Lots more Dals, Bean/Lentil Stews here
Black gram/ Urad Whole (Black Matpe Bean)
Black gram is different than black lentils. Black gram looks like a black mung bean, fat and cylindrical, while black lentils(beluga) are black colored flat lentils. You can use black lentils or other lentils in this recipe if you don’t have black gram. I have only seen it in Indian stores and online, so it can be difficult to come by.
Red Kidney Beans
Whole Urad lentils, Vigna mungo, black gram or black lentil are these pretty lentils which look like black Mung beans. The beans are available as whole or split or split+skinned like most whole lentils in India.
Urad lentils are also extensively used in South Indian culinary preparations, such as dosa crepes, idli – steamed lentil cakes, vada – savory doughnuts, and Papad/Papadum (Ground into flour or soaked and fermented etc).
Step by step photos:
Tempering/Tadka Ingredients.
Heat oil. Add cumin seeds and cook until fragrant.
Add garlic, ginger, chili and cook until golden.
Add onions and cook until translucent.
Add tomatoes, asafetida, garam masala and cook until tomatoes are tender.
Add tempering to cooked beans. Add milks, mix well.
Cook until the beans are mushy.
Serve hot topped with a dollop of vegan butter or olive oil. The pictured Dal is cooked in a pressure cooker that breaks the beans down really well. If using slow cooker or crockpot to cook the dal, mash some of the dal with a spatula.
Recipe Card
Vegan Dal Makhani - Black lentils and Beans in creamy buttery gravy
Ingredients
For the Lentils:
- 1 cup (200 g) whole black gram , Urad Whole or use black lentils(see first paragraph for sub options)
- 1/2 cup (88.5 g) kidney beans , Rajma
- 3.5 cups (875 ml) water
- 1 teaspoon salt or to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) red chili powder or cayenne or to taste
For the Tempering:
- 2 tsp oil
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 2-3 (2) green chilis finely chopped I use Serrano chili pepper
- 1 inch ginger finely chopped
- 5-6 (5) garlic cloves finely chopped
- 1 medium size onion chopped
- 1/8 teaspoon (0.13 teaspoon) asafoetida hing
- 1/2 teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) turmeric powder
- 2 medium size tomatoes chopped
- 1 teaspoon garam masala regular or punjabi
- 1 Tablespoon dried fenugreek leaves Kasoori methi, or Use a 1/2 teaspoon fenugreek/methi seeds-Optional
- 2 Tablespoons Almond milk
- 1/3 cup (78.9 ml) Cashew milk Blend 3 tbsp cashews in 1/3 cup water until smooth.
- Vegan butter such as Earth Balance as needed
Instructions
- Soak the lentils and beans overnight.
- Pressure cook black gram and Kidney beans in 3.5 cups of water with salt and chili powder for 3-4 whistles (25 minutes at high pressure once pressure has reached).
- Or use a slow cooker to cook urad beans and keep ready. Kidney beans cannot be cooked in a slow cooker from raw state, so use 1 cup cooked canned beans.
- In a large pan, add oil and heat on medium-high heat.
- Add cumin seeds and cook till they start to change color.
- Add ginger, garlic and green chili and saute until golden.
- Add onion, asafetida and cook until translucent.
- Add the tomato and turmeric and cook until tomatoes are mushy. (13-15 minutes till this step).
- Add the cooked black gram, kidney beans and the water they were cooked in.
- Add garam masala, fenugreek and the milks. Mix, taste and adjust salt.
- Add more water if the mixture is too thick.
- Simmer on low heat till the dals/beans are totally soft. Mash some of the lentils with the spatula. 30 minutes.
- Or Pressure cook for 5 minutes at high pressure once the pressure has reached. (1 whistle + simmer for 5)
- Top with a small dollop of vegan butter or olive oil and cilantro.
- Serve with Roti/Naan flatbread or Rice Pilaf or other cooked grains like Quinoa, millet.
Notes
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Soak the lentils and beans overnight.
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Pressure cook black gram and Kidney beans in 3.5 cups of water with salt and chili powder for 30 minutes at high pressure. Let the pressure release naturally.
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In a large pan or a cleaned out instant pot, add oil and heat on medium-high heat or saute mode in the IP.
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Add cumin seeds and cook till they start to change color.
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Add ginger, garlic and green chili and saute until golden.
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Add onion, asafetida and cook until translucent.
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Add the tomato and turmeric and cook until tomatoes are mushy. (13-15 minutes till this step). Deglaze with 2 tbsp of water if needed.
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Add the cooked black gram, kidney beans and the water they were cooked in.
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Add garam masala, fenugreek and the milks. Mix really well to pick up any stuck bits, taste and adjust salt.
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Add more water if the mixture is too thick.
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Pressure cook for 5 to 10 mins, Or simmer on saute for 30 minutes.(depends on your preferred consistency of the beans). Mash some of the lentils with the spatula.
- Top with a small dollop of vegan butter or olive oil and cilantro.
Valerie Laing
Love this dal. So much flavour and freezes well.
Vegan Richa Support
Thank you, Valerie!
Emily
This was so delicious – my husband said he preferred it over the one we had at our local Indian restaurant! We enjoyed it with white basmati rice.
Vegan Richa Support
Love to hear it!
David Bundy
Great recipe really enjoyed making it for friends.
Could you give me the non vegetarian version.
@spiceupyourplants
as most of your recipes, this one is a keeper too. thank you!
Vegan Richa Support
Thank you!
Kara
We ordered this from a local restaurant and it was pretty good. Of course you already had the recipe. I just made it and it is better than the restaurants. I did not have the asafoetida but from what I researched I am not missing anything. Again, thank you for another great recipe!!!
Vegan Richa Support
oh, you’re too kind
Kathy
A winner in our house! Even my kids love it!
Vegan Richa Support
thanks for popping in ♡
Kerri
Wow. Made this tonight. Omg it was amazing. It goes to the top of my do again recipes. Thank you for this wonderful recipe.
Vegan Richa Support
hooray! top shelf compliment
Michelle Harris Abramson
We made this along with your pan roasted Brussels sprouts. Both were fabulous! Thank you for your wonderful recipes.
Diane
Can this be made on the stovetop?
Vegan Richa Support
sure just cook the beans in a saucepan with additional 1 cup of water until they are tender to preference. They might take an hour or longer
Valerie
Oh I see your reply here now so I’ll do that.
Sandra
I love your recipes and this is one of my favorite Indian dishes. Can I get a recipe for this on a stove top? I don’t have an IP.
Thanks.
Richa
You can cook the beans in a saucepan with additional 1 cup of water until they are tender to preference. They might take an hour or longer
Sandra
OK. So I made this yesterday on my stove top and it was ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!! I don’t think I’ll ever order this out again. Thank you, thank you, , thank you.
Sandra
Carry Shamblin
Thank you so much!!!
One of the best things I’ve ever HAD!!! You are brilliant and I BOW to you!!!
Richa
❤️❤️
Valerie
I don’t have an Instant Pot or pressure cooker or slow cooker yet. How would you adjust to make this just on the stove?
Vegan Richa Support
You can cook the beans in a saucepan with additional 1 cup of water until they are tender to preference. They might take an hour or longer
E.
PS. Would you soak the split urad overnight? Thanks much.
E.
Can I use the split urad (chilka)? Also, I can’t find asafoetida anywhere: can I skip it without sacrificing flavor? And i also have frozen fenugreek leaves: can I substitute 1:1 for the dried leaves? Thank you!
Richa
Yes you can use it. Cook time would reduce by 10 mins. Omit asafetida. And yes soak it for atleast an hour
Shalena
Absolutely love this recipe. Simple to make and delicious!
Suzanne
This dal makhani is so delicious, thank you! I love your recipes, and so does my non-vegan Indian-food-loving husband!
Lilia
I made it without chili – my preference – and I simply cooked the beans in the instant pot with the sauteed onions and spices instead of boiling them ahead of time. It’s absolutely delicious.
Richa
Awesome!
Genevieve
Do you cook the beans and lentis together in the instantpot?
Richa
yes, i refer to the lentils as lentils or black gram interchangeably. I’ll update it to use lentils for whereveer they are referred
talli
hi richa, i would like to make this dish using your instant pot instructions but i have one question with step 11.
i pressure cook 5-10 min and then mash. then it simply says 30 min. 30 min what? pressure cook again or wait ?
thank you in advance, i absolutely love allo of your recipes
Chad
Did you get an answer to this? I had the same question
Richa
ah the simmer instruction got missed, its either pressure cook for the5-10 mins or simmer for 30 mins. just like the stove top instructions above.
Rekha
Hi! Sorry, I’m just not getting it! I tried cooking black lentils before and it came out hard as rocks!
Do you set manual pressure cooking mode on instapot to 10 minutes??
Thanks!
Rekha
Richa
They are cooked twice. First time — Pressure cook black gram and Kidney beans in 3.5 cups of water with salt and chili powder for 30 minutes at high pressure. Let the pressure release naturally. And then second time with the spices for 5 minutes.
Rekha
Thank you!!!
Love you and all your recipes, Btw!!