How To Make Dhaba-Style Dal Makhani At Home

Rinse rajma and urad dal under running water. Soak them together overnight or at least for eight hours. This will help ensure even cooking and a richer serving of dal makhani.

Drain the soaked rajma and urad dal. Transfer them to a pressure cooker and add four cups of water and a pinch of salt. Pressure cook on medium flame. After 8-10 whistles, turn off the heat and let the pressure release itself. 

After removing the lid, check if the lentils are soft enough to be cooked. Mash them slightly with the back of a ladle to release starch and thicken the gravy naturally.

Then, take another pan and heat some ghee and butter. Wash and chop an onion and sauté till golden brown. Grate some ginger, mince garlic, and slit a green chilli, and then add them to the pan.

Once fragrant, pour in the tomato puree and give it a stir. Mix in spices like Kashmiri red chilli powder, turmeric powder, and coriander powder. Cook till the oil starts to separate from the masala.

Add the cooked dal and rajma mixture to the masala and stir well. You can add some more water to adjust the consistency and let the dal simmer on a low flame for about an hour. The longer you simmer dal makhani, the richer the flavour will be.

After an hour or so, stir in some fresh cream on top of the dal, add kasuri methi, garam masala, and salt to taste. Let it simmer for another ten minutes.

This is an optional step; you must try it for that dhaba-like smokiness. You can heat a small piece of charcoal, place it inside a steel bowl inside the dal and pour a teaspoon of ghee on the charcoal. Cover it immediately and let the charcoal release its smokiness for a couple of minutes. You can then remove the bowl from the dal.

Finally, add a dollop of butter on top of dal makhani and serve it hot with naan, roti, or rice.