Instant Pot Dal Makhani
If you’re short on time but still crave Restaurant-style Dal Makhani in under 30 minutes, the Instant Pot is your best friend. You can make better than restaurant Dal Makhani In Instant pot. This Instant pot Dal makhani has that authentic “slow-cooked” taste without the wait.
Instant Pot Dak Makhani is the easiest recipe to make buttery creamy and luscious dal makhani. Black lentils and kidney beans along with spices are cooked to a creamy consistency in this makhani dal.
In Traditional recipe of dal makhani, it is slow-cooked for hours on slow heat. This makes dal creamy and adds a smoky flavour to dal. Since quite sometime I have started making this Instant Pot Dal makhani I hardly need to cook it for hours and get the best creamy dal in Instant pot.
THE BEST for satisfying the cravings. With my easy tandoori roti or no yeast naan makhani dal makes a perfect restaurant-style meal combination.
Why This Dal Makhani recipe Stands Out
- Minimal Prep: Thanks to soaking, your Creamy Dal Makhani recipe with minimal prep time practically cooks itself in the Instant Pot.
- Versatility: It doubles as a Vegetarian curry with no extra work—just swap dairy products as needed.
- Foolproof Method: Pressure cooking ensures soft, melt-in-your-mouth lentils every time.
The signature combination of black lentils, rajma (kidney beans), and Indian spices along with a generous dose of ghee or butter delivers rich, indulgent notes. Despite its decadent taste, it’s straightforward to prepare, making it ideal for busy evenings or special occasions.
Dal makhani Ingredients
- Lentils: Black lentils / Whole Urad Dal, small red kidney beans. You need to soak dry black lentils for 2-3 hours for the perfect cooking.
- Fresh Ingredients: ginger, garlic, tomatoes, coriander, chive for making herbed butter. Tomatoes which are ground to fresh puree.
- Spices & Seasonings: Salt, Kashmiri red chilli powder, red chilli powder, kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves)
- Dairy: Butter and milk. If you want to make it more indulgent you can use fresh cream for the garnishing.
You can find all these ingredients for dal makhani either online and supermarkets near you. If you live in America, Walmart, Costco, trader joe and whole foods stock these. And lastly you can buy them in any Indian store.
How to Make Dal Makhani Instant Pot
step-by-step guide to cooking Dal Makhani in an Instant Pot. Gather the ingredients listed below, and you’ll have a flavorful, comfort food classic ready in no time.
Soak the Lentils and Beans
- Rinse your black lentils and whole urad dal thoroughly.
- Soak them together with rajma (kidney beans) for at least 6–8 hours. This step is crucial for achieving the signature texture.
Sauté the Base
- On the Instant Pot, select “Sauté.”
- Warm up ghee or butter before adding finely chopped ginger, and garlic chives.
- Cook for a minute then add fresh tomato puree. Allow the mixture to bubble for a few minutes so the flavors meld.
Add in Red chilli powder, Kashmiri red chilli powder, salt to taste. Cook till tomatoes are well cooked and leave out the butter.
Pressure Cook
- Add your soaked black lentils, whole urad dal, and rajma (kidney beans) into the pot with 4 cups of water .
- Seal the lid and pressure cook for 25 minutes. This short window is what makes it Restaurant-style Dal Makhani in under 30 minutes possible!
- Perform a natural or quick pressure release, then open the lid carefully.
Finish with Cream
- Stir in heavy cream or a plant-based alternative if you prefer a vegan Dal makhani . This step transforms your dish into a truly creamy lentil stew.
I skip the cream altogether and add whole milk instead. It still tastes pretty good. But if you want to make true restaurant style dal makhani add heavy cream.
Now add in kasuri methi/ dried fenugreek leaves and butter and mix to combine well. Dal Makhani that tastes incredibly delicious is ready to serve.
Secret Tips To Make Dal Makhani
- First up let me tell you that you need only very few ingredients to make this Authentic Punjabi Dal Makhani using an electric pressure cooker. This Dal makhani recipe is more about cooking it right than adding a lot of spices or other ingredients. The flavour of the recipe depends upon how you use your ingredients and not on how many ingredients.
- Once I had the only garlic chive and coriander leaves herbed butter available at home so I used that. The matured flavour of herbs made makhani dal so incredibly flavourful that now I purposefully use herbed butter for making dal makhani.
Tips for Variations
- Make it Vegan: Replace ghee or butter with oil and use coconut milk instead of dairy cream.
- Spice Level: Adjust chili powder to make it milder or hotter.
- Batch Cooking: Freeze leftovers in portions for quick reheats it tastes even better the next day.
Recipe Notes and Tips
- Soak Black Urad dal and kidney beans( rajma) for 6-8 hours. This is a must for the creamy texture of makhani dal.
- DO NOT be tempted to use less butter for the Authentic dal makhani! You can try a healthier version of dal makhani from this recipe.
- Using herbed butter with mature flavour is a Game Changer in this recipe and adds extra flavour.
- I am extremely happy to say that the texture, taste and the colour is almost perfect and similar to the dal makhani from your favourite restaurant.
- Fresh tomato puree is best for making dal but in case you can’t find them use canned whole tomatoes. Mash them before adding. Do not use canned tomato puree.
What To Serve with Dal Makhani
Dal tastes best when served with flatbreads like Garlic Naan, Butter Naan, laccha Paratha , masala paratha or tandoori roti. If you like dal and rice combination Dal makhani with jeera rice is one of the best meal combinations.
How To Store ?
You can store leftover dal in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. The flavour of one day old dal intensifies as you store it for longer. So I mostly make an extra batch. You can also easily freeze dal makhani. Store it in a ziplock bag or a freezer safe container. You can freeze it upto 10-12 weeks in freezer.
Making Dal Makhani in an Instant Pot doesn’t have to be time-consuming or complicated. You can enjoy a restaurant-style Dal Makhani that’s ready in roughly 30 minutes, and is perfect for both weeknight dinners and special occasions.
Whether you’re a seasoned cook or just exploring Instant Pot Indian recipes, this creamy Dal recipe with minimal prep time will quickly become a staple in your kitchen.
Give this recipe a try, and you’ll know how easy it is to bring the flavors of a slow-simmered, traditional Dal Makhani straight to your dinner table using an electric pressure cooker. Enjoy the rich aroma, velvety texture, and comforting taste every time you take a spoonful!
More Such Recipes
- Healthier Dal Makhani
- Instant Pot Masoor Dal
- Green Moong Dal
- Sindhi Dal Pakwan
- Dal Palak Recipe
- Instant Pot Dal Makhani
- Khatti Dal
- Sookhi Urad dal
Dal Makhani Recipe Video
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Instant Pot Dal Makhani Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 200 grams Black Lentils/ whole Urad Dal
- 50 grams Red kidney beans small
- 2 Tablespoon Herbed butter salted
- 1 tablespoon ginger chopped finely
- 1 tablespoon garlic grated
- 1 cup fresh tomato puree approximately 3 medium sized tomatoes
- 1 teaspoon Kashmiri red chilli powder
- 1 teaspoon red chilli powder
- 1/2 teaspoon Salt
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1/4 teaspoon Kasuri Methi
- 2 tablespoons butter
Instructions
Soak Lentils and Beans
- Rinse your black lentils and whole urad dal thoroughly.Soak them together with rajma (kidney beans) for at least 6–8 hours. This step is crucial for achieving the signature texture.
Sauté the Base
- On the Instant Pot, select “Sauté”. Warm up ghee or butter before adding finely chopped ginger, and garlic.Cook until onions turn translucent, infusing the dish with Indian spices (like cumin seeds, red chili powder, turmeric, and coriander powder).
Add Tomatoes and Seasoning
- Add fresh tomato purée to form a rich tomato gravy.Stir in a bit of salt and garam masala for depth.Allow the mixture to bubble for a few minutes so the flavors meld. If you do not have fresh tomatoes go ahead and use peeled tomatoes from the can but if you are using canned tomatoes mash them before adding.
Pressure Cook
- Add your soaked black lentils, whole urad dal, and rajma (kidney beans) into the pot with water or stock. Seal the lid and pressure cook for 25–30 minutes. This short window is what makes it Restaurant-style Dal Makhani in under 30 minutes possible!
Finish with Cream
- Perform a natural or quick pressure release, then open the lid carefully. Stir in kasuri methi and Butter or a plant-based alternative if you prefer a vegetarian curry version. This step transforms your dish into a truly creamy lentil stew.
- Most people add cream here but I feel it adds more heaviness than taste so I prefer to use milk you do what you like. The creamy texture will anyways come from cooking and not from cream. So I avoid too much cream.
- Dal is cooked very simply, the flavour comes from garlic and one more herb which I am using here.
- Now Dal makhani is done! Enjoy this as Dal makhani and Naan combination or Dal makhani with paratha also tastes great!
Video
Notes
- Soak Black Urad dal and kidney beans( rajma) for 6-8 hours. This is a must for the creamy texture of makhani dal.
- For the best Dal Makhani do not go overboard on spices, the flavour comes from liberal use of butter and slow cooking of dal.
- DO NOT be tempted to use less butter for the real deal!
If i need to cook in pressure cooker then how many whistles n how much time in steam I should keep .As I dnt have instant pot so please if u can help with pressure cooker process I will be grateful .
Thank you
Hi Divya I have shared the link for Slow cooked pressure cooker dal makhani in the post already please check that.