Servings
4
Ready In:
35 mins
About this Recipe
By: Paromita
A creamy dal recipe made easy in an instant pot.
Dal makhani or Dal Makhni is a recipe originating from North India. The primary ingredients are whole black lentils, red kidney beans, butter and cream. The dish gets its richness from the use of cream and butter, and the traditional way of simmering the dal in a large pot for hours. And we can make it in an Instant Pot, as in today’s world who has the time to boil dal in a pot for hours.
So we make use of the Instant Pot!
Yes, it may not be the traditional way of cooking this recipe, but making the Dal Makhani in Instant Pot, does not compromise on it’s taste and creaminess.
It just makes it way faster and easier, and that drives me to make it quite often and not look for an occasion or special day to make Dal Makhani.
Stove Top or Slow Cooker or Instant Pot
Stove Top :
Yes this is the traditional way of doing it. You simmer the lentils in a large pot with water and salt for hours, as much as 4 hours. This definitely brings out a creaminess which no other process would bring. And all that patience also adds to the taste, no doubt. The issue is the time, it is really difficult in today’s world, to work on a dish for hours. And specially when you have an easier way which almost gives you the same taste.However, by all means, if you want the traditional way and have the time to spare, do give the stovetop method a try. It will be worth it, I assure.
Slow Cooker :
This was my method till I got up and bought my Instant Pot. The slow cooker is also an incredible tool for a lot of recipes. We just reverse the process, we build the lentils first by putting it in the slow cooker for 10 – 12 hours on low. This is a bit different from traditional way, as you do not have to monitor.However, for this specific one I found the slow cooker to be a bit unpredictable. The lentils were not always cooked equally, what I mean is I would find some lentils not cooked through while others were. It might totally be my slow cooker being the problem and other’s will not see this.
Instant Pot :
Dal makhani in instant pot is the quickest of all, hands down! Yes it takes 15 minutes end to end. Isn’t that awesome ? A traditional recipe, just tweaked a little to make it done by 15 minutes. I am in love with this method now, and the taste it renders is a great competitor for the traditional way and it wins by far in how quick it is.
INGREDIENTS
- Whole black lentils
or Ural Dal – 200 gms - Red kidney beans
or Rajma – 50 gms - Onions – 2 medium
- Tomato – 1 large
- Green chillis – 1 or 2
- Butter – 4 Tblsp
- Vegetable oil – 2 Tblsp
- Fresh Coriander(optional) – 2 stems
- Turmeric – 1/4 tsp
- Cumin powder – 1 tsp
- Coriander powder – 2 tsp
- Cinnamon – 2
- Cardamom – 4/5
- Bayleaf – 1
- Ginger – 2 “
- Garlic – 4 cloves
- Kasuri Methi – 1 Tblsp
- Fresh cream – 2 Tblsp
Step by Step Instructions
Step 1
Soak the dal/lentils overnight or for at least 4 hours
Step 2
Make a paste out of ginger and garlic. Finely chop the onions and tomatoes
Step 3
Put the Instant Pot on “saute” mode. Once hot, add vegetable oil and half of the butter
Step 4
Temper the oil with whole spices – cardamom, cinnamon and bayleaf. Add onions and fry for a minute.
Step 5
Add in the ginger and garlic, fry for another minute.
Step 6
When the onions have turned golden add in chopped tomatoes. Add salt and stir for 2 minutes.
Step 7
Add in the powdered spices, turmeric, cumin and coriander. Cook for 3-4 minutes. Add splashes of water if it gets dry,
Step 8
Once the spices start releasing oil, add in the soaked lentils. Mix well.
Step 9
Cancel the “saute” mode. Add in enough water to just submerge the lentils. Adjust the salt if needed.
Switch the Instant Pot to ‘Pressure Cook’ mode, or ‘Manual’ mode for older models.
Step 10
Pressure cook for 10 minutes
Natural release for another 10 minutes and then release all the pressure carefully
Step 11
Finish the Dal Makhani with rest of the butter, kasure methi and chopped coriander
And for the final touch add fresh cream.
Rest for a minute and enjoy!!