--- title: "Daal Makhani Recipe-Maa Ki Daal-Daal Makhni-Dal Makhani" url: https://www.cookingandme.com/dal-makhani-recipe/ date: 2009-02-27 modified: 2015-11-23 lang: en author: "nags" description: "Dal Makhani, a popular Indian dal recipe is also known as maa ki dal, as I discovered recently. This is my least favourite dal dish to order in a restaurant..." categories: - "Dal Recipes" - "Gravy Vegetarian Side Dishes" - "Punjabi Recipes" - "Uncategorized" image: https://www.cookingandme.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/3299171977_129a746433.jpg word_count: 520 --- # Daal Makhani Recipe-Maa Ki Daal-Daal Makhni-Dal Makhani [![](http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3558/3299171977_129a746433.jpg?v=0)](https://www.cookingandme.com/)Dal Makhani, a popular Indian dal recipe is also known as maa ki dal, as I discovered recently. This is my least favourite dal dish to order in a restaurant and I am yet to eat a good dal makhani in any restaurant except maybe Sahib Sindh Sultan who does do a pretty good dal makhani that even I can agree to order sometimes. Note: Check out another version of **[dal makhani recipe](https://www.cookingandme.com/2010/07/dal-makhani-creamy-black-lentils-but-no.html)** here. Ironically, my mom doesn't cook this so this isn't really maa ki dal to me. We are South Indians for whom dal doesn't form part of a typical meal and though amma cooks an occasional **[rajma masala](https://www.cookingandme.com/2012/06/rajma-masala-rajma-chawal-recipe.html)** or **[paneer tikka masala](https://www.cookingandme.com/2012/10/paneer-tikka-masala-paneer-recipes.html)**, dal makhani is too foreign to us and never really occurred to her to try and cook, I guess. Her daughter, obviously, loves to take on more than she can chew sometimes (literally!) and takes pleasure in experimenting on never-before-cooked recipes especially when she has guests. I most often mess up on my most tried and tested recipes when I have guests (is it the pressure or is it the expected behaviour, I can never tell). Anyway, dal makhani has been on the back of my head forever and I recently got a bag of whole black lentils (whole black urad dal) and I decided to try it on an evening we had a young North Indian couple. Brave, aren't I? ;) This is a milder version of the dish as I was serving it with spiced up vegetable pulao. I also avoided the cream that is usually an essential ingredient for this recipe. > Dal Makhani Recipe > > (Serves 4) > > > > Ingredients: > > 1/2 cup whole ural dal (black lentils), soaked overnight > > 4 tbsp rajma (red kidney beans), soaked overnight with the dal > > 1 onion, chopped fine > > 1 tomato, chopped fine > > 2-3 cloves of garlic, chopped > > 1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste > > 1/2 tsp cumin seeds (jeera) > > 1 tsp garam masala > > 1/2 tsp red chilly powder > > 2 dried red chillies > > 2 tbsp milk > > 1 tbsp butter > > 1 tbsp oil > > Salt > > > > How to make Dal Makhani: > > > > 1. Heat oil in a pressure cooker and saute onions till transparent. Add salt, chilly powder and the ginger-garlic pasted and fry for a minute. > > > > 2. Next, add the chopped tomatoes and cook for a few minutes so that the mixture combines well together. Add the lentils and beans, and enough water to just cover them. Pressure cook for 3-4 whistles. Remove from fire and set aside. > > > > 3. Once the pressure leaves the cooker, keep it on a low fire. Add the milk and bring to boil. Keep it on sim and let it boil while preparing to temper it. > > > > 4. Heat the butter and oil in a pan and throw in the cumin seeds. Once they start spluttering, add the chopped garlic and the red chillies each torn into 3 pieces. Fry until the garlic starts browning and smelling lovely. > > > > 5. Remove the dal from fire and add the tempered butter-oil directly to it. Follow immediately with garam masala and mix well. Adjust salt. > > > > Serve with warm rotis, naan or an **[easy veg pulao](https://www.cookingandme.com/2014/01/vegetable-pulao-veg-pulao-recipe.html)**.