Creamy and Complex Dal Makhani (Indian Butter Lentils)

Published: Mar 28, 2022 · Modified: Jun 20, 2023 by Faith · This post may contain affiliate links · 39 Comments

Dal Makhani (Butter Lentils) is a slow-cooked North Indian dish of black lentils and red kidney beans in a richly-spiced creamy, buttery sauce.

Ever since one of my very best friends introduced me to Indian cuisine in college it’s been a favorite of mine.

She started me off on Chicken Tikka Masala (of course thinking that it would be the most certain dish to win me over). But not long after first trying it, my affection for Indian food branched out to any Indian-spiced dish I could get my hands on.

My friend’s father offered to set up a daily food delivery for my friend from a local Indian restaurant. My eyes widened in jealousy and then narrowed in disbelief when she said she turned him down flat. I can’t eat Indian food from a restaurant every day!, she exclaimed. After spending time with her, cooking together, and later visiting home with her where we feasted on her mom’s cooking nightly, I understood what she meant.

Like most cuisines, restaurant-made Indian food doesn’t hold a candle to homemade Indian food.

Hailing from the Punjabi region of Northern India, Dal Makhani (which you will also find transliterated as Daal Makhani and Dhal Makhani) is one such dish. It has a velvety sauce with complex spices, deep notes of sweetness from caramelized onion, and richness from a combination of cream and butter.

In This Article

Why You'll Love This Recipe

It's a restaurant-quality meal right out of your own kitchen.
Lentils and beans are an economical meal that are packed with nutrition!
Leftovers are even better, and bonus, this freezes like a dream.

The Best Dal Makhani Recipe

This dish isn’t a quick-cooking meal and neither is it a low-calorie meal. (But with a name like Butter Lentils that probably doesn’t come as a surprise.) Like any homemade meal, this dish is worth every second of effort. And as a bonus, most of the time required to make it isn’t hands-on time.

Sitting down to Dal Makhani for dinner you’ll realize it is in fact worth every minute spent on it and every calorie ingested.

Ingredients

Dried whole black lentils (urad dal)
Dried red kidney beans
Vegetable stock
Ghee (clarified butter)
Onion
Garlic
Ginger
Bay leaf
Cinnamon stick
Cardamom pods
Whole cloves
Dried hot red chilies
Garam masala spice mix
Coriander
Cumin
Chili powder
Sweet paprika
Fenugreek
Black pepper
Salt
Petite diced no-salt-added tomatoes
Tomato paste
Unsalted butter
Heavy cream

Step-by-Step Instructions

Add the black lentils and red beans to a large bowl; fill the bowl with room temperature water and soak overnight.
Rinse and drain the next day. Add the lentils and beans to a 5-quart pot along with the vegetable stock. Bring up to a boil, then cover the pot, turn heat down to simmer, and cook 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
Meanwhile, heat the ghee in a large skillet over medium to medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook until soft and deep caramel in color, about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. You can add a splash of water or turn the heat down at any point if the onions start to get too dark or the pan starts to get too hot.
Once the onion is caramelized, turn the heat to medium (if it wasn’t there already) and add the garlic and ginger; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly.
Add the spices and cook until fragrant, about 20 seconds, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat.
Once the lentils and beans have cooked for 1 hour, stir in the onion/spice mixture, the diced tomatoes, and the tomato paste.Gently simmer (uncovered) until the sauce is somewhat thickened and the lentils and beans are fully tender, about 45 minutes to 1 hour, stirring frequently. (Of course you can cover the pot if the sauce gets too thick before the lentils and beans are already tender.)
Remove from the heat and stir in the butter until melted.
Stir in the cream, and then serve!

How to Store Dal Makhani

You can store this dish for up to 4 days in the fridge or up to 3 months in the freezer.

Tips

Don't forget to soak the beans the night before!
As written, this recipe only has a mild spice level. You can add more dried hot red chilies as desired to increase the spicy heat.
Use chicken stock instead of vegetable stock for richer flavor.

Dal Makhani FAQs

Is Butter Unhealthy?

Studies show that real, grass-fed butter is actually good for you!

The list of health benefits actually goes on and on. But for starters, butter helps the body absorb fat-soluble vitamins. It’s also a great source of antioxidants and other nutrients (such as Vitamins A, D, E, and K and the mineral selenium) that strengthen our immune system, protect our cardiovascular system, and help prevent cancer.

An important component of butter is Conjugated Linoleic Acid. This not only helps protect against cancer, but may also help with weight management.

Further, the short and medium-chain fatty acids in butter’s saturated fat are burned as quick energy, not stored as fat in the body.

You can read more about the health benefits of real, grass-fed butter on Mark’s Daily Apple, Body Ecology, Green Med Info, and Delicious Obsessions.

How Can I Make Dal Makhani Vegan?

This is an easy dish to make vegan with a couple substitutions:

Use vegetable stock instead of chicken stock.
Instead of butter, use coconut oil (refined coconut oil is more neutral-tasting than cold-pressed virgin coconut oil).
Omit the heavy cream and use canned unsweetened full-fat coconut milk.

What Goes Well with Dal Makhani?

Indian bread, such as Naan
Prepared basmati rice
Cauliflower rice, to keep the carbs down

More Indian Recipes to Try

Let's Connect

Did you make this recipe? Please rate it and leave a comment below. You can also tag @anediblemosaic on social media.

To stay up-to-date, follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter!

This post was first published on An Edible Mosaic on January 22, 2014. It was updated with more information on March 28, 2022.

More Indian

Comments