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Pressure Cooker Dal Makhani Creamy Lentils

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Make restaurant-style Indian Dal Makhani at home in your pressure cooker. Smooth, creamy, spicy, and hearty plant proteins for great taste, and good health.

Make restaurant-style Indian Dal Makhani at home in your pressure cooker. Smooth, creamy, spicy, and hearty plant proteins for great taste, and good health.

Dal Makhani has traditionally required hours and hours of very slow cooking to get the lentils to a perfectly soft, creamy cooked stage. Thankfully, the Instant Pot does a fine job of this, although it does take a bit.

I made 1/2 a cup of lentils for about 2-2.5 cups of finished dal and I set the lentils to cook for about 30 minutes. They were perfect when they were done.

You need a particular kind of dal for this called Urad dal. To add to the confusion, Urad dal can be either split or whole. You need the whole kind. Here’s what it looks like.

And here’s why you can’t just tell me “Oh I love dal” or “I hate dal” Because I’m going to ask you, Which KIND of dal do you love/hate? These are just a FEW of the dals I have at home.

So the one to the left, labeled Urad? (Actually, I just realized I labeled it Udad, doh! I need to fix that).  The creamy white one? Yeah, it’s this same black Urad I have up there, except split and the skin has been peeled off (don’t ask me how, I don’t know).

Hard to believe they’re the same right?

Anyway. This is one of those dals that’s quite thick, but it gets its thickness, not from the typical onion masala that thickens many Indian dishes, but rather from some of the dal itself breaking down and adding a thickness to the finished product.

There are many complicated recipes for this dal on the internet, but I like to keep it simple, yet authentic. Most of us with jobs, families, children just really don’t have the time to do all the steps most of the recipes call for.

Either that or I’m just lazy 🙂 Here’s a picture of the desired thickness, all of which came from the cooked dal itself.

But there is one thing I’d urge you to consider taking the extra step for here, which is making the Punjabi Garam Masala. This is a little different from the other Garam Masala recipe I’ve posted here, although both are super easy and only require you to grind dry spices together. This one is different in that it provides what we refer to in my house as “chest heat”.

This dal is a particular favorite during winter, so warming your chest with the spices makes sense I suppose.

I can tolerate a lot of “mouth heat” from the cayenne. But I actually can’t tolerate as much “chest heat” (from cinnamon, cloves, etc), or “nasal heat” (from horseradish, wasabi etc.). If you’re just not sure if you’ll love this dal, then just use whatever Garam masala you have or make your own with this recipe.

If you’re feeding kids this dal, I’d actually stick with regular garam masala rather than Punjabi Garam Masala.

If you’re trying to be dairy-free, you can sub soy yogurt that’s been drained instead of the yogurt below, cashew paste for the half and half, and earth balance for the ghee.

We know this works because Joey Leone made it and I saw the video of the finished product and it looks perfect! (Thank you, Joey!)

THE STEPS TO MAKING PRESSURE COOKER DAL MAKHANI ARE:

  1. Cook the dal
  2. Add some sautéed tomato paste
  3. Finish with yogurt/cream/half and half and spices

★ Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to give it a star rating below! Just click on the stars in the recipe card to rate. 

4.38 from 24 votes
Make restaurant-style Indian Dal Makhani at home in your pressure cooker. Smooth, creamy, spicy, and hearty plant proteins for great taste, and good health.
Print
Pressure Cooker Dal Makhani Buttery Lentils
Prep Time
15 mins
Cook Time
45 mins
Total Time
1 hr
 

Make restaurant-style Indian Dal Makhani at home in your pressure cooker. Smooth, creamy, spicy, and hearty plant proteins for great taste, and good health. 

Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Indian
Dietary Consideration: Gluten-Free, High Fiber, Vegan, Vegetarian
Cooking Style: Instant Pot/Pressure Cooker
Recipe Type: Beans, Legumes, & Lentils, Full Liquids/Soft Foods, Pressure Cooker
Servings: 4
Calories: 156 kcal
Author: Urvashi
Ingredients
Boil Together
Mix Together
For Finishing
US Customary - Metric
Instructions

  1. Wash the dal well, add ginger, garlic, bay leaves and water, and cook in an Instant Pot for 30 minutes using natural release.

  2. Meanwhile, mix together the yogurt, milk/cream of choice, and the listed spices and blend these well together.

  3. When the dal is ready, open up the Instant Pot and using the back of a spoon, gently mash in some of the dal to make a thicker dal, leaving most of the dal intact.

  4. Turn your Instant Pot onto its Keep Warm Setting, adding a little water if needed.

  5. Heat a small saucepan or kadhai, add ghee when hot, and add in the cumin seeds which will start to sputter.

  6. Put in the tomato paste and cook it for a while, until it absorbs all of the ghee.

  7. Pour this paste into the dal and mix well.

  8. Pour in your yogurt mixture and mix well, garnish with chopped cilantro if desired, and serve with naan, chappatis, or rice, or eat plain by the spoonful, which is what I do.
Nutrition facts per serving
156kcal | Fat: 6g | Saturated fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 18mg | Sodium: 637mg | Potassium: 106mg | Carbohydrates: 16g | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 1g | Protein: 8g | Vitamin A: 4.4% | Vitamin C: 3.4% | Calcium: 7.2% | Iron: 14%

I am not a registered dietician or nutritionist. Nutritional information is provided a courtesy, and can vary depending on the exact ingredients you use.

4.3 from 10 votes
This Punjabi Garam Masala combines the floral overtones of coriander and the earthiness of cumin with a sweet mixture of cardamom and cinnamon. This masala is toasted, and when you uncap the freshly ground spices, you will revel in its rich bouquet, which more than justifies the effort.
Print
Punjabi Garam Masala
Prep Time
10 mins
Total Time
10 mins
 

Make restaurant-style Indian Dal Makhani at home in your pressure cooker. Smooth, creamy, spicy, and hearty plant proteins for great taste, and good health.

Course: Spice Blend
Cuisine: Indian
Dietary Consideration: Dairy-Free, Gluten-Free
Cooking Style: Coffee Grinder
Ease of Cooking: Pour and Cook, Under 30 Mins
Recipe Type: Spices & Sauces
Servings: 1 /4 cup
Calories: 57 kcal
Author: Urvashi
Ingredients
US Customary - Metric
Instructions
  1. Grind together in a spice or coffee grinder.

  2. If you're up to it, toast these spices lightly in a hot pan for 2-3 minutes until they're a little toasted but not brown. They continue to cook after you take them out of the pan for a while, so if in doubt, undercook, don't overcook them.

  3. Lay them out on a plate or a paper towel to cool. Grinding hot spices together is a sure-fire way to get a clump of paste rather than a powder.
  4. When they're cool, grind them together and store in a cool, dark, place. Or you know. On your regular spice rack. Which is what most of us do.
Nutrition facts per serving
57kcal | Fat: 1g | Sodium: 9mg | Potassium: 144mg | Carbohydrates: 14g | Fiber: 8g | Protein: 1g | Vitamin C: 1.3% | Calcium: 15.9% | Iron: 17.9%

I am not a registered dietician or nutritionist. Nutritional information is provided a courtesy, and can vary depending on the exact ingredients you use.

Make restaurant-style Indian Dal Makhani at home in your pressure cooker. Smooth, creamy, spicy, and hearty plant proteins for great taste, and good health.

 

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. HI Urvashi. Thanks for this recipe. When i tried it last, I am not sure if I put too much greek yogourt as the daal was more white in colour and had a bit of a bitter taste. Any recommendations? I still ended up eating it after a night of sitting in the fridge (bitter flavour settled down a bit). Looking to make this again tonight but would like to avoid the same thing happening again!!

  2. Urvashi- Is there a reason that you add the salt, turmeric, the Garam masala and cayenne pepper to the yogurt mix and add them in at the end?
    I typically add them into the dal when it is pressure cooking. I also start with the Sauté and add ghee, the cumin seeds, brown some minced onions, and then add tomato paste, and then the dal with all spices and garlic and ginger and water and pressure cook. The only thing that I add in the end is the half-and-half and the yogurt. I Purchased your book for my daughter who is always calling me for recipes, and she asked why all the spices were added in the end, and I don’t know the answer.

  3. Oh thank goodness someone asked the setting question! I wish all IP recipe writers/publishers would specify the settings — pressure cook manual or pre-setting, pressure level, time, etc. Otherwise, we are left guessing. I’m looking forward to trying this recipe.

    • Every pressure cooker has different settings so specifying that for every recipe, for every different type of cooker is not easy nor really feasible. I think it’s safe to assume that unless otherwise specified, you’re to use the appropriate high pressure setting. I hope that helps!


  5. The flavors are excellent but there has to be an error on the amount of water called for in the recipe. I followed the recipe in your book and used 2 1/2 cups of water. It was too soupy especially after adding the yogurt mixture. I also had to cut down on the cayenne and it was still too spicy for me.

  6. Urvashi, maybe you can help me out here: I had a major disaster with the ghee, cumin seeds and tomato paste – i was waiting for ghee to start shimmering and , i guess, it got TOO hot – when I put the tomato paste, it basically splattered all over the stove… as a result, the color of my dal is far from what’s in the picture… plus I put too much water following the book..

    Any advice on how to prevent it in the future?

      • Yeah, maybe I will use another pan, more like a pot.. and probably should not heat it that much… it just wasn’t simmering…🤷‍♀️
        Looking forward to making it again, with proper amount of water… but Chana Masala first! I finally got a little bit of amchoor, so that’s next!


  8. Love your cookbook. I’ve made this recipe but the water amount is incorrect in the book. I’ve noticed there are a couple of other printing errors. Is there an errata list somewhere so I can annotate my book?
    Thanks.

    • Yes, noticed the same issue, just too late and I have a watery result. Still tastes good but I was surprised at how much water it had left after cooking. I used a container to remove some of it, but was not enough. A list of errata for the book would be absolutely awesome.

  10. Do you think i can substiute butter for ghee in here? Just realized ours is expired 🙁 Cooking up THREE of your dishes today to surprise my hubby when he gets home since i am on bedrest until my baby comes 🙂


  12. I purchased your book several weeks ago and am working my way through the exceptionally well-written, delectable recipes. I’m used to spending *hours* in the kitchen, standing over a pan of onions that are taking forever to brown up. So, IP cooking has been a revelation for me, and I thank you for that. I do have a question: what is the size of the cinnamon sticks you are using? The ones pictured in your book look to be about 6-7 inches long. The ones I have from Penzey’s are about 4+ inches long, and the ones from Patel Brothers are about 3 inches long. And, I assume you’re using Ceylon cinnamon?

    • Hi there! So glad you’re enjoying the book. I worked hard to simplify all the recipes without sacrificing taste. As to the cinnamon sticks, I really use cassia bark and my cinnamon sticks are closer to the 3 inch long pieces you get from Patel Brothers. I hope that helps!


      • Indeed, it does. I was at Patel Brothers today to pick some cinnamon up. The crush of people because of upcoming Diwali was astonishing. Very festive!

  13. Hi, I just made this from the book, which calls for 2-1/2 cups of water on P. 50
    When I saw how much water it called for, and only 1/2 c of dal, I went with my gut and only put in 2c which was still about 1/2 c too much water, so I ladled some water off before smashing the dal.

    Next time I will make with 1c dal and 2c water.

    It was easy enough to make! I added 1/2 tsp mustard seed, a few curry leaves and a sliced green pepper to the tempering. When I saw how chunky that was, I blended it with the yogurt sauce before adding to the dal. It tasted phenomenal!


      • I made this recipe last night (got the cookbook for Christmas) and I wish I’d know about the typo! It’s defintely too thin with 2.5 cups of water so next time I’ll make it with the correction. I also didn’t have any of the black lentils on hand and so made it with green lentils and they don’t breakdown enough to give it the thick quality so I’ll make sure to buy the correct lentils next time. I liked the flavor 😁.

  16. 660 Curries is the first cookbook I’d take with me on an island! I once emailed him a question about a recipe – think I found a contact on amazon and he answered me right away! Love your recipes and posts in Facebook! Regards, nt