Vegan dal makhani is a great companion recipe for your rotis, naans, rice, and pilafs.
It’s made of TONS of classical Indian spices and is full of flavors. A must try recipe if you have an Instant Pot (or a normal pressure cooker).
This is one of the many recipes I’m trying out for my Indian vegan recipes series.
I soaked the beans for 12 hours before cooking them in my Instant Pot. Also the pressure time was set to 30 minutes in the IP (for that extra soft and creamy dal).
Let’s do this!
Vegan Dal Makhani
Delicious Vegan Dal Makhani Recipe
Ingredients
- *Soaking*
- 2/3 cup whole black lentils (aka urad dal)
- 1/4 cup kidney beans (aka rajma)
- 2 cups water
- *Cooking*
- 3 cloves
- 3 green cardamoms
- 1 black cardamom
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3 cups water
- *Tempering*
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 1 onion
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1 inch ginger
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 cup tomato puree
- 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1/2 teaspoon chilli powder
- 1/2 teaspoon coriander powder
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- *Garnishing*
- coconut cream
- Cilantro
Instructions
Add whole black lentils + kidney beans + 2 cups water in a large bowl and soak them for 12 hours.
Drain the dals and transfer them to your Instant Pot (or pressure cooker). Add cloves, green cardamoms, black cardamom, cinnamon sticks, bay leaf, salt, and 3 cups of water.
- Secure the lid and seal the valve.
- For Instant Pot, set the timer to 30 minutes on MANUAL at HIGH PRESSURE. For normal stovetop pressure cooker, cook over medium heat for 8-9 whistles.
Once it's done cooking, let the pressure release naturally and open the lid. Make sure the kidney beans are super soft and mushy (if not, cook for 5 more minutes). Transfer the cooked food to a large bowl and clean the Instant Pot (or the pressure cooker). I just give it a quick wash.
- Time to make the onion-garlic paste. Add onion + garlic + ginger + 2 tablespoons water to a blender and blend to make a paste. Set aside.
- Set your Instant Pot to SAUTE (or heat your pressure cooker over low-medium heat) and add oil. Once it's hot, add the onion-garlic paste. Stir and saute for 4-5 minutes.
- Add tomato puree, turmeric, chilli powder, cumin powder, coriander powder, and salt. Mix well and cook (with the lid off) for 5 minutes or until most of the liquid evaporates.
- Stir in the dal, add 1 cup water and bring it to a boil. Add coconut cream and freshly chopped cilantro and give it a quick stir.
- That's it. Your vegan dal makhani is now ready. Serve it with rice, roti, naan or pilaf.
Recipe Video
If you enjoy this recipe, check out this delicious Vegan Baingan Bharta Curry I posted earlier.
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Thanks for stopping by! 🙂
Always wanted to veganise my butter dahl and this was it, thank you for sharing