Dal Makhani Recipe: Restaurant Style, and How Much Ghee

Updated 8 min read Serves 5 • 3 tbsp ghee • 12 h soak

For a restaurant-style dal makhani recipe for five, soak 150 g of whole urad and 45 g of rajma for 12 hours, pressure cook them soft, then simmer them for at least 45 minutes in an onion-tomato masala fried in 2 tablespoons of ghee. Finish with 2 tablespoons of butter, ¼ cup of cream, and a last tablespoon of ghee poured on top. A bowl comes to about 307 kcal.

How long does dal makhani take, and how much ghee goes in?

About two hours at the stove, after a 12-hour soak. For five people you need 3 tablespoons of ghee (2 to fry the masala, 1 for the tadka on top), 2 tablespoons of butter, and ¼ cup of cream. The slow simmer is what turns plain black dal into makhani: the urad skins break, the starch comes out, and the dal turns thick and dark.

Stage

Time

What happens

Soak

12 hours, overnight

Whole urad and rajma in plenty of water. Rajma needs the full soak.

Pressure cook

30 to 35 minutes

First whistle on high, then low flame. Rajma must mash with no chalky centre.

Masala in ghee

20 to 25 minutes

Onion to golden, then tomato until the ghee shows at the edges.

Simmer

45 minutes to 2 hours

Lowest flame, lid half on, stir and mash every 10 to 15 minutes.

Finish

10 minutes

Butter, cream, kasuri methi, then a ghee tadka on top.

One bowl, a fifth of the pot: about 307 kcal, 11 g protein, 17.3 g fat (10.5 g saturated), 29 g carbohydrate, and 8.3 g fibre, worked out from USDA FoodData Central for raw whole urad, rajma, ghee, butter, heavy cream, onion, and tomato. Ginger, garlic, spices, and salt add very little and are not counted.

Dal makhani is also sold as maa ki dal or kali dal. It is not the same dish as a ghee dal tadka, which is split toor or moong dal cooked in 20 minutes with the ghee poured on at the end. Here the ghee works from the start, and the dal needs time.

Dal makhani ingredients for 5, in grams

Whole black urad with its skin on (sabut urad), a quarter as much rajma, and three fats: ghee, butter, and cream. Use a heavy 3 litre pot or kadhai for the simmer; a thin pot scorches the dal before it thickens.

For the dal

  • ¾ cup (150 g) sabut urad (whole black urad)
  • ¼ cup (45 g) rajma, dark red or Jammu rajma
  • 3½ cups water for the cooker, 1 cup hot water for the simmer
  • 1¼ tsp salt, added after the dal is cooked

The three fats

  • 3 tbsp ghee (38 g): 2 for the masala, 1 for the tadka
  • 2 tbsp butter (28 g), white or salted
  • ¼ cup (60 ml) fresh cream

For the masala

  • 1 large onion (about 150 g), chopped fine
  • 3 medium tomatoes (about 370 g), pureed
  • 1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste and 1 slit green chilli
  • 1 tsp cumin, 1 bay leaf, 2 green cardamom
  • 1½ tsp Kashmiri chilli powder, ½ tsp garam masala
  • 1 tsp kasuri methi, crushed between your palms

Salted butter adds salt, so taste before the last ¼ tsp. Amul-style fresh cream (about 25% fat) is a little lighter than the heavy cream used for the calorie figures.

How to make dal makhani, step by step

Soak overnight, pressure cook the next day, fry the masala in ghee, simmer the two together slowly, then finish with butter, cream, and a ghee tadka. The only step you cannot shorten is the soak.

1. Soak the urad and rajma (12 hours)

Wash both together 3 to 4 times, until the water runs almost clear. Cover with three times their depth of water; they double in size. Soak for 12 hours, or overnight and through the morning. Drain and rinse before cooking.

2. Pressure cook until the rajma mashes (30 to 35 minutes)

Put the dal, rajma, and 3½ cups of fresh water in a 3 litre cooker. No salt yet. Bring it to the first whistle on high, then turn the flame to low for 30 to 35 minutes, about 8 to 10 whistles on medium if you count. Let the pressure drop on its own. Press a rajma between your thumb and finger: it should crush with no white, chalky centre. If it does not, cook 10 minutes more.

3. Fry the masala in ghee (20 to 25 minutes)

Heat 2 tablespoons of ghee on medium. Add cumin, bay leaf, and cardamom; when the cumin crackles, add the onion and fry 8 to 10 minutes until golden, not dark. Add ginger-garlic paste and the green chilli for 1 minute, then the tomato puree and chilli powder. Cook 10 to 12 minutes, stirring, until the masala thickens and the ghee shows at the edges.

Use ghee here, not butter. At home in Gir Somnath we churn curd into makkhan before we cook it into ghee, and fresh makkhan still carries water and milk solids. In a hot masala pan those solids brown and then burn within minutes, long before the onion is golden. Ghee has had that water cooked out, which is why the butter in this recipe waits for the end. Why ghee takes the heat is on ghee smoke point.

4. Simmer low and slow (45 minutes to 2 hours)

Tip the cooked dal and all its water into the masala, add 1 cup of hot water, and stir. Bring it to a bubble, then turn the flame to its lowest and set the lid half on. Every 10 to 15 minutes, stir from the bottom and press a ladle of dal against the side of the pot. Add a splash of hot water whenever it gets thicker than you want to serve. At 45 minutes it is good; at 1½ to 2 hours it is dark, glossy, and tastes of a restaurant.

5. Finish with butter, cream, and a ghee tadka (10 minutes)

Add the salt and garam masala, then the butter and cream, and simmer 10 minutes more. Crush in the kasuri methi. For the tadka, heat 1 tablespoon of ghee in a small pan, take it off the flame, add a pinch of Kashmiri chilli, and pour it straight over the dal. Serve with a spoon of cream on top if you like.

Take care with that last pour. Ghee is only ready once all the water in the makkhan has boiled away, so hot ghee is much hotter than boiling dal, and a splash burns worse. Pour it low over the pot, not from a height.

Is it safe to slow-cook rajma for dal makhani?

Only after it has been soaked and boiled hard, or pressure cooked, first. Raw red kidney beans carry a natural toxin, phytohaemagglutinin. Hong Kong's Centre for Food Safety says as few as four or five raw beans can cause severe vomiting and diarrhoea, and advises soaking them for at least 12 hours, then boiling vigorously for at least 10 minutes.

The same page warns against cooking kidney beans at a low temperature, such as in a slow cooker, because that may not destroy the toxin. That matters for dal makhani, because the recipe is famous for its long, low simmer, and some recipes put soaked raw rajma straight into it. Do not. The pressure cooker step in this recipe does the hard cooking first; the simmer only thickens. If you want to use a slow cooker for the simmer, pressure cook the dal and rajma before they go in. More on rajma itself is on our rajma masala recipe.

How much ghee, butter, and cream in dal makhani?

For five people, 3 tablespoons of ghee, 2 of butter, and ¼ cup of cream. That is about 1.8 teaspoons of ghee in each bowl. The ghee carries the masala and the tadka, the butter gives the makhani taste at the end, and the cream gives body and colour.

ICMR-NIN's 2024 dietary guidelines suggest limiting ghee or butter to 1 to 2 teaspoons a day, and keeping all visible fat (oil, ghee, and butter together) to about 27 to 30 g a day on a 2,000 kcal diet. A bowl of this recipe has 17.3 g of fat, and ghee is 7.6 g of it; the butter and cream add almost as much again. So on a dal makhani day the rotis go plain. The table shows what a lighter or richer pot does to each bowl.

Pot of 5

Fats in the pot

kcal

Fat

Sat. fat

How it turns out

Light

2 tbsp ghee, no butter, 2 tbsp cream

223 kcal

Fat 8.0 g

Saturated fat 4.6 g

Still creamy if you simmer and mash well. Tastes of dal first, fat second.

This recipe

3 tbsp ghee, 2 tbsp butter, ¼ cup cream

307 kcal

Fat 17.3 g

Saturated fat 10.5 g

Glossy, rich, with a ghee sheen on top. Ghee is 7.6 g of the fat in each bowl.

Dhaba or hotel

4 tbsp ghee, 4 tbsp butter, ½ cup cream

411 kcal

Fat 28.8 g

Saturated fat 17.8 g

What most restaurants serve. A party dish, not a weekday one.

Per bowl, a fifth of the pot. USDA FoodData Central: urad 174259, rajma 173744, ghee 173412 (1 tbsp = 12.8 g), butter 173410, heavy cream 170859, onion 170000, tomato 170457. Daily line: ICMR-NIN Dietary Guidelines for Indians 2024. Checked 28 September 2026.

If you cut one fat, cut the butter and cream before the ghee. The ghee in the masala and tadka is what carries the cumin, chilli, and garlic through the dal; a light pot with its ghee intact still tastes like dal makhani. At our live prices the 3 tablespoons of ghee cost about ₹108 in our cow ghee or ₹90 in our buffalo ghee. Butter and ghee side by side are on ghee vs butter, and the daily budget for a family is on how much ghee per day.

Why is my dal makhani watery, grainy, or not creamy?

Watery dal was not simmered or mashed long enough, and grainy dal was not soaked or pressure cooked long enough. More cream fixes neither. Find your problem below.

Watery, the dal sits apart from the liquid

Not simmered long enough, not mashed, or too much water at the cooker stage.

Fix: Simmer uncovered on the lowest flame and press a ladle of dal against the side of the pot every 10 minutes. It thickens as it cools too, so stop when it coats the back of a spoon a little loosely.

Grainy, the urad stays hard

Short soak, old urad, or the cooker step cut short. Salt and tomato added before the dal is soft also slow it down.

Fix: Pressure cook again for 10 minutes with a cup of water before the masala goes in. Next time soak the full 12 hours and add salt only after cooking.

Pale brown, not dark

The simmer was short. The colour comes from the urad skins and time.

Fix: Keep simmering. Every half hour it darkens. Do not add colour; a pinch of Kashmiri chilli with the tomato gives a redder brown if you want it.

Bitter or burnt taste

Butter used for the masala burnt, or the dal caught on the bottom during the simmer.

Fix: Pour the dal into a clean pot without scraping the bottom. Next time fry the masala in ghee, keep the butter for the end, and use a heavy pot or a tawa under it.

Greasy, fat floats on top

The fat went in after a short simmer, before the starch was out to hold it.

Fix: Simmer and mash 15 minutes more, then stir hard. A spoon of hot water helps the fat and dal come together.

Flat, tastes only of cream

Under-salted, masala not cooked through, or no kasuri methi and tadka.

Fix: Taste for salt, crush in 1 tsp kasuri methi, and pour a fresh tadka of 1 tsp ghee with a pinch of chilli over the top.

Measure the ghee after it melts. In winter the ghee we make cools to a firm grain in the jar, and in summer it stays liquid, so a heaped spoon from a cold jar holds much more than a tablespoon. Customers ask us on WhatsApp why the jar looks different from month to month; it is the season, and it changes nothing in the dal. Why the grain forms is on why ghee is grainy.

How do you get the smoky dhaba taste in dal makhani?

With dhungar: a piece of hot charcoal and a few drops of ghee, sealed in with the dal for 2 minutes. It is optional, and many restaurants skip it; the long simmer matters more.

Hold a small piece of charcoal over a gas flame with tongs for 4 to 5 minutes until it glows grey-red. Set a small steel katori or an onion skin cup on top of the finished dal, put the coal in it, and pour ½ teaspoon of ghee over the coal. As it smokes, put the lid on tight for 2 minutes, then take out the katori and coal. Do this with a window open and keep the coal away from children; throw it into water afterwards.

How long does dal makhani keep in the fridge?

Two days in the fridge, or freeze it. The UK Food Standards Agency advises putting cooked food in the fridge within one to two hours, dividing a big pot into smaller containers so it cools fast, and eating leftovers within 48 hours or freezing them. Frozen dal makhani keeps its texture well for a month or two.

Leftover dal sets thick as it cools, because the urad starch firms up and the butter and cream harden. Reheat it on a low flame with 3 to 4 tablespoons of hot water, stirring, until it bubbles all the way through. Freeze it before the cream goes in if you are cooking ahead for a party; add cream and the ghee tadka after reheating.

What do you serve with dal makhani?

Plain rice, jeera rice, or a naan or tandoori roti, with sliced onion, lemon, and green chutney on the side. Keep the side plain; the dal already brings the fat.

At home a plain roti without its own spoon of ghee is the easy partner. For a party plate, ghee rice or a lachha paratha works, but then use the light pot from the table. A dry side such as jeera aloo and a raita round out the plate; for the full Punjabi spread, add butter chicken.

Cow or buffalo ghee for dal makhani?

Buffalo ghee for the masala, cow ghee for the tadka on top, if you keep both. Buffalo ghee is richer and heavier and suits a dhaba-style pot; cow ghee's lighter, toasted-milk smell is what you notice in the last pour.

With only one jar, use buffalo ghee for dal makhani: in a dal with butter and cream, its heavier taste blends in. Both are almost pure milk fat with about the same calories a spoon. The side-by-side is on cow vs buffalo ghee.

Dal makhani recipe card to keep by the stove

Screenshot it before you start the soak.

  • 1. For 5: ¾ cup (150 g) sabut urad, ¼ cup (45 g) rajma, 3 tbsp ghee, 2 tbsp butter, ¼ cup cream, 1 large onion, 3 tomatoes.
  • 2. Wash and soak the urad and rajma for 12 hours. Drain, rinse.
  • 3. Cooker: dal, rajma, 3½ cups water. First whistle on high, then low flame 30 to 35 minutes. Rajma must mash easily.
  • 4. Masala: 2 tbsp ghee, cumin, onion 8 to 10 minutes to golden, ginger-garlic 1 minute, tomato and spices 10 to 12 minutes until the ghee shows.
  • 5. Dal and its water in, plus 1 cup hot water. Lowest flame, lid half on, 45 minutes to 2 hours. Stir and mash every 10 to 15 minutes.
  • 6. Salt. Butter and cream in, 10 minutes more. Crush in kasuri methi.
  • 7. Tadka: 1 tbsp ghee, pinch of Kashmiri chilli, pour on top. Serve.
  • 8. About 307 kcal and 1.8 tsp ghee a bowl. Leftovers: fridge within 2 hours, eat within 2 days.

Which ghee for dal makhani?

In a pot that simmers for two hours, a stale or flat-smelling ghee comes through in every spoon. Pick a plain ghee with nothing added that smells of toasted milk when it melts. The home checks are on how to identify pure ghee, and our ranking of the buffalo ghee on sale is best buffalo ghee in India.

For dal makhani we would fry the masala in our Jafarabadi buffalo ghee and pour our A2 Gir cow ghee over the top. Both come from grass-fed village animals near the Gir forest; the milk is set to curd overnight, churned, and the makkhan cooked in a matki on a wood chulha. The jar is made after you order, a video of it being cooked and packed comes on WhatsApp, and Varsha tastes every batch before it goes in a jar. We test every month against the FSSAI limits; the steps are on how we make ghee.

The tadka poured on top

Frying the masala

Each order is cooked after you place it, and the packing video is of that batch. Past order videos are on the shop.

FAQ

Is dal makhani the same as maa ki dal?

Mostly, yes. Maa ki dal is the Punjabi home name for whole urad cooked slowly, often with a little rajma or chana, and many restaurants put the same dish on the menu as dal makhani. The home version usually has less butter and cream and more ghee in the tadka. If a menu lists both, the makhani is normally the richer one, with more cream and butter stirred in.

Can I use canned rajma or leave out the rajma?

Yes to both. Canned rajma is already cooked, so rinse it and add about ⅔ cup of it when the cooked urad goes into the masala. It saves the soak but gives a slightly softer bean. Without rajma, use 1 cup (195 g) of whole urad alone. The dal stays creamy because the creaminess comes from the urad; rajma adds bite and a sweeter taste.

Can I make dal makhani in an Instant Pot or electric pressure cooker?

Yes. Cook the soaked urad and rajma on high pressure for 30 minutes and let the pressure release on its own. Make the masala on saute mode in 2 tablespoons of ghee, add the dal, and use the saute or slow setting to simmer with the lid off for 30 to 45 minutes, stirring often. Finish with butter, cream, and the ghee tadka as usual.

Can I make dal makhani without cream?

Yes. Leave the cream out and simmer 15 minutes longer, mashing more of the dal; the urad starch gives most of the body. For richness without cream, blend 10 soaked cashews with 3 tablespoons of water and stir it in at the end, or add ¼ cup of full-fat milk in the last 10 minutes. Do not boil hard after the milk goes in.

Why does dal makhani taste better the next day?

Overnight in the fridge the urad keeps soaking up the masala, the spices spread through the fat, and the dal thickens. Many cooks make it a day ahead for a party for that reason. Cool it quickly, keep it covered in the fridge, and reheat with a splash of hot water until it bubbles. Add the fresh ghee tadka only after reheating.

Can I use split black urad (chilka) instead of whole urad?

You can, but it becomes a different, softer dal. Split urad with skin cooks in about 10 minutes in a cooker and breaks down fully, so you lose the whole grains that make dal makhani look the way it does. Soak it only 2 hours, use about 1 cup less water, and simmer 20 to 30 minutes instead of an hour or more.

Sources

  1. Mungo beans, mature seeds, raw (FDC ID 174259), SR Legacy, USDA FoodData Central. Checked 28 Sep 2026.
  2. Beans, kidney, red, mature seeds, raw (FDC ID 173744), SR Legacy, USDA FoodData Central. Checked 28 Sep 2026.
  3. Butter oil, anhydrous (FDC ID 173412), SR Legacy, USDA FoodData Central. Checked 28 Sep 2026.
  4. Butter, salted (FDC ID 173410), SR Legacy, USDA FoodData Central. Checked 28 Sep 2026.
  5. Cream, fluid, heavy whipping (FDC ID 170859), SR Legacy, USDA FoodData Central. Checked 28 Sep 2026.
  6. Onions, raw (FDC ID 170000), SR Legacy, USDA FoodData Central. Checked 28 Sep 2026.
  7. Tomatoes, red, ripe, raw, year round average (FDC ID 170457), SR Legacy, USDA FoodData Central. Checked 28 Sep 2026.
  8. Dietary Guidelines for Indians, 2024 (Guideline 7, visible fats), ICMR-National Institute of Nutrition. Checked 28 Sep 2026.
  9. Phytohaemagglutinin Poisoning (Food Safety Focus, November 2023), Centre for Food Safety, Hong Kong. Checked 28 Sep 2026.
  10. How to chill, freeze and defrost food safely, Food Standards Agency (UK). Checked 28 Sep 2026.

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