Dal Makhani

Name: Dal Makhani
Prep time: 50 min
Cook time: 175 min
Total time: 225 min
Yield: 4 servings personer
Cuisine: indian
Ingredients: 250 g whole black urad lentils; 60 g dried red kidney beans; 1½ l water; 2 tsp salt; 75 g butter; 1 tsp whole cumin seeds; 3 cm fresh ginger, grated; 5 clove garlic, grated; 2 pcs green chilies, split lengthwise; 1 tsp Kashmiri chili powder; 500 g ripe tomatoes, finely chopped; 1 tsp garam masala; 1 tsp kasuri methi, crushed between your palms; 1½ dl heavy cream; 400 g basmati rice; 2 tbsp ghee; 1 tsp whole cumin seeds; 7 dl water; 1 tsp salt

A Punjabi lentil stew of whole black urad lentils and kidney beans, slow-simmered and finished with butter, cream, and kasoori methi.

🍽️ 4 servings personer⏱️ 3 h 45 min (50 min active)indian

The soaked legumes are cooked until fully tender, gain body from a reduced, spiced tomato base, and then come together over a long, gentle simmer. While the dal turns thick and creamy, the cumin rice cooks and rests covered, before cream and the final spices round out the dish. The slow reduction is what determines the dal's velvety texture.

Ingredients

The Dal

250 g whole black urad lentils
60 g dried red kidney beans
1½ l water
2 tsp salt
75 g butter
1 tsp whole cumin seeds
3 cm fresh ginger, grated
5 clove garlic, grated
2 pcs green chilies, split lengthwise
1 tsp Kashmiri chili powder
500 g ripe tomatoes, finely chopped
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp kasuri methi, crushed between your palms
1½ dl heavy cream

Cumin Rice

400 g basmati rice
2 tbsp ghee
1 tsp whole cumin seeds
7 dl water
1 tsp salt

How to make it

Pour the soaked urad lentils and kidney beans into a strainer and rinse under cold water until the water runs clear. Let them drain well.
Put the legumes in a heavy-bottomed pot with the water and 1 tsp of the salt. Bring to a boil over high heat and skim the gray foam off the surface until the liquid is clear and simmering gently. ⏱ 10 min
Reduce the heat to low, cover with a lid, and let the legumes simmer for 90-100 minutes. They are done when a lentil mashes to a paste between two fingers without resistance. ⏱ 1 h 30 min–1 h 40 min · passive
Chef's tip Test one lentil too many rather than too few: it should crumble to a paste with no firm core at all in the middle. The acid from the tomatoes later toughens the skins, so whatever is hard now will never soften.
Mash about a third of the cooked legumes against the side of the pot with the back of a wooden spoon. The starch releases and binds the dal, turning the liquid cloudy and thick, while the rest of the legumes keep their shape.
Melt 50 g of the butter in a pan over medium heat and toast the cumin seeds until they crackle and smell nutty.
Chef's tip Wait for the audible crackle — cumin's aroma compounds are fat-soluble and move into the butter as the seeds pop. Off the heat too early they stay raw and dusty; darkened past deep brown they turn acrid.
Stir in the grated ginger, grated garlic, and split green chilies, and cook until the raw, sharp smell is gone and the mixture is light brown.
Sprinkle in the Kashmiri chili powder and immediately stir in the finely chopped tomatoes so the powder doesn't scorch in the hot butter. Cook the tomatoes down, stirring occasionally, for 12-14 minutes, until they have completely collapsed and the butter separates into clear red beads along the edge. ⏱ 10 min–15 min
Pour the reduced tomato base into the pot with the mashed legumes and stir together until the color is an even dark reddish-brown.
Let the dal simmer uncovered over the lowest heat for 60 minutes, stirring a few times along the way so it doesn't stick to the bottom. It's ready when a spoon dragged through the pot leaves a trail that closes slowly. ⏱ 1 h · passive
Chef's tip The lowest possible heat matters here: the dal is thick and scorches on the bottom easily, and a burnt note spreads through the whole pot. Scrape the bottom, not just the surface, when you stir.
Rinse the basmati rice in plenty of cold water while stirring with your hand. Change the water three to four times, until it's no longer cloudy, and let the rice drain.
Chef's tip Rinsing washes off loose surface starch so the grains stay separate instead of gluing together. Stir gently with a flat hand — grinding the grains hard against each other breaks them.
Heat the ghee in a pot over medium heat and toast the cumin seeds until they crackle and smell fragrant.
Add the drained rice and toast gently until every grain is glossy with fat.
Pour in the water, stir in the salt, and bring to a boil over high heat.
Cover with a lid, reduce to the lowest heat, and let the rice cook for 12 minutes, until all the water is absorbed and small steam holes appear on the surface. ⏱ 10 min · passive
Remove the pot from the heat and let the rice rest covered for 10 minutes, so the steam distributes and the grains become fluffy and separate. ⏱ 10 min · passive
Stir 1 dl of the cream, the remaining butter, garam masala, and the crushed kasuri methi into the dal. Let it simmer 5 more minutes, until the fat glistens in small pools on the surface. Season to taste with the remaining salt.
Chef's tip Crush the kasuri methi between your palms as you add it, and keep the last 5 minutes at a bare simmer — cream held at a hard boil can break into grains rather than staying smooth.
Fluff the rice with a fork and mound a portion on one side of four deep plates. Ladle the hot dal alongside the rice and drizzle a swirl of the remaining cream over the dal. At the table, everyone stirs a spoonful of dal into their rice at a time, so the rice never drowns.