Green Dal Makhni

Creamy and buttery Dal Makhni is one of India's most loved by all!

This dal has whole green lentil cooked with cream and butter and simmered on low flame to get that unique flavor. It tastes best with naan

I share all tips and trick to make restaurant-style Dal makhni at home with easy to follow step.

Lentils have been an integral part of my diet. In India, we pretty much eat lentils every day. The most common dal that we all eat every day is obviously arhar dal/Toor dal. 

But one dal that we make only on occasion is Dal Makhni.

Its a rich Dal and hence only made on the special occasion.

Please do read the tips before proceeding with the cooking instructions.

Ingredients

1 cup whole moong dal(soaked for at least 6-8 hours or overnight)

1 bay leaf

2 black cardamom

1 cinnamon stick

2 green chili

3 medium-sized tomatoes

1/2 cup fresh cream

1 pinch garam masala

salt to taste

1 spoon cumin seeds

1 tbsp coriander masala

1 spoon red chili powder

1 tbsp ginger garlic paste(garlic should be more)

1 tbsp roasted fenugreek leaves

2 tbsp ghee 

6 tbsp butter

Instructions

1 - Put soaked moong dal, cinnamon stick, bay leaf, cardamom, and 3 cups of water in a saucepan and keep it to boil.once it comes to boil lower the flame and let it boil for one hour on low flame.keep scratching the sides and keep stirring in between.

2 - After an hour you must see dal is boiled well, mash it little and let it cook for 10 more minutes and you will get semi-thick consistency dal.turn off the flame and keep it aside.

3 - Grind tomato and green chili together and keep aside.

4 - Add 2 tbsp ghee and 2 tbsp butter in a vessel, once it starts heating, cumin seeds and let it splutter, next add ginger garlic paste and cook it while stirring continuously until golden brown.

5 - Next add chili powder, coriander powder, and saute for 1 minute.

6 - Next add tomato puree and cook until it starts leaving ghee.

7 - On this add boiled dal,2 tbsp butter, and salt and mix well and let it cook for 15-20 minutes on low flame.

8 - Now add fresh cream and roasted fenugreek leaves and cook for 2-3 minutes more.

9 - At last add a pinch of garam masala and turn off the flame.

10 - Serve this super delicious dal makhni(add 2 tbsp butter before serving) with naan or jeera rice. Garnish with some fresh cream before serving.

Tips

1 - You can try the same recipe with black dal(urad dal).Just you need to boil black dal for a longer time as black dal takes time to cook.

2 - Do not add salt on the initial stage cause adding salt in beginning will make the dal thicker and however dal will keep thickening with the cooking process.so add salt on the right stage(as mentioned)

3 - Roast the fenugreek leaves freshly, right before adding it. freshly roasted leaves will give a nice taste and aroma.dry roast fenugreek leaves for only 2-3 minutes on low flame.

4 - Do not cook more after adding fresh cream and fenugreek leaves.

5 - Be generous with using butter and cream - This is not a recipe to cut down on fat , the butter and cream are essential for that dal makhni flavor that you love. Do not hesitate to add more butter. as dal makhni is supposed to have extra butter and it enhances the taste or I would say its the key ingredient, so leave your hands free to add butter.

6 - Simmer it on low heat for a long time - You will get the best flavour of this dal if you let it simmer for a long time on low heat. I understand we all have busy lives , but if you can , I highly recommend simmering the dal 45 minutes at least .an hour or 1.5 hour is even better.

Slow cooking enhances the flavours and makes the dal super delicious and creamy .a lot of restaurants known for their amazing dal makhni actually simmer it whole day 

Basically, you boil the lentils till they are soft and mushy then you proceed to make masala and after adding dal into the masala , let it simmer for another 20 minutes at least.

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