Instant Pot Dal Makhani made easy with step by step photos. One of our staples during weekends is Dal Makhani which is a slow-cooked lentil dish from the Punjabi cuisine. Here I share to make this delicious lentil curry in the Instant Pot. Serve this Instant Pot Dal Makhani with roti, paratha, naan or steamed basmati rice for rich luxurious meal.
Table of Contents
About This Recipe
This most popular Punjabi lentil dish made in the Instant Pot gives you a homely tasting Dal Makhani. This One Pot Dal Makhani recipe is the simplest and easiest version I make.
I here adapt my mother-in-law’s recipe and make it in the Instant Pot. This is a fail proof recipe that I have been making for many years. Initially, I used to cook it in a stove-top pressure cooker but now have switched to Instant Pot.
As with when cooking with dried lentils, you do need to soak them ahead. So there is a prep involved of soaking the lentils. But after the soaking step, making the recipe is simply easy in the Instant Pot.
Usually the traditional recipe calls for cooking only the lentils first and later they are simmered in a sautéed mixture of onion, tomato puree, herbs, spices and butter. But this recipe is completely different as it is a one-pot method where all the ingredients are thrown in and then cooked together.
The flavor and taste of this Instant Pot Dal Makhani is very good. You can definitely perk it up by using dhungar method (smoking with charcoal). When doing this method, remove the steel insert from the Instant Pot and place it on the kitchen countertop.
The lentils are pressure cooked for 30 minutes and later simmered for 8 minutes. So the overall cooking time is 38 to 40 minutes. When the lentils are getting pressure cooked, you can steam rice or prepare roti or naan.
Ingredients You Need
This rich creamy lentil dish is made with lentils, tomato puree, ginger-garlic paste, spices, butter and cream.
- Lentils: The lentils are Whole Black Lentils (called Urad dal or Kaali Dal in Hindi) and Red Kidney Beans (known as Rajma in Hindi). Below is a photo of both, after they have been soaked and drained of all the water.
- Butter: Generally White Butter is added which is called Makhan in Hindi. The word “Makhani” means buttery and smooth. You can even add yellow butter.
- Cream: Fresh Cream is also added which makes the lentils rich. Due to the addition of ingredients like butter and cream, this instant pot dal makhani has a rich creamy taste. Though note that you can avoid cream completely.
- Tomato puree: You can blend tomatoes to get a smooth puree or use canned tomato puree.
- Ginger-garlic paste: Crush equal amounts of ginger-garlic in a mortar-pestle to get 1 tablespoon ginger-garlic paste or use ready ginger-garlic paste.
More Trivia
- Many ways: There are many methods of making this dish. In the traditional method, the pot of lentils is simmered on a slow charcoal fire overnight. Due to this the cooking method the charcoal flavor infuses in the dish giving it a nice rustic flavor and taste.
- Popular lentil dish: You can see this dish being served in weddings, engagements and almost any parties in India. It is not only popular in North India, but also in South India. If you are looking for the traditional method, then do check this smoky restaurant-style stovetop version of Dal Makhani.
- Leftovers: For some unknown reason, it tastes even better on the second day. There are some Punjabi recipes like sarson da saag, Amritsari dal and dal makhani that tastes better on the second day. But don’t eat too much as it is heavy on the stomach.
How to make Instant Pot Dal Makhani
Soak Lentils
1. Rinse 1 cup black lentils (whole urad dal with their skins) and ¼ cup kidney beans (rajma) very well in water for a couple of times. Then soak both the lentils and beans overnight if you are making the dish in the morning.
If you are making it in the evening, then soak them in the morning. Drain the soaked water and rinse the black lentils and kidney beans with fresh water a few times. Drain all the water.
Ensure that the lentils are fresh and in their shelf period. The aged lentils will take more time to cook and also won’t taste so good.
2. Then add the lentils and beans in the steel insert pot of the Instant Pot.
Make Tomato Puree
3. Take 1.5 cups chopped tomatoes, 1.5 teaspoons chopped ginger and 1.5 teaspoons chopped garlic in a blender or mixer jar.
Alternatively, use 1 cup canned tomato purée and 1 tablespoon ginger-garlic paste.
4. Blend till fine and smooth. Set aside.
Cook in the Instant Pot
5. Add the following spices to the lentils:
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder (ground turmeric)
- 1 teaspoon cumin powder (ground cumin)
- 1 teaspoon Kashmiri chili powder (sub with ½ teaspoon cayenne or paprika)
- 1 teaspoon garam masala powder or Punjabi garam masala powder.
- Also, add salt as per taste.
6. Now add the blended tomato, ginger, garlic puree to the lentils. You can even add finely chopped ⅓ to ½ cup onions at this step.
7. Pour 3 cups of water. Stir and mix very well.
8. Switch the IP on. Press the pressure cooker switch on high pressure and set the timer to 30 minutes.
You can even use the Bean/Chili option of the Instant Pot which has an auto setting of pressure cooking on high pressure for 30 minutes.
9. After the lentils are pressure cooked, wait for 10 or 12 minutes. Then do a quick pressure release (QPR) – lift the valve and remove any steam left. Remove the lid.
You will see that the lentils will have softened really well and that the beans and lentils are cooked and the consistency is slightly watery and broth-like. The end result should be smooth and creamy.
So the whole mixture has to be simmered till the consistency thickens a bit and becomes creamy. If the lentils are undercooked, then pressure cook for some more minutes (adding some more water if required).
Simmer Further
10: Press the sauté button for 7 to 8 minutes on normal.
11. Add 2 tablespoons white butter. You can even use yellow butter. The butter will melt.
12. With the back of the spoon mash some of the cooked lentils and beans. Stir often. The stirring will also help in mashing a few of the cooked lentils and beans. Mashing the lentils also helps in making the gravy smooth and slightly thickening the consistency.
Stir often so that the lentils do not stick to the bottom of the steel insert pot. While using the sauté option, you can even set it to the low mode for a slow simmer. But keep on stirring often.
13. Once the consistency is thickened, add ¼ cup light cream and ½ to 1 teaspoon dried fenugreek leaves (kasuri methi) that has been crushed.
Both these ingredients are optional and you can skip them. Instead of light cream, add 2 tablespoons of heavy cream or whipping cream.
Remember the consistency should be neither too thick nor thin. If it becomes too thick, then add some water and mix. Also do note that the curry will thicken more on cooling.
14. Stir and mix very well.
15. Simmer for a minute.
16. Serve Instant Pot Dal Makhani hot or warm with Indian flatbreads like roti, naan bread, tandoori roti or lachha paratha or aloo paratha or plain paratha or rumali roti.
You can also serve it with cumin rice or biryani rice or steamed basmati rice. If you like then while serving drizzle some cream or top with some butter. You can even garnish with coriander leaves (cilantro) and ginger julienne.
Serving suggestions
Usually in Punjab, they serve this rich lentil dish topped with lots of white butter and cream.
It pairs well with Indian bread like roti, naan bread, aloo paratha, aloo kulcha, paneer kulcha or rumali roti or tandoori roti or plain paratha or laccha paratha. You can also serve it with steamed basmati rice or cumin rice.
Expert Tips and Variations
- Freshness and quality of lentils: If the lentils or beans are aged, then they will take a long time to cook. So you can pressure cook further for 10 to 15 minutes. Add ½ to 1 cup water while pressure cooking further. For best taste use fresh lentils that are in their shelf period and also soak them overnight in water.
- Consistency: If the curry becomes too thick, then add some water. Mash some lentils while simmering (in the last part of the cooking). Mashing lentils help in thickening the gravy.
- Ground Spices: You can add less or more of the ground spice powders according to your taste preferences.
- Substituting tomatoes, ginger & garlic: Add 1 cup canned or homemade tomato puree and 1 tablespoon ginger-garlic paste. You can even crush the ginger & garlic in a mortar-pestle.
- Vegan options: Use 2 to 3 tablespoons oil instead of butter. Skip cream or you can add cashew cream or coconut cream. With coconut cream, the flavors of coconut will be felt.
- Optional ingredients: Kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves) and cream can be skipped completely. You can even add ⅓ to ½ cup of finely chopped onions with the spice powders and tomato puree.
- Spice substitutions: Instead of cumin powder, add ½ teaspoon cumin seeds. If you do not have red chilli powder or cayenne pepper, then add 1 to 2 green chillies or serrano peppers. You can skip ground turmeric powder.
More Instant Pot Recipes
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Instant Pot Dal Makhani
Ingredients
For soaking
- 1 cup whole black gram (whole urad dal with their husks or kaali dal), 210 grams
- ¼ cup kidney beans (rajma), 50 grams
- water as required – for soaking
For making tomato puree
- 1.5 cups chopped tomatoes – 200 grams or 3 medium-sized tomatoes – can use 1 cup fresh or canned tomato puree instead
- 1.5 teaspoons chopped ginger or 1.5 inches ginger, chopped
- 1.5 teaspoons chopped garlic or 8 to 9 small to medium garlic cloves, chopped
Other ingredients
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder (ground turmeric)
- 1 teaspoon kashmiri red chili powder or ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper or paprika
- 1 teaspoon Garam Masala or punjabi garam masala – can sub with curry powder instead
- 1 teaspoon cumin powder (ground cumin)
- ⅓ to ½ cup finely chopped onions or 1 medium-sized onion, finely chopped – optional
- salt as required
- 3 cups water
- 3 tablespoons White Butter or 2 tablespoons ghee (clarified butter) or oil
- ¼ cup light cream or 2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream – optional
- ½ to 1 teaspoon dried fenugreek leaves (kasuri methi), crushed – optional
- 1 to 2 tablespoons coriander leaves for garnish – optional
- 1 teaspoon ginger julienne for garnish – optional
Instructions
Soaking lentils and beans
- Soak both the kidney beans (rajma) and whole black lentils (urad dal) overnight if you are making this in the morning. Rinse the lentils for a couple of times before soaking.
- If you are making it in the evening, then soak the lentils in the morning.
- Later discard all the water from the lentils well and then rinse them with fresh water.
- Add the rinsed lentils in the steel insert pot of the IP.
Making tomato puree
- Take the chopped tomatoes, chopped ginger and chopped garlic in a blender or mixer jar. Alternatively, you can use 1 cup canned tomato purée and 1 tablespoon ginger-garlic paste and add directly in the pot.
- Blend till smooth. Keep aside.
Cooking in the instant pot
- Add all the spices powders – turmeric powder, cumin powder, kashmiri chilli powder and Garam Masala or Punjabi Garam masala. Also, add salt as per taste.
- Now add the blended tomato, ginger, garlic puree and water. You can even add finely chopped ⅓ to ½ cup onions at this step.
- Stir and mix very well.
- Switch the IP on. Press the pressure cooker switch on high pressure and set the timer to 30 minutes. You can even use the Bean/Chili option of the Instant Pot which has an auto setting of pressure cooking on high pressure for 30 minutes.
- After the lentils are pressure cooked, wait for 10 or 12 minutes. Then do a quick pressure release (QPR) – lift the valve and remove any steam left.
- Remove the lid. You will see that that the beans and lentils are cooked well, but the consistency of the curry is slightly watery and broth-like. The end result should be smooth and creamy. So the whole mixture has to be simmered till the consistency thickens a bit and becomes creamy.
- Note that the lentils have to be softened and cooked well. You should be able to mash both the urad dal and rajma with a spoon if they are cooked completely. If the lentils are undercooked than pressure cook for some more minutes. Add some water if required.
Simmering further
- Press the sauté button for 7 to 8 minutes on normal.
- Add butter. Stir and mix.
- With the back of the spoon mash some of the lentils and beans. Stir often. The stirring will also help in mashing a few of the cooked lentils and beans. Mashing the lentils also helps in making the gravy smooth and slightly thickening the consistency.
- While using the sauté option, you can even set it to the low mode for a slow simmer. But keep on stirring often.
- Once the consistency is thickened, add cream and kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves). Mix well. Both these ingredients are optional and you can skip them.
- Remember the consistency should be neither thick nor thin. If it becomes too thick and then add some water. Also, it will thicken more on cooling.
- While simmering do stir often so that the lentils do not stick to the bottom of the steel pot.
- Serve Instant Pot Dal Makhani with Indian Flatbreads like roti, naan bread, tandoori roti or lachha paratha or aloo paratha. You can also serve it with cumin rice or biryani rice.
- If you like then while serving add drizzle some cream or top with some butter. You can even garnish with coriander leaves (cilantro) and ginger julienne.
Notes
- Lentil Freshness and quality: Use fresh lentils. Aged lentils and beans take a long time to cook. So you can pressure cook further for 10 to 15 minutes. Add ½ to 1 cup water while pressure cooking further.
- Consistency: Mash some lentils while simmering (in the last part of the cooking). Mashing lentils help in thickening the gravy. If the consistency becomes too thick, then add some water.
- Ground Spices: You can add less or more of the ground spice powders as per your taste preferences.
- Substituting tomatoes, ginger and garlic: Add 1 cup canned or homemade tomato puree and 1 tablespoon ginger-garlic paste. You can even crush the ginger and garlic in a mortar-pestle.
- Vegan options: Use 2 to 3 tablespoons oil instead of butter. Skip cream or you can add cashew cream or coconut cream. With coconut cream, the flavors of coconut will be felt.
- Optional ingredients: Dried fenugreek leaves (kasuri methi) and cream can be skipped completely. You can even add ⅓ to ½ cup of finely chopped onions with the ground spice powders and tomato puree.
- Spice substitutions: Instead of cumin powder, add ½ teaspoon cumin seeds. If you do not have red chilli powder or cayenne pepper, then add 1 to 2 green chillies or serrano peppers. You can skip ground turmeric powder.
Nutrition Info (Approximate Values)
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This Instant Pot Dal Makhani from the archives first published in August 2009 has been recently updated to the instant pot version on 19 January 2022.
It is just so good and especially the pictures that are provided help a lot and also the option to see the quantity of ingredients. Lastly keep going on and giving us more delicious recipes like these.
Thanks a lot.
Your food is heavenly maa’m . My family is indebted. What a service
thanks a lot ????
Could you give me measurements of the tomatoes and Onions in cups like you do innother recipes? Hard to tell for me. Your site is amazing thank you!
alex, you can use 1/3rd to 1/2 cup onions and 1/2 to 2/3rd cup of chopped tomatoes. thanks.
very good recipe. excellent
Hi Dassana,
Is it ok to cook dal makhani with white urad dal, i.e. Without chilka?
If not, are there any other recipe suggestions for using white urad dal, in the form of a ‘dal’?
Thanks
Sweta, the taste will be different. You can just make plain dal fry or dal tadka with white urad dal. You can add your choice of seasonings and herbs in it. for reference you can check dal fry recipe posted on blog.
Hi,
Thanks for the reply. I have tried making it ‘dal fry’ style, the only problem is that urad dal is sticky/viscous so it doesn’t taste that good. However, I’ll give it a try using your dal fry recipe, And next time I’ll buy the one with chilka ?
welcome sweta. urad dal is viscous. the trick is not cook it too much. it becomes lumpy and viscous. it tastes good if made well. even the chilka one tastes good. next time you can try adding some chana dal to the chilka urad dal. their combo is good and we call it as kaali peeli dal or maah chole di dal in punjabi.
Thanks for the tips. I’ll give it a try. So once the dal becomes soft, we should stop cooking it?
welcome sweta. if the urad dal has cooked well, then no need to further cook it. if you have to cook it, then slow cook it stirring often.
Gorgeous, and so simple… Throw it in a pan and boil! My pressure cooker also doesn’t whistle… I translate whistles to about the same number of minutes, plus may be a little more to be certain.
thanks. whistles depend on the quantity of the ingredients in the pressure cooker and the size of the pressure cooker. for cooking lentils like black gram, it takes around 15 to 20 minutes depending on the quality of the black gram.
Is there a way to make this with canned beans instead of soaking the dried ones?
this exact recipe cannot be made with canned beans. for canned beans, you can check this recipe – https://www.vegrecipesofindia.com/dal-makhani-restaurant-style-recipe/
This seems like a good recipe, but I’m confused by the “pressure cook for 12-15 whistles” comment. Most modern pressure cookers do not whistle! Could you translate the whistles into minutes for a modern non-whistling pressure cooker?
praveen, cook the dal for 20 minutes or till its cooked well. while making dal makhani, make sure that the dal is cooked properly so that it is easier to digest and it also gives the best taste. the cooking time can vary depending upon dal quality, size of the pan/cooker and intensity of the gas flame.
You have the best recipes . I am not Indian but my husband is and he and his family say my food comes out better than theirs! Restaurant quality food! I’m not kidding and I agree!
pleased to know this monyca 🙂 glad your husband liked the dal makhani and other recipes from our blog. thankyou for your kind and honest words.
Could this be made in a dutch oven on stovetop? Or a crockpot? If so, any additional directions, including time?
yes lisa the recipe can be made in a dutch oven or a crock pot on the stove top. just that the cooking time will be longer. it may take an hour for the lentils and beans to cook and a further cooking to thicken the gravy slightly.
I love all recipes on this website. They are too good! Do you have an app that I can download?
thanks joyce. we will be launching an app soon.
I followed this recipe almost to the letter, and it turned out just perfect. Given that my previous cooking experience is almost nil, I was blown away by the result. Everyone at home loved it. Thanks a ton!
Quick tip for those who want to skip the 8-hour soaking – Wash the beans well. Then pressure cook plain for one whistle. After that let it sit for an hour. Later discard the water. Once this is done, then cook normally the soft soaked-overnight beans.
thanks a aravind for the feedback and also thanks for sharing this tip.
It’s the best dal makhani recipe. Ever. Thank you for this and all your other recipes. I started cooking a few months back. And now i do a big bunch of your recipes all the time. And collect accolades from everyone like a boss. All thanks to you.
thanks a ton andy for this appreciation and positive feedback.
Thank you for this recipe,I’m planning to make dal makhni tomorrow.
welcome suraj do try dal makhani and keep us updated 🙂
dhal makhani my newly found comfort food. Cooked without cream but served with basmati rice and natural yoghurt. yum…..thank you for posting one pot recipe.
welcome vinaya
I ordered this dish on a whim at an Indian restaurant and I loved it so much that I looked up recipes on my way home. I made your recipe tonight and it was wonderful! Instead of butter+cream I used reduced fat cream cheese, which worked very well. Thank you for such a delicious recipe! I will look through your recipes to find more to make.
welcome anna. glad to know this. thanks for sharing your positive feedback and variation.
Thank you for this recipe, I have my urad dal and kidney beans soaking right now and will be trying the recipe tomorrow. I really like that this recipe seems easy to make, yet I’m sure it will be full of rich flavour. I fell in love with this dish after my employer let me try some of his from home, he himself is originally from Lahore, but here in Sheffield I have trouble finding this dish in restaurants or ready made, so it will be a joy to eat this wonderful food once again!
welcome scott. good to know this.
thanks a lot for this punjabi flavour
welcome reet
according to your method dal is directly cooked so I want to ask that don’t we have to put tadka in dal
reet, in generally dal makhani tadka is not added.
Hi Dassana,
I am a big fan of all your recipes and love the way you put it across. I’m planning to make dal makhni tomorrow, wanted to know if it can be made with the split black gram variety? If yes, is there a change in the pressure cooking and soaking time?
Thanks a lot, for all your wonderful recipes, looking forward to many more!!
thanks aditi. the consistency of dal made with split black gram is different then the consistency of dal made with whole black gram. we make another dal with split black gram and chana dal and its called as mah chole di dal in punjabi. so for an authentic dal makhani recipe, i would suggest to use whole urad dal. but you can have a look at the maa chole di dal recipe here – https://www.vegrecipesofindia.com/maa-chole-di-dal/
p.s – you can add a bit of rajma to this dal too.
Something wrong here. I had seen this had the whole procedure. Now, only cook dal and add cream. Rest of the process is missing.
muralidhara, the steps are still there. may be the page didn’t loaded properly. please refresh the page.
your dal recipe is helpful bring more north indian food recipe
thanks rachna
Its too good
thanks dilip
Thanks alot for this wonderful recipe:
Its so easy, I have made this on my younger brother’s wedding anniversary. Everyone like this.Thanks again *
welcome Jagdish. glad to know this.
Dassana,
Hope you don’t mind me adding some comments here. When I cook dals or any saucy food that reuqires onions/garlic, et, I typically saute them beofre adding other ingredients and that’s how I make Dal Makhani as well.
I noticed that you have put all the ingredients in raw form and pressure cooked them. Clearly this is a lot easier, only I am not sure what the taste difference will be like. Any case I am going to check it out.
My comment is “if you are pressure cooking them, why add butter or oil to all the ingredients? To keep the name of the recipe true to its tradition , perhaps during the simmer or just before serving hot one could add lite sour cream (about 2 tablespoons) or 1/2 tablespoon unsalted butter or better yet 3 tablespoons of thick creamy yogurt like Greek” This will keep the food tasty yet healthy and low fat overall”
no issues. actually this is a family recipe and thats how we make it. so i have stuck to the recipe without changing anything. butter or oil is added as we are not sauteing anything in them. some fat should be there. i don’t add cream in this homemade version. so its just the butter or oil. sour cream or yogurt will give a sour taste.
Thank you for such a wonderful and simple recipe. My husband loves dal makhani a lot and It turned out to be the best dal makhani I’ve made. Thanks again!
welcome sharada. thanks for sharing this encouraging feedback on dal makhani.
delicious! tasted just like what i love in the restaurant. we used unsoaked beans and used pressure cooker for 10 minutes then 5 minutes. thank you!
thanks and welcome lauren.
Can you still make this even if you don’t have a pressure cooker?
celeste, yes you can make dal makhani in a pot but the cooking time will increase.
Thanks for the recipe; it is so easy in the pressure cooker and as always tasted so much better on day two and three 🙂 Next time I’ll make my own garam masala, from your recipe link, and expect an even more delightful result.
thanks darren. homemade garam masala is more aromatic and better than the store bought ones.
Being Sunday i will prepare this recipe for my wife and son wana give them surprise.i also cook like her or even better
Can we skip the rajma? I am not much of a fan and hence dont have it in the house!! 🙂
lavanya, yes you can skip rajma. many cooks don’t add rajma in dal makhani. if you want then you can increase the proportion of dal accordingly.
I am excited to try it this week. My brother cooks good food and dal makhani he cooks very very tasty n true punjabi flavour. Wish me good luck. Thnx for the recipie. Nagi
happy cooking and all the best.
Awesome…yummy…my husband tried dal makhani in a restaurant and asked me to cook it at home…i didn’t know the a,b, c of this dal and here i searched and came across this recipe and since then i have to make it weekly 😀
thanks Dasana for such a wonderful meal 🙂
welcome meril. nice to know that you liked the recipe.
Hi dassana i just love ur recipe its very easy to cook i made methi malai matar, white sauce pasta n its vry yummy thanks will u plz share the recipe of veg kolhapuri resturent style plz
thanks neelam. i will be making the veg kolhapuri soon. i had tried before too but the taste was not perfect, so will try again.
very nice
Hi Dassana!
An amazing recipe. Comes out wonderful everytime I make it. And the best part is how simle you’ve made cooking it. Thanks so much for sharing it!
Best
Pallavi
welcome pallavi. yes, this dal makhani recipe is very simple and easy to make.
Oh, wow! I just tried this and I could eat this every day! I had tried Dal Makhani in a Restaurant back home (in Switzerland). I loved it so much I tried to find a recipe to give me this deliciousness again, and I found it. I really like that everything is put together at once and cooked in a pressure cooker, so I save time, both in preparing, cooking and watching the cooking.
This will most definitely go in my personal hand written cook book (where I only put recipe’s that are worth the effort of writing them down by hand).
thanks a lot for writing such a positive comment. yes, it is a very easy and delicious recipe of dal makhani. must try.
Thanks for the recipe 🙂
To get the best colour of dal makhani first boil it in open vessel for ten minutes then wash all black colour. then pressure cook it
manjit, thanks for the the tip.
wow its so easier to make dal makhani with the description provided by u…. thanks