This dal makhani recipe is not authentic because I customized it with red lentils instead of black lentils, aka urad dal. It makes the dal lighter so that the stomach can digest it easily.
Dal Makhani is a famous dish in Punjab and the northern part of the country. This rich recipe uses heavy cream and butter, making it divinely tasteful. If you want to make it healthier, reduce the fatty ingredients. Instead of butter, I am using purified butter from cow's milk, which is relatively less fatty and beneficial for bone health. In regular dal makhani, black gram lentils are used. But I have used brown whole lentils with red kidney beans in this recipe.
Dal Makhani (Curried red lentils and kidney beans)
This recipe is a lighter version of authentic dal makhani, but in taste, it's equally tasty. The basic curry paste I have used is pureed onion, garlic, ginger, tomatoes, cloves, cardamom, black pepper, and cinnamon. This is basic makhani paste. Cashews add a creaminess to the dal, but these are optional, and you can skip it.
Usually, I prepare the curry paste well in advance and store it in the refrigerator to reduce the cooking time. This will reduce the cooking time by 20 minutes or so.
These three are the essential ingredients for faster cooking. You can prepare fresh curry paste and saute it until it is cooked entirely and releases oil from the surface. This process may take up to 15 minutes. To get that perfect taste, it's essential to fry and cook the onion paste well.
Let us see how to make the curry from scratch.
How to make dal makhani with red lentils?
Ingredients required:
Brown lentils and kidney beans
onion, tomatoes, ginger, garlic cloves
Olive oil/vegetable oil/ghee
Ground Sipces - red chili powder (paprika), Kashmiri chili powder, coriander powder, cumin powder, turmeric powder, salt to taste
Whole spices - cinnamon, green cardamom, black cardamom, bay leaves, black pepper, cloves
Cashews - for creamier texture
Instructions:-
Pressure Cook Dal & Kidney Beans
- Pressure cook them for 10 minutes or 4 - 5 whistles, adding salt and turmeric powder to the water. Once done, turn off the heat and wait for the pressure to release naturally.
Make Masala Paste
- Heat oil or ghee in a pan or kadai. Once the oil is hot, add cumin seeds and all the whole spices. Saute until fragrant. Then, add chopped onions, ginger, and garlic. Saute until translucent.
- Add diced tomatoes with a pinch of salt. Salt will help extract the water and cook faster. Add 4 - 5 cashews to the pan while sauteing the tomatoes. Then add all the ground spices. Saute until the masala is cooked and oil releases on the sides.
- Once the masala is properly cooked, turn off the heat and wait for the temperature to come down. Transfer it to a blender (remove the bay leaves) and blend it to a smooth puree.
Add Lentil & Kidney Beans
- Heat 1 tsp ghee in a pan and add Kashmiri red chili powder. Transfer the masala paste to the pan and stir to mix. Once it starts to simmer, add boiled lentils and kidney beans to the pan.
- Mix and let it simmer on low flame for 8 - 10 minutes. In the end, add roasted kasuri methi powder and finely chopped fresh coriander leaves.
- Garnish and serve hot with rice or chappati/ flattened bread.
Similar Recipes:
Dal Makhani (Curried Red Lentils and Kidney Beans)
Equipment
- 1 pan or skillet
- 1 Spatula
Ingredients
- 4 - 3 tbsp refined oil/ olive oil ghee
- 3 onion
- 2 tomato
- 1 inch ginger
- 8 - 10 garlic cloves
- 1 tsp red chilli powder paprika
- 3 tsp coriander powder
- 1 tsp cumin powder
- ยฝ tsp turmeric powder
- 1 inch cinnamon
- 4 green cardamom
- 1 black cardamom
- 2 bay Leaves
- 6 - 8 black pepper
- 1 tbsp salt
- 5 cloves
To Pressurecook
- 1 cup brown lentils (whole masoor dal)
- ยผ cup red kidney beans
- ยฝ tsp salt
Instructions
- Soak the lentils and beans for 8 hours or over night.
- Pressure cook them for 10 minutes or 4 - 5 whistles, adding salt and turmeric powder to the water.
- Once done, turn off the heat and wait for the pressure to release naturally.
- Heat oil or ghee in a pan or kadai.
- Once oil is hot, add cumin seeds and all the whole spices. Saute until fragrant.
- Then, add chopped onions, ginger, and garlic. Saute until translucent.
- Add diced tomatoes with a pinch of salt. Salt will help to extract the water and cook faster.
- Add 4 - 5 cashews to the pan while sauteing the tomatoes.
- Then add all the ground spices. Saute until the masala is cooked and release oil on the sides.
- Once the masala is properly cooked, turn off the heat and wait for the temperature to come down.
- Transfer it to a blender (remove bay leaves). Blend it to a smooth puree.
- Heat 1 tsp ghee in a pan and add Kashmiri red chili powder.
- Transfer the masala paste to the pan and stir to mix.
- Once it starts to simmer, add boiled lentils and kidney beans to the pan.
- Mix and let it simmer for 8 - 10 minutes in low flame.
- In the end, add roasted kasuri methi powder and finely chopped fresh coriander leaves.
- Garnish and serve hot with rice or chappati/ flattened bread.
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