This Dhaba style dal makhani is the most rich, creamy and flavourful dal you will ever come across.
It comes together in under 30 minutes in your pressure cooker and is a hearty, comforting and wholesome meal you can put together for the entire family.
The perfect balance of creamy and spicy flavors will blow your mind away. You’ve got to give this recipe a try.
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Ingredients For the Recipe
You will need just a few ingredients to make the Dhaba style dal makhani.
For boiled dal
- Black lentil (soaked overnight): 1 cup
- Kidney Beans: ¼ cup
- Butter (optional): ¼ cup
- Water: As required
For the dal
- Tomatoes (roughly chopped): 2 medium
- Green chilies: 1-2
- Garlic: 5-6 cloves
- Coriander stem (roughly chopped): ¼ cup
- Water: ¼ cup
- Butter: ¼ cup + 2 tbsp
- Bay leaf: 1
- Cumin seeds: ½ tsp
- Dried fenugreek leaves: 1 tbsp
- Red chili powder: 1 tsp
- Salt: 2 teaspoon or as per taste
- Fresh cream: ¼ cup
How to Make the Dhaba Style Dal Makhani
Once you have all the ingredients ready, here is what you will need to do to make the Dhaba style dal makhani.
Wash and soak the black lentils and kidney beans overnight.
In a pressure cooker, add the soaked dal and pressure cook for 8-10 whistles or until the dal is completely cooked.
Once the dal is cooked, add the butter and mix. (optional step)
Take a saucepan and add the tomatoes, green chilies, garlic, and coriander stem.
Add ¼ cup water and bring them to a boil.
Let them cool down to room temperature and make a smooth paste.
Heat butter in a pan. Add the cumin seeds, bay leaf, and dried fenugreek leaves.
Add the red chili powder and mix.
Add the prepared tomato paste and mix. Saute for 2-3 minutes.
Next, add in the cooked dal and mix well. Let the mixture come to a simmer and cook for 2-3 minutes.
Mash the cooked dal a bit so as the mixture becomes thicker in consistency.
Turn off the heat and add in the butter and cream. Mix well.
Next, add salt as per taste and mix well.
Add a little bit of water if the dal turns out to be too thick. You can adjust the consistency as per your liking.
Serve hot with steamed rice after garnishing with fresh cream and dried fenugreek leaves.
Frequently Asked Questions
In addition to everything that I used, you can also experiment and use other kinds of lentils for this recipe. Chana Dal and split red lentils are some great options.
Remember that each of these lentils have a different cooking time, which is why it is best to pressure cook them instead of cooking them over the stove top. 
If you have any leftovers, you can transfer them to an airtight container and refrigerate them for 2 to 3 days.
In fact, making the dal makhani a day ahead will allow its flavors to develop and deepen even more.
I would recommend reheating it over low heat with a little splash of water. You can use a microwave or a regular pot- whatever you prefer. 
Tips & Tricks to Make the Dhaba Style Dal Makhani
Ready to try this Dhaba style dal makhani recipe? Here are some tips and tricks you might want to take note of.
- If you don’t have a pressure cooker, you can make this dal makhani in a regular pot over the stove top too. Just remember that the lentils will take a longer time to cook this way.
- Make sure you soak the lentils overnight, especially if you are using a regular pot to cook it.
- If you haven’t soaked the lentils, and still don’t want to use a pressure cooker, you can add a pinch or two of baking soda into the mixture while the lentils are getting cooked. This helps sort of tenderize them.
- To add a bit of tanginess to the dal, you can also add some pureed tomatoes into the mix and let the dal simmer for a few extra minutes.
- I used butter and cream to bring some richness to the gravy, but you can skip adding those if you are a vegan, and just use some olive oil to cook the dal and add some cashew paste or coconut cream to lend the richness.
- To add a bit of smoky flavor to the dal, you can heat up a piece of charcoal until it is red hot, place it in a small container over the dal and add a few drops of ghee into it. Then, cover the pot with a lid to allow the smoke to penetrate the dal for a few minutes before you serve it.
- If you don’t have the charcoal pieces, you can use some smoked paprika or liquid smoke to get that characteristic smoky flavor into the dal makhani.
- To cut down the cooking time for this recipe, you can also use canned kidney beans if you want to.
Serving Ideas & Suggestions
This creamy and flavourful dal makhani can be teamed up with your favorite naans and flatbreads. I personally love serving it with my homemade bullet naan or kashmiri naan.
If you love rice, you can also serve some Basmati rice or jeera rice with it.
Just like any Indian classic meal, you might want to team up the dal makhani with some salad or roasted poppadom on the side.
Enjoyed making this flavourful dal? Inspired to try some more dal recipes.? Here are a few handpicked ones you might want to look at.
📖 Recipe
Dhaba Style Dal Makhani
Ingredients
Ingredients For boiled dal
- 1 cup Black Lentil , (soaked overnight)
- ¼ cup Kidney Beans
- ¼ cup Butter , (optional)
- 1 glass Water, (as required)
Ingredients For the dal
- 2 medium Tomatoes , (roughly chopped)
- 2 pcs Green Chilies
- 6 cloves Garlic
- ¼ cup Coriander Stem , (roughly chopped)
- ¼ cup Water
- ¼ cup Butter
- 1 pc Bay Leaf
- ½ teaspoon Cumin Seeds
- 1 tablespoon Dried Fenugreek Leaves
- 1 teaspoon Red Chili Powder
- 2 teaspoon Salt
- ¼ cup Fresh Cream
Instructions
- Wash and soak the black lentils and kidney beans overnight.
- In a pressure cooker, add the soaked dal and pressure cook for 8-10 whistles or until the dal is completely cooked.
- Once the dal is cooked, add the butter and mix. (optional step)
- Take a saucepan and add the tomatoes, green chilies, garlic, and coriander stem. Add ¼ cup water and bring them to a boil. Let them cool down to room temperature and make a smooth paste.
- Heat butter in a pan. Add the cumin seeds, bay leaf, and dried fenugreek leaves.
- Add the red chili powder and mix.
- Add the prepared tomato paste and mix. Saute for 2-3 minutes.
- Next, add in the cooked dal and mix well. Let the mixture come to a simmer and cook for 2-3 minutes.
- Mash the cooked dal a bit so as the mixture becomes thicker in consistency.
- Turn off the heat and add in the butter and cream. Mix well.
- Next, add salt as per taste and mix well.
- Add a little bit of water if the dal turns out to be too thick. You can adjust the consistency as per your liking.
- Serve hot with steamed rice after garnishing with fresh cream and dried fenugreek leaves.
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