Dhal Makhani
Buttery Black Lentil Dhal
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Heat
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Serves
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Dietary Info
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Prep 10 mins
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Cook 30 mins
A true Punjabi dhal, earthy and wholesome, made with black lentils and kidney beans in a wonderfully rich, buttery sauce.
Hari says
An old school dhal made with black lentils and kidney beans. Traditionally, this would be cooked slowly for hours to create the thick buttery consistency it's famous for. This dhal is poor man's food, yet it is rich in protein and I think is really simple food at its best. Now this style of slow cooking doesn't always work in the western world, so I speed up the process by soaking the beans and lentils overnight and then use a pressure cooker. You still get the buttery consistency you want, yet unlike the restaurant version I don't add buckets of cream (but I make up for this with a good chunk of butter!).
To buy the main ingredients for my Makhani, check out my curry kit here.Top Tip:
If you haven’t got the time to make this in the evening, then you can slow cook it so it’s ready when you get in. Find out more here.
- Ingredients
- Method
Lentils
- 100g dry urid dhal (whole black lentils)
- 25g dry rajma (kidney beans)
Masala
- 1-2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 2 medium sized onions, finely chopped
- 3cm piece ginger, crushed
- 3 garlic cloves, crushed
- 3 fresh tomatoes, puréed
- 2 green chillies, slit in ½
- ½ tsp turmeric powder
- 1 tsp chilli powder
- 2 tsp coriander seeds, crushed
- 1 tsp of garam masala
- 1 tsp dried fenugreek leaf (kasoori methi)
- Salt to taste
- 1-2 tbsp butter
- Handful fresh coriander leaves, chopped
Method
- Clean, wash and soak the black lentils and kidney beans separately, overnight.
- Drain and keep aside. Combine the two dhals and add 2 cups of water with a little salt and put into a pressure cooker and cook for about 25 minutes until they are cooked and soft. (DO NOT REMOVE the lid of the pressure cooker until fully cooled and pressure has been released.)
- Heat the oil in a pan and add cumin seeds.
- When the cumin seeds crackle, add chopped onions and garlic.
- Fry the onion until golden brown over a medium flame.
- Stir in the tomato purée, add the turmeric, chilli powder, ginger, green chillies and crushed coriander.
- Cook for a few minutes so the onions and tomatoes melt together.
- Add the cooked dhal and 1 cup of water and season with a little salt to taste.
- Leave to simmer for 15 minutes until it is lovely and thick. (Take care as it may catch on the bottom of the pan.)
- Stir in the butter, garam masala and fenugreek to make the dhal rich and delicious.
- Garnish with a sprinkle of fresh coriander and serve.
Served with
Serve with plain basmati rice and a good dollop of butter.
Nutritional information
| Typical values* | per Serving |
|---|---|
| Calories | 102 |
| Fat (g) | 3.4 |
| of which saturates (g) | 1.8 |
| Carbohydrates (g) | 13 |
| of which sugars (g) | 3.4 |
| Fibre (g) | 1.5 |
| Protein (g) | 6.2 |
| Salt (mg) | 1.1 |
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Comments
Comments (26)
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Hari Ghotra
Wow thats so great to hear Simon Super happy to know it worked for you and you enjoyed it. Fab!! Thanks s much for using the recipe Hari
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Michael
This looks lovely, but only125 grams of lentils/beas all that is required?
In your youtube video it looks like a lot more than 125 grams -- more like 400 to 450 grams.
Please clarify.-
Hari Ghotra
Hi Micheal Dhal grows quite a lot - for 4 people as a side the amounts in the recipe are fine. If you want to make more foe a main then you can double up. Hope that helps Hari
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Emma
Hello Hari
I would love to try making your makhani dal in a slow cooker. How much water should I use in a slow cooker?
Also does you book come in digital form? Regards Emma-
Hari Ghotra
Hi Emma - about 1.5L of water should work. Yes you can get the book on kindle on Amazon. Does that help? Thanks so much Hari
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Laura
Hi Hari - I don't have a pressure cooker but could you do this in a slow cooker instead? I'd really like to try this and so many other of your recipes, chicken biriyani at the top of the list.-
Hari Ghotra
Hi Laura yes you sure can - just boil the kidney beans and urid for 10 minutes first and then add to the slow cooker to be safe (kidney bean can make you sick) Please take pictures and post them in the app https://hari.is/2P5rXbk Thanks Hari
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Ramesh
Excellent dish and oh so easy to prepare.-
Hari Ghotra
Hi Ramesh - that's fantastic to hear! Thanks for trying it.
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Daniele
I made this today and found it truly delicious. I will definitely make this regularly. Thank you so much for posting your recipes. I did use 1/4 tsp fenugreek seed powder instead of the leaves because I couldn't find leaves and split urid dhal because I couldn't find whole. I wasn't sure which kind of green chile was being called for, the store had several different types, so i randomly picked one. It worked out fine.-
Hari Ghotra
I'm so pleased to read that you enjoyed the dish!
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Margaret
I tried this for the first time tonight and it was amazing! I even bought a pressure cooker just for this dish (I highly recommend getting one). I am a great fan of black lentils after this. Thank you!-
Hari Ghotra
Hi Margaret so fantastic to hear that you are loving this lentil. A pressure cooker is a great bit of kit to have. Great for stews, curries and dhal as you have found out. Thanks so much for letting me know. If you try any other dishes please do take a picture and share it on my app. I would love to see your dish. Thanks so much Hari
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James
Hi. If I use the slow cooker method for this, do I stil have to soak overnight?
Thanks
James-
Hari Ghotra
Hi James If you are going to cook for 8-10 hours then no you don't need to. If you want to cook for 6 hours then yes soak overnight. It's a great one to cook overnight for 10 hours - Hope that helps. Thanks Hari
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Cateraar Den Haag
This looks incredible! Yum!
Catering Den Haag-
Hari Ghotra
Hope you enjoy it! thanks Hari
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Reg
Hi, just made this for first time yesterday and it was so good! I do have a question about crushing ingredients; is smacking it with a meat hammer good enough or should I be using a garlic press or heavy pan to squish it into a mush? I could grind it up with mortar and pestle as well? Thanks, Reg-
Hari Ghotra
Hi Reg This is my favourite dhal too deep and rich in flavour. In terms of crushing stuff a pestle and mortar will do unless you need to get your frustrations of the day out then I suggest a meat hammer!! Hope this helps Hari
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Hari Ghotra
Hi Nigel - Just fantastic to hear that you tried it without the pressure cooker it is a bit more effort but as you say - well worth the effort!. I'm so happy to hear that you really liked the flavours! Low and slow always works -Thanks so much for letting me know Hari -
Nigel
Hello Hari,
I thought I would let you know how I got on - and hopefully help anyone contemplating this dish without using a pressure cooker.
I followed your advice to the letter; soaking the dhals overnight then cooking on a very low heat on the cooker for four hours. I used a litre of water which turned out to be ample and the dhal were lovely and soft. Once drained I just kept to your recipe.
The result? The best dhal I have ever tasted! Well worth that little bit of extra effort.
Thank you. -
Hari Ghotra
Hi Nigel Well, my mum tells me that in India when this dhal would be cooked on low burning embers from a fire overnight which is where you get the creaminess. This dhal will take a good 4-5 hours to cook in a normal pan on a low heat, I would use 1L of water to start with but this will need to be topped up as and when required so keep an eye on it. Let me know how it comes out and please make sure the lentils are cooked through and that they are completely soft as they can be dangerous if not cooked properly. Thanks -
Nigel
Hello Hari,
I would love to give this recipe a try, but cannot use a pressure cooker. Could you advise me of the amount of water and time needed to prepare the dahls in a pan?
Thanks -
Kevin Lewis
This I found stunning just on its own. A really good lunchtime snack. -
David Crichton
I was looking for a dhal to go with spiced duck and coriander chutney. This fit the bill perfectly.
Dave.
Simon
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