Dal Makhani/Lentils Simmered in Creamy Tomato Sauce
Dal Makhani is a classic north Indian dish where the lentils are slowly simmered for hours in a very aromatic buttery, creamy tomato sauce. (Dal=Lentils Makhani: Makhan/Butter based). Rich, decadent and extremely detectable, this is a recipe to savor and treasure.
If you are the familiar with the popular dishes that 9 out of 10 Indian restaurants never fail to offer, Dal Makhani has to be one of them. This luxurious dish tops the favorite’s list among Indians and non Indians, esp. the vegetarian group. Every spoonful in the mouth is a sensational and slow burst of flavor and texture. Yes I am pretty passionate about the Dal Makhani! We eat it with naan, or rice or just by itself – well like a soup!
The outside is at last breathing spring! The little cardinal is back knocking on our window. Here is a snippet that we had recorded last year and it is happening at the exact same time! How amazing it is that the nature just knows, no clock, no predictions, no weather reports – the little birds who had been so silent for the past few months are chirping again. I love the quiet of the dark and the tiny tweets in the morning. The sky gradually lifts the dark veil and breaks out into vibrant red and pink hues and the warm sunlight has been gently touching our windows. My heart is already singing. Keeping my fingers crossed that the temperatures will not go back to freezing again.
With the frost of the air almost gone, we are getting active; being more outdoors, yard work, preparing for spring and summer plantings and entertaining. I had been planning to post the recipe for Dal Makhani for many months now, but every time I make I have not been taking any pictures; the day light is short and I do not have special lights for foodography. I did it this time.
I have given the link to how to make the Makhani Masala/ Butter based Tomato Cream Sauce I had posted before. This sauce is a must for this dish; you can make the sauce when you are cooking this or use the frozen one as I have done.
Notes: For the authentic flavor, DO NOT give the fenugreek seeds and the kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves) a miss when you are preparing the Makhani Masala. The primary flavor of the dish comes from these spices/herbs.
Dal Makhani/Lentils Simmered in Creamy Tomato Sauce
Ingredients: (feeds about 6-8 as a meal/main dish)
- 1.75 cups black urad dal/maa ki dal
- 1/2 cup rajma/red kidney deans
- 2 tablespoons chana dal/split Bengal grams (Optional)
- 1/2 onion, chopped
- 1 green cardamom
- 2 green chili pepper
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1.5 tablespoons butter/ghee/oil
- 3 cups Makhani Masala/Butter based Tomato Cream Sauce (without the Cream) – ( a little more of the sauce will not make much difference)
- 4-5 cups warm water (more or less)
- 2 cups whole milk (or 3/4 cup cream)
- salt
Preparation:
Soak the lentils/beans (black urad, kidney beans and chana dal) over night. Wash them well and drain.
In a deep, thick bottomed pot/dutch oven heat the butter/oil/ghee. Add the cardamom, cumin seeds and the slit hot green chili peppers. When the seeds sizzle, add the onions and cook at medium heat till they are clear and soft. Add all of the drained lentils/beans, and salt; toss them together with the oil/ghee/butter and the spices and cook for about 5 minutes at medium to high heat.
Stir in the Makhani Masala/Butter Based Tomato Cream Sauce, toss everything together to be well combined; all the lentils/beans should be well coated with this sauce and simmer at medium heat for about 10 minutes while stirring once in a while.
Add the warm water to the pot, stir and cover; simmer at low heat till the beans are tender. This might take a couple of hours. For a quicker version use the pressure cooker to cook as I always do.
After the lentils/beans are tender, mash some of them with the back of a big spoon. Stir everything together in the pot. It should be thicker than a regular soup, but not dry and clumpy. The consistency should be such that it easily coats a big spoon and yet can be poured out. If there is too much water left, keep on simmering till this consistency is reached. If it gets too dry, add some more warm water and keep simmering. Cook for about 10 minutes after you have reached the right consistency.
Stir in the milk/cream in the pot and lower the heat, cover and cook for another 15 minutes.
Serve hot with Naan or Roti (or any Indian flat bread). Top with more butter/ghee/cream if you want.
I served the dal with Tawa Naan and Raita… one delicious heartwarming meal.
Note: Dal Makhani freezes pretty well. If you decide to freeze the extra, make sure that you DO NOT add the cream or milk. Freeze it right before you add the cream. When you need to use the frozen dal again, defrost and put it in a pan on stove top, simmer for a while and then add the cream/milk. Serve immediately.
Being sent to MLLA-19th Helping held at EC- Simple Indian Food, brainchild of Susan of The Well Seasoned Cook.
Related Posts:
Methi Dal (Lentil Soup with Fenugreek)
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Details 
January 25th, 2010 at 9:46 am
Lentils are a staple in Greek cuisine too and that’s why I feel right at home with this dish!
January 25th, 2010 at 10:34 am
Oh my that looks so rich and creamy Soma..i love the color!!
January 25th, 2010 at 10:43 am
always loved this dish.thats exactly the restaurant look, very rich and creamy.
January 25th, 2010 at 11:16 am
Wow!!! This looks so delicious , rich and creamy… Wish to have this bowl with some rice:)
January 25th, 2010 at 11:26 am
what a color…yummy..this sure is a flavorful, rich and creamy dish !!
January 25th, 2010 at 11:43 am
Beautiful! Very classic and very comforting dal, looks great. Drizzle of little cream on top would be nice too, completes the picture but not really necessary. Great post!
Asha you are absolutely right! A swirl of cream would have made it picture perfect
I did add a dollop of butter before I took the pictures.. but all of it melted by time I was done clicking.
January 25th, 2010 at 11:44 am
Perfect! That is an awesome combo!
Cheers,
Rosa
January 25th, 2010 at 11:54 am
I love lentils! That looks so rich and comforting. Love all those spices.
January 25th, 2010 at 12:00 pm
Beautiful and delicous. Now just need roties to dipp in.
January 25th, 2010 at 12:52 pm
I love this curry and this looks awesome, Soma!
January 25th, 2010 at 1:55 pm
Sounds lovely, and what a great colour! My veggie daughter would love it.
January 25th, 2010 at 3:15 pm
I love dahl although I have never eaten it outside India or outside of an Indian restaurant. This looks like a great version and that color is just amazing!
January 25th, 2010 at 4:36 pm
Absolutely beautiful looking dahl Soma! It looks wonderful and I like the addition of tomato in it as I usually just make a “regular” dahl to eat
January 25th, 2010 at 6:57 pm
Lentils in creamy tomato sauce sound fantastic, I love the color of this dish!
January 25th, 2010 at 7:17 pm
Very creamy and rich–looks so perfect. What a luxury a bowl of this would be along with some delicious garlic naan for dipping.
January 25th, 2010 at 8:52 pm
Nice to find another dish using lentils. in the Caribbean we eat a lot of lentils, just never come across this dish before. Love the vibrant colour.
January 25th, 2010 at 8:55 pm
I love dhal makhani but never seen such a color! Looks excellent!
January 26th, 2010 at 3:16 am
Yum! luscious!
January 26th, 2010 at 3:16 am
can’t wait to try it
Maninas, I am waiting to see to make this! yours are always so stunning!
January 26th, 2010 at 5:40 am
I love dal makhani…yours look really delicious and perfect!!!
January 26th, 2010 at 8:27 am
it looks damn delicious…. I have been looking out for an authentic Dhal recipe.. and here it is… I can easily survive on Phulka, Dhal and some raita…
January 26th, 2010 at 9:59 am
Tooo tempting. Looks very delicious. I have never added channa dal in Dal Makhani.
In our place here sunlight is a rare commodity and I find it hard to take pics and yes, It is a Jade Budha in my Kesari Pic.
January 26th, 2010 at 11:04 am
One of my favorites, and the picture tells me yours must have tasted brilliant !
January 26th, 2010 at 11:34 am
Yummie, this soup looks absolutely delicious…great for this weather
January 26th, 2010 at 1:22 pm
Sigh. Your dal looks like a dream and is one of my very favorite restaurant orders. Definitely making this one! THANK YOU.
January 26th, 2010 at 4:08 pm
This dish looks fabulous!!! I was planning on going to the local Indian market to actually buy kasuri methi for another dish and then found your blog on foodgawker. This is definitely a sign to not put off my shopping trip any longer. Wow, what a great-looking dish. I’ll be making this soon.
Hope you like it!
January 26th, 2010 at 8:56 pm
This dish looks amazing! I love lentil soup. Delicious!
January 27th, 2010 at 8:42 am
looks yummy…..U r right one of the top list dish in Indian restaurants is Dal Makhani….but I never eat it in the restaurants…love to make it at home….though time consuming(simmering part) but u don’t have to baby sit it…always make double batch, as it tastes much better the next day.
January 27th, 2010 at 4:11 pm
Gorgeous colors, creamy, and totally delectable..all what I want in a dish!!
Cheers,
Gera
January 27th, 2010 at 8:58 pm
Looks so pretty and colorful. As you said it looks good to be devoured with Naan or rice. The weather is going to change in a day or two:-(
I know Supriya:-( Back to 30’s..and big coats. I am not looking forward to it.
January 28th, 2010 at 4:42 am
Wow…that’s an creamy medley of dals…look extremely appetizing…..
January 28th, 2010 at 4:06 pm
This looks and sounds mouthwatering! I noticed this calls for 3 cups of the sauce… Is that how much one recipe yields? I can’t wait to try this!
Meeso,
I have updated the Makhani Masala post with the amount. Thanks for pointing that out. That is approximately how much it yeilds. But you may do more & freeze. The amount I have given for the Dal makhani actually makes quite a lot!!! The Dal will soak and more than double the amount, so with the cream & sauce and water.. it amounts to quite a lot. So if you only cooking for a few you might want to reduce all the proportions. I will update the amount here too.
January 31st, 2010 at 8:27 pm
Its among my fav dals..love it, thanks for the entry
February 3rd, 2010 at 11:21 pm
I was silent for atleast 6 months since I fell in love with this blog and reading it regularly. I adore u’re color senses and they way u cook up things. This creamy masal caught my eyes and I made the sauce and added some cooked whol green moong dal along with some sauteed chopped onions and cumin seeds. It turned to be wonderful as there were oohs and aahs in my nephew’s b’day celebration for which I served them with hot pooris. Thanks a lot Soma for a keeper recipe!
Hi Nirmala,
Thank you so much for your kind words:-)
I am really glad that you enjoyed. It is a versatile sauce & I like the way you used it with the green moong!
cheers
Soma