Instant Pot Dal Makhani or Kali dal is made with Whole Urad Dal,Rajma and Channa Dal in instant pot or pressure cooker methods.This authentic dal makhani recipe is Vegetarian, Gluten Free & can easily made dairy free.
Who here loves punjabi dal makhni ? I certainly do! It takes patience and love to turn a few cups of dried lentils into creamy goodness of Dal Makhani but it’s so worth the effort.
You don’t need buckets of butter or cream to make authentic dal makhani.In my opinion, you don’t need cream at all except maybe some on special occasions.Though I do put a nice dollop of butter in it but in the large scheme of things it doesn’t add too many calories.
You can avoid butter too if you want your dal to be vegan and dairy free.
Traditionally the dal is made on stove top, simmered for hours together but we neither have the time or equipment for such a feat.We will make this creamy dream kali dal in 1 hour 20 minutes.
My son loves it.It’s possibly the only way he will eat rice!
Restaurant Style Dal Makhani Recipe
Ingredients used to make dal makhni
The ingredients used in my Restaurant Style Dal Makhani Recipe are pretty simple and very easily found in indian grocery stores.
- Black Whole Urad Dal
- Small Red Rajma or kidney beans
- Channa Dal
- Onions
- Tomato
- Whole Spices – Cumin and Coriander Seeds
- Oil
- Butter
- Cream
- Aromatics- Ginger,Garlic & Green Chilli
How to make Instant Pot Dal Makhani
Step 1 – Soak the dal, kidney beans and channa dal in water for 6-8 hours or overnight.
Step 2- Pressure cook the dal, kidney beans and channa dal along with salt and 4 times the water.
Step 3- Browning the onions, ginger, garlic and chillies in little oil.Once golden brown, add pureed tomatoes and cook this till they disintegrate and become mushy.
Step 4- Add the masala to the pressure cooked dals.Give it a mix, pressure cook again for 10 minutes.
Step 5- Mash the dal ,Add butter and mix. Garnish with cream and serve along with rotis or rice.
Pro Tips and Tricks
- If you have forgotten to soak the dal overnight, soak it in very hot water for 1-2 hours.This will give you similar results as soaking overnight.
- Cook the onion tomato masala well on slow heat, till most water evaporates and it becomes a paste.
- Mash the dal to get the creamy consistency.
- To make it healthy- only garnish the dal with butter and cream instead of mixing it up.
Here are some Instant Pot Dal recipes for you
Instant Pot Langarwali Dal
Instant Pot Dal Khichdi
Instant Pot Channa
Instant Pot Spinach Dal
Instant Pot Dal Palak
Instant Pot Hyderabadi Khatti Dal
Ingredients
- 1 Cup Black Whole Dal Black Urad Dal/Madras Dal
- 1/4 Cup Kidney Beans /Rajma
- 2 tbsp Channa Dal
- 1 Cup Onion
- 1.5 Cup Tomato pureed
- 1 Green Chilli
- 1 tsp Jeera
- 1 tbsp Oil
- 1 tbsp Butter add more for enhanced butter taste
- 2 tbsp Cream Skip this for healthier version
- Salt to taste
- 1 tbsp Ginger
- 1 tbsp Garlic
- 1 tbsp Coriander Powder
- 1 tsp Red Chilli powder adjust as per your need
Instructions
- Wash and Soak the dals together overnight.
Pressure Cooker Way
- Add 3 cups of water,Soaked dals along with 1 tsp of salt in the pressure cooker.
- Cook for 30 minutes on medium flame.
- Meanwhile, add oil in a pan.Once hot, add cumin and let it splutter.
- Add green Chilli,Ginger,Garlic and onions and saute on medium flame for 10 minutes till it’s golden brown.
- Add the masalas- Coriander powder and chilli powder.Give it a mix and add pureed tomatoes.
- Cook this till tomatoes are mushy.Add 1-2 tbsp of water in case the masala is burning or getting dry.
- Add this masala to the pressure cooked dals.Add butter and pressure cook again for 10 minutes.
- Open the pressure cooker and give it a good mix.Mash some of the dal.Cook without a lid to make it thicker.
- Drizzle cream on top while serving.
Instant Pot Method
- To the inner pot – Add 3 cups of water,Soaked dals* along with 1 tsp of salt.Select the PRESSURE COOK setting. Pressure cook in SEALED position for 45 minutes.Let the steam release naturally.
- Meanwhile, add oil in a pan.Once hot, add cumin and let it splutter.
- Add green Chilli,Ginger,Garlic and onions and saute on medium flame for 10 minutes till it’s golden brown.
- Add the masalas- Coriander powder and chilli powder.Give it a mix and add pureed tomatoes
- Cook this till tomatoes are mushy.Add 1-2 tbsp of water in case the masala is burning or getting dry.
- Add this masala to the pressure cooked dals.Add butter and PRESSURE COOK in SEALING position for 10 minutes.
- Open the pressure cooker and give it a good mix.Mash some of the dal.Cook without a lid to make it thicker.
- Drizzle cream on top while serving.
Notes
1. Soak the dals in boiling water for 1 hour.
2. Increase the cooking time to 1 hour 15 minutes
Nutrition
FAQs for making Dal Makhani in Instant Pot
How to make Dal Makhani Vegan/Dairy Free
To make Dal Makhani Vegan/Dairy Free- use oil instead of butter.Skip the dairy cream and add cashew cream instead.
How to make Dal Makhani without soaking the dal overnight
If you have forgotten to soak the rice overnight, soak them in boiling water for 1 hour before pressure cooking them.
What to serve Dal Makhani With?
Serve Dal Makhani with Jeera rice or naans.
Whats the texture of Dal Makhani
Dal Makhani should be super smooth.You should not be able to feel the lentils at all.They should have melted in the pot.
Can this recipe be doubled
Yes, absolutely.For Instant pot cooking- keep the cooking time same and make sure you do not over fill the inner pot.
Can this recipe be halved
Absolutely.For Instant pot cooking- keep the cooking time same and make sure you do not over fill the inner pot.
Can Dal Makhani be frozen
Yes.It freezes very well.In deep freezer for 3 months.
Do comment if you have a question