Dal Makhani Recipe | How to make Punjabi Dal Makhani Recipe

May 08, 2015

Dal Makhani, also known as 'Maa ki Dal' is an exotic Punjabi delicacy, which is prepared by cooking whole Urad dal and Rajma bean on a low flame for a long time, is a perfect accompaniment with Butter Naan , paratha or chapati also.

The process of slow cooking of dal lends it a unique flavor together with the Makhani (butter/cream) added at the end. However, by using a Pressure cooker, cooking time is significantly reduced to less than an hour, yet this recipe yields just as rich and yummy Dal Mahkani as the traditional one.

It is a flavorful and creamy staple food every Punjabi grew up. In this restaurant style recipe, no soaking required for dal and rajma are cooked in pressure cooker until soft and then they are tempered with spices and mixed with fresh cream. The calcium and protein rich whole urad dal, rajma, butter, fresh cream and spices makes it wholesome, nutritious and simply irresistible.

It is easy to prepare and flexibility in choosing locally grown lentils, it has become popular vegetarian dish in all parts of India with even at my home it's also called "Maa-Rajma ki Dal".

This is very popular Punjabi dal in India, very easy and tasty recipe too. If you are looking for more dal recipes then do check dal fry, punjabi Maa Chole Di Dal, punjabi Moong-masoor di dal and tangy sambar (toor) dal.

All pictures are taken by myself only, click these pics a long time back so that time, I am using my name "Jolly Naidu" for copyright, now my copyright sign has changed so picture is updated with new copyrighted sign only.

Let's start to make this dal makhani recipe with simple step-by-step process with pictures.

Ingredients:

Whole Black Urad Dal (black lentils) - 1/2 cup
Rajma (red kidney beans) - 3 tbsp
Cumin Seeds - 1/2 tsp
Finely Chopped Onion - 1 large
Finely chopped Tomato - 1 medium
Grated Ginger - 1 tsp
Finely Chopped Garlic - 1 tsp
Finely chopped Green chilies - 1-2 nos (optional)
Coriander Powder
Turmeric powder
Red chilli powder
Malai (fresh cream) - 1 tbsp
Butter - 1 tbsp
Finely chopped Coriander Leaves for garnishing
Salt
Oil - 2 tbsp
Water

Preparation Method :

1. First clean rajma and urad dal, clean and wash it properly, no need to soaking.

Add black urad dal and rajma, water and salt in pressure cooker. Close the lid and pressure cook them over full flame until 8-10 whistle in a full flame

2. Turn off flame and let it sit idle and pressure release naturally, approx. 6-8 minutes. The dals and rajma should have turned softer now.

3. Now add more water in cooked dal, add grated ginger, chopped garlic and chopped green chilli and all little bit dry masales turmeric powder and red chilli powder..again Close the lid and pressure cook them over to 35 to 45 min.

For Tempering / Tadka
Step by step process :

(1) In a pressure cooker, add desi ghee (or you take oil but Desi-ghee gives you the full desi aroma of dal ) and add jeera (2) add chopped onions, cook it about 2 minutes till onion becomes transparent and soft. (3) Add the chopped tomatoes, (4) salt, turmeric powder, red chilli powder, coriander powder and saute for another 2 minutes, fry till the tomatoes become soft and mushy, (5) your tadka is ready, as shown in below picture

4. Add the above tadka in cooked dal, salt (only if required). Let it cook over medium flame for 4-5 minutes or until you get the desired consistency.

5. Add butter, mix well and cook for 2-minutes. Add fresh cream, mix well and cook for a minute.

*Tip - Do not cook for long time after adding cream otherwise it may curdle.