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Prepare dhaba dal makhani at home, guests will praise you if you eat it

Samira Vishwas | August 19, 2026 11:24 AM CST

Dal Makhani Recipe: Who doesn’t like the taste of Dal Makhani available at a dhaba? The creamy gravy of dal, the aroma of butter and the light taste of cream on top makes it very special. If you also want to make such rich and tasty Dal Makhani at home, then it does not require much effort or expensive ingredients. By just adopting some easy tips, you can bring the taste of dhaba in your kitchen.

The real specialty of Dal Makhani is its cooking on low flame. When urad dal and rajma are cooked properly with spices, the texture of the dal becomes extremely creamy. Proper use of butter and cream in this enhances the taste manifold. Let us know the easy way to make dhaba like dal makhani at home.

Ingredients for making Dal Makhani

1 cup whole urad dal
1/4 cup kidney beans
2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp oil
2 tomato puree
1 onion finely chopped
1 tsp ginger-garlic paste
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp red chilli powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp garam masala
2-3 tbsp fresh cream
salt as per taste
Coriander to garnish

How to make Dhaba Style Dal Makhani

First soak the lentils and kidney beans
Wash urad dal and rajma thoroughly and soak them in water for at least 7-8 hours or overnight. With this, both the things will melt easily and the texture of the dal will also become more creamy. Drain the water and wash them again in the morning.

Melt well in cooker
Put soaked dal and rajma in pressure cooker. Add water, some salt and turmeric to it and cook well. Lentils and kidney beans should be so soft that they can be easily mashed with a spoon. This is the first important step to give dal makhani a restaurant-like texture.

season with spices
Now heat oil and butter in a deep pan. Add finely chopped onion to it and fry until it turns golden. After this add ginger-garlic paste and cook for a few seconds. Now add tomato puree, red chilli and coriander powder and fry the spices until the oil starts separating.

It is important to cook on low flame
Now add boiled lentils and kidney beans to the masala and mix well. Add some hot water as per requirement and let the dal cook on low flame. Keep stirring it in between. By cooking on low flame for about 15-20 minutes, the dal will start becoming thick and creamy. Due to this slow cooking it gets a deep taste like dhaba.

Enhance taste with butter and cream
Finally add garam masala and butter. After this add fresh cream and cook for 2-3 more minutes. Keep in mind that after adding cream, do not cook the dal on very high flame. Add green coriander and some butter on top and serve.

Special trick to get taste like dhaba
If you want a light smoky flavor in the dal, then heat a small piece of coal and place it in a bowl, pour some ghee on it and place the bowl in the middle of the dal. After keeping it covered for a few minutes, the dal will get a slight smoky aroma. Serve it with naan, tandoori roti, jeera rice or butter naan. If you serve it in front of guests, you will definitely get praise for its taste.