Dal Makhani Recipe - Healthier Dal Makhani Recipe

Dal Makhani is one  of the most popular Dal recipe from Indian cuisine. This is recipe of Dal makhni that we cook at our home. Basically, it is a healthier version of Punjabi dhaba style dal makhani. It's gluten-free, vegetarian lentil recipe that is perfect to serve with Nan or rice.

When you dip a crispy Naan, or simple flaky paratha in Creamy and buttery dal makhani... It feels like almost heaven on your plate.

Indian dal recipes are a comfort food for most of us, Punjabi Dal makhani is one of most popular Indian dal recipe. Also known as Maa ki dal or Kali dal the creamy, spicy and buttery dal preparation made with whole Black gram or Urad dal.

Healthy Dal Makhani

The ever popular restaurant style dal makhani is made using lots of butter and cream. However tasty that version is but eating that on day to day basis is not really a great thing from health point of view. So, I usually skip that on the menu when dining out and order Dal fry instead.

For me, homemade dal makhani recipe works best. I can actually control what goes into dal. This healthier version of Dal is almost as good in taste as Dhaba style Dal makhani.

It’s Thursday again and that means recipe with 24 Mantra organic. Three months that I have switched to organic lifestyle and joined Organic Mantra Initiative.

It’s been so amazing to use such a wide range of organic products. Because being healthy is a life style, and not an occasional dish that you cook with organic products and with such an exhaustive 24 Mantra organic product range.

It is really easy to cook organic meals all the times. Click here to check out all the recipes as a part of the initiative.

For this week’s recipe I chose to share this delicious and guilt-free dal makhani recipe which you can enjoy frequently. It is also said to be most popular punjabi dal.

However, I don't remember this is dal was made as frequently in my home or even at relatives. In most of Punjabi homes, we stick to lighter dals like moong dal, Masoor etc. I like to cook Dal makhani more on special occasions or when we eat in the Indian restaurant.

When we were traveling on highways this roadside dhaba was only place we we wanted to eat out :). A creamy and buttery dal, which is traditionally slow cooked and tempered with tomato puree and ginger, is a flavourful and robust lentil dish. As the name Makhani suggests loads and loads of butter goes into it, which most of us love 🙂

How I wish for a Jeanie that can nullify the calories and cholesterol that comes with loads of butter! But sadly till now I did not encounter any such, I will make this recipe of dal makhni. It does not contain ladle full of butter and cream, and still tastes as creamy and delicious as original dhaba dal makhani.

After tweaking the recipe many times I am finally happy with the results. Now only thing you have to let go of that dollop of butter you see on the top 😀

How to make Dal Makhani at Home

• To make tasty restaurant style dal makhani soak dal for minimum 3-4 hours.
• I always discard the water in which I soak the dal to reduce the flatulence after consuming it.
• Slow cooker dal makhnai gives best results and tastes like authentic Dal makhani.
• You can easily make it in instant pot or pressure cooker.

Try this healthy version of  Punjabi Dal Makhani which is not only guilt-free but tastes great just like almost original, so go cook some and enjoy.  And, do not forget to come back to tell me how it came out, even if you did not like it... that will help me to further improvisation.

Other Dal Recipe Which You May Want to Try

If you love Indian dal recipes, which you may want to try ,

Gujrati Dal

Dal Makhani 

Dal Fry 

Punjabi dhuli moong dal 

Langar wali dal 

Sookhi Urad Dal  

Whole Masoor dal 

📖 Recipe

Dal Makhani Recipe - How to make Dal Makhani

creamy and buttery Dal makhani recipe with a healthy touch. Slow cooked creamy dal makhani with Naan or steamed rice tastes absolutely best and comforting. Dal makhani has a special place amongst Indian Dal recipes. Here's how to make this tasty Dal recipe.

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Course: Main Dish

Cuisine: indian cuisine, punjabi

Keyword: dal

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

45 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Servings: 6

Calories: 150kcal

Author: Rekha Kakkar

Ingredients

• 250 grams black gram Sabut Urad dal
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon Red chilli powder
• For Tempering!
• 1 Tbsp butter/ghee
• 1 Tbsp Butter fresh
• 2 tablespoon Ginger julleins
• 300 g tomato puree fresh
• cup ¾milk to add in last

Instructions

• Wash and soak black urad dal ( black gram) overnight.
• Cook the soaked dal in 5 cups of water with salt and red chili powder till beans are tender and creamy in pressure cooker it approximately 25 minutes.
• After the dal is cooked, let the pressure cooker sit for a while so as to release the pressure on it’s own.
• Take out about ½ cup of dal and blend it in a blender jar, keep it aside.
• If cooking in slow cooker it takes about 7-8 hrs to cook dal makhani in slow cooker.
• When dal is cooking you can prepare the tempering for dal makhani.
• Take a thick bottom pan, heat the butter or ghee, add chopped ginger and fresh tomato puree. (If you are adding garlic you can add sliced garlic first before adding ginger and tomato puree)
• Saute till tomatoes are well mashed and butter separates, add boiled black gram dal and mix well.
• At this stage also add, blended dal and ¾ cup full cream milk and let the dal simmer for 10 minutes.
• Serve it topped with 1 tablespoon of fresh butter with Paratha or Nan.

Notes

Now conventionally when you are cooking Dal makhani you do not bother about the amount of cream or butter that goes into it, but since I am trying to eat healthy I tried this substitution instead of adding cream I used ¾ cups of milk and that worked quite well.

You Can cook this in Instant pot as well. Also you can try another Healthy Dal recipe  Whole Masoor Dal with Potatoes too.

Nutrition

Calories: 150kcal | Carbohydrates: 26g | Protein: 11g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 1mg | Sodium: 407mg | Potassium: 229mg | Fiber: 9g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 255IU | Vitamin C: 7mg | Calcium: 34mg | Iron: 4mg