cook until bubbling & very hot. If needed pour little water. Alternately transfer to a steel bowl and reheat in instant pot (PIP) on a high pressure for 3 to 4 mins. I do not add any water for reheating in the IP.
• How to double the recipe? – To double this recipe, double all the ingredients. Pressure cook the lentils for the same amount of time. I slow cook the dal makhani for longer than 2 hours after adding the cooked lentils to the masala.

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This recipe was first published in May 2016. Updated in August 2026.