Dal Makhaniਦਾਲ ਮਖਣੀ
⏱ Prep 15m🍳 Cook 90m🍽 Serves 4🌿 Vegetarian
Video: Chef Guntas (YouTube)
Dal makhani is the queen of Punjabi dals — whole black urad and kidney beans simmered low and slow for hours with tomato, butter and cream until impossibly rich and silky. Restaurants cook it overnight; the long, gentle cooking is the whole secret.
📍 Make it in Plano
This recipe is the same everywhere — but where you buy the ingredients and eat the dish is local to you.
Finding Desi spots near Plano…
Ingredients
- ▪Whole black urad (sabut urad)1 cup
- ▪Rajma (kidney beans)1/4 cup
- ▪Tomato puree1 cup
- ▪Ginger-garlic paste2 tbsp
- ▪Butter4 tbsp
- ▪Fresh cream1/2 cup
- ▪Kashmiri chilli powder1 tbsp
- ▪Garam masala1 tsp
- ▪Kasuri methi1 tbsp
- ▪Saltto taste
🌍 Cooking abroad? Substitutions
- The magic is the slow simmer — don’t rush the final hour; add hot water if it thickens too much.
- Whole black urad and rajma are in every Indian store; canned kidney beans can shortcut the rajma.
- For a lighter version, use milk + a spoon of butter instead of cream — still lovely.
Method
- 1Soak the urad and rajma overnight. Pressure-cook with salt and plenty of water until completely soft — the urad should mash easily (about 6–8 whistles).
- 2Heat butter, fry the ginger-garlic paste, add tomato puree and chilli powder, and cook until thick and the butter separates.
- 3Add the cooked dal with its liquid; simmer on very low heat, uncovered, stirring often and mashing some beans against the side, for 45 minutes to an hour — the longer the better.
- 4Stir in cream, garam masala and crushed kasuri methi; simmer another 10 minutes until glossy and thick.
- 5Finish with a swirl of cream and butter. Serve with naan or rice.
A Desi.Net original recipe · part of our Indian Cuisine library. Confirm details and adjust to taste.