Dal Makhani or Dal Makhni is the most popular dal across restaurants and households in northern states of India. It’s origin lies with in Punjab province that got popular across entire north India overtime. Dal Makhni is made of Urad Dal (Black Gram) and Rajma (Kidney beans) that makes it an excellent source of protein. A combination of spices and slow cooking process brings on a unique flavor and aroma that is almost impossible to resist.
Ingredients
1 cup Whole Urad Dal(black)
1/2 cup Kidney Beans /Rajma (Pink one has better taste)
1 medium Tomato pureed or small chopped
1 medium Onion Chopped
1 tbsp Ginger, Garlic paste (Adarak, Lahsun paste)
2 Green Chillies / Hari Mirch chopped (as per taste)
1 tbsp Oil or /Desi Ghee
1 tsp Kashmiri Red chili powder (as per taste)
1 tsp Haldi Powder/Turmeric Powder
1/2 tsp Amchur Powder(raw mango powder)
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp Dal makhani Masala( if available)
1 tsp coriander powder(Dry Dhaniya Powder)
Pinch of Heeng / Asafoetida
4 tbsp Cilantro / Hara Dhaniya chopped
1 bay leaf(Tej Patta)
1-2 small Cinnamon Sticks
1-2 green small cardamom (Elachi)
2-3 cloves(Laung)
2-3 black peppers(Kali Mirch)
1/4 cup heavy cream ( for Vegan version avoid it)
1/4 tsp Kasoori Methi
Salt according to the taste (I used 1 tbsp)
4 cups of water
Instructions
Soak whole Urad Dal and Rajma/Kidney beans overnight in three cups of water.
Drain water and pressure cook beans in 4 cups of water with a pinch of salt. (You can pressure cook them separately too.)
3 whistle in medium heat makes the Rajma and Dal soft.
Turn on the Instant pot in saute mode, 15 minutes, and medium heat,this setting produces the required heat to saute all the spices.
Add the oil/ghee to the pot, wait for 30 seconds - when oil is a little warm add bay leaf, cinnamon sticks, cardamom, cloves, and black peppers.
After 2 minutes when all the above spices are cooked, add ginger-garlic paste and stir for 2-3 minutes. At this point, you will start to get a nice aroma of spices.
Once stirring is done, add onions, chopped green chilies, and mix it with ginger garlic paste to remove the raw smell from it. It will take around 2-3 more minutes.
Now add turmeric powder, Amchur Powder, heeng, coriander Powder, some Garam masala, and a pinch of salt. The intensity of aromatic spices will really be intensified. It sure will enhance your appetite for dal makhani by multifold. :)
After 1 minute, mix chopped tomato, 1/2 cup water, and stir it until tomatoes become soft and you can see little oil on the inner edges of the mixture where it touches the pot..
Now add the pressure-cooked Rajma/Kidney beans and Urad dal, with all the water you boiled it.
If you did not boil it then add soaked urad dal and rajma with 2 cups water in it.
Mix all the ingredients properly, if anything is stuck to the bottom, deglaze the pot properly,otherwise, it will show a burn sign.
Press cancel and close lid with the vent in sealing position. The following close up picture shows vent position -
Now, cancel the saute mode and change the instant pot setting to pressure cook mode for 15 minutes in high if Lentil & kidney beans were Pre-boiled.
If lentil & kidney bean were just soaked then set Instant Pot setting to 40 minutes in high.
When you hear instant pot beeps, you know that your Dal Makhani is done. Cancel the instant pot setting and let the pressure release by itself. if you are in hurry, release the pressure manually by lifting the vent upwards - just like a pressure cooker whistle.
My suggestion is to always let the pressure release by itself, it will give gravy time to simmer.
Now, Open the Instant pot lid and then add crushed Kasoori methi and chopped cilantro, mix it well.
Add 1/4 cup of heavy cream and mix it well.
The Tasty Dal Makhani is ready!
Serving Suggestion:
Garnish with 1 tsp of Ghee on top, Heavy cream, and Cilantro, Server hot with steamed rice and roti/naan.
4 comments
wow ! so simple and easy to make.. followed your steps and got yummy dal makhani..every one loved it.
Thank you for your comment. Glad that instructions helped and outcome was a success.
I made this July 4, 2019 party and it was a hit! Everyone loved it and wanted the instant pot recipe. Even my friend’s daughter wanted the recipe who was a freshman back then. My father-in-law kept praising about it for a while. Thanks?
Thank you for taking time to provide your experience. I am glad that Dal Makhani you made was a huge success!! Keep Rocking.