Dal Makhani
Ingredients
- 1 cup whole urad dal (black lentils), soaked overnight
- ¼ cup rajma (kidney beans), soaked overnight
- 4 cups water
- 2 medium onions, finely grated or blended
- 3 medium tomatoes, blended
- 1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 tbsp oil
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp red chilli powder
- ½ tsp garam masala
- ½ tsp coriander powder
- 3 tbsp cream
- Salt to taste
- Fresh coriander and extra butter to finish
Steps
- 1
Overnight slow cook in oven
Drain soaked dal and rajma. Place in a heavy oven-safe pot with 4 cups water and a pinch of salt. Cover tightly with foil and then the lid. Place in oven at 120 °C and cook for 6–8 hours (overnight is perfect). By morning, the lentils will be very soft and the liquid will be thick.
- 2
Mash partially
Stir the cooked dal vigorously — some lentils will break down naturally. For creamier dal, use the back of a spoon to mash about one-third of the lentils against the pot.
- 3
Make the masala base
In an oven-safe pan or the same pot (on an induction cooktop, or use a separate microwave method), heat butter and oil. Add cumin seeds, then onion paste. Cook until deep golden, about 15 minutes. Add ginger-garlic paste and cook 2 more minutes. Add tomato, all spices, and salt. Cook until oil separates.
- 4
Combine and bake again
Add the slow-cooked dal to the masala. Stir well. Return the pot to the oven at 150 °C for 45 minutes to 1 hour, uncovered, to let the gravy thicken and the flavours deepen.
- 5
Finish with cream
Stir in cream. Taste and adjust salt. Finish with a knob of butter and fresh coriander. Serve with naan or rice.
Tips for Best Results
💡 Low and slow is the whole point
Do not rush this. The magic of oven dal makhani is the 6–8 hours at low temperature. Increasing the temperature to save time produces a different, inferior result.
💡 The oven does the overnight work for you
Set it before bed, wake up to finished dal. This is the ideal use of an oven during a gas shortage — no monitoring required.
💡 Use a cast iron pot if you have one
Cast iron retains and distributes heat evenly, making it ideal for the overnight slow cook. A regular oven-safe pot with a tight lid also works.
About this recipe ↓About this recipe ↑
The Best Dal Makhani You Will Ever Make
Dal makhani — black urad lentils slow-cooked for hours in a rich tomato-butter gravy — is the one Indian dal where the stovetop method is genuinely inferior to the oven.
The best dal makhani in the world (from restaurants like Bukhara in Delhi or Dum Pukht) is slow-cooked for 12–18 hours over dying embers. The prolonged, gentle heat allows the lentils to break down into a naturally creamy, almost buttery consistency without any cream being added.
A home oven at 100–120 °C does exactly this. You cook the pre-soaked dal in the oven overnight, then make the masala base and combine. The result has a depth and creaminess that hours of stovetop simmering cannot replicate.
More details ↓More details ↑
The Oven as a Cooking Tool
Dal makhani is the most compelling argument for the oven as a no-gas cooking appliance. Explore biryani, dum aloo, baked kheema, and more in our oven recipe collection.
