Three-Lentil Dal Makhani

This one’s a creamy lentil curry, often made with black lentils and kidney beans. Unfortunately, black lentils are tough to track down outside of specialty markets. Easier to find, red kidney beans do indeed break down and thicken the curry, giving it a characteristic texture. But dried kidney beans make the recipe overly complicated (soaking, pre-cooking separately, etc.). And canned kidney beans end up too squishy under pressure for this long. To solve all those problems, we use a mix of lentils to revamp this dish—even red lentils (sometimes called “pink lentils”), which dissolve under pressure and thicken the dish while giving it an earthy flavor. Although this is a vegetarian main course, feel free to serve it alongside almost anything from the grill. Pork loin would be welcome. Beef ribs, too.

Cuisine

Modern

Course

Main Course

Difficulty

Easy

Duration

30-60 min

Diet

Low Carb, Low Sodium

Cooking Technique

Max Pressure Cook, Pressure Cook, Sauté

Keywords

30-60 min, 6 servings, bay leaves, brown lentils, butter or ghee, cinnamon stick, contributed, cook 25 min, easy, garam masala, garlic cloves, green or white cardamom pods, ground cumin, ground dried cayenne, ground dried turmeric, heavy cream, low carb, low sodium, main course, max pressure cook, modern, peeled fresh ginger, prep 10 min, pressure cook, red lentils, round red tomato, sauté, table salt, water

Prep Time

10 min

Cook Time

25 min

Servings

6 servings

Ingredients

2 tbsp butter or ghee
6 medium garlic cloves
2 tbsp peeled fresh ginger
1 tbsp garam masala
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground dried turmeric
1/2 tsp table salt
1/2 tsp ground dried cayenne
1 cinnamon stick
4 green or white cardamom pods
2 bay leaves
1 large round red tomato
1/2 cup red lentils
1/2 cup brown lentils
4 cups Water
1/2 cup heavy cream

Instructions

Press Saute, set time for 5 minutes.
Melt the butter in the cooker. Add the garlic, ginger, garam masala, cumin, turmeric, salt, cayenne, cinnamon stick, cardamom pods, and bay leaves. Stir until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the tomato and cook, stirring often, until it just begins to break down, 1 to 2 minutes.
Turn off the SAUTE function. Stir in the red lentils, brown lentils, and chana dal until coated in the spices. Stir in the water and lock the lid onto the pot.
Optional 1 Max Pressure Cooker
Press Pressure cook on Max pressure for 16 minutes with the Keep Warm setting off.
Optional 2 All Pressure Cookers
Press Meat/Stew or Pressure cook (Manual) on High pressure for 20 minutes with the Keep Warm setting off.
Use the quick-release method to bring the pot’s pressure back to normal. Unlatch the lid and open the cooker. Remove and discard the cinnamon stick, cardamom pods, and bay leaves. Stir in the cream until uniform, then set the lid askew over the pot for 5 minutes to blend the flavors. Stir again before serving.

Notes

Beyond
• If you want to have the “full bean” experience (and a less thick curry), substitute dried black-eyed peas for the red lentils.
• Serve the curry with packaged na’an or other flatbreads.

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