Dal Makhani Kit

The single best vegetarian kit. The masala-and-tomato-base (the bhuna) is what makes dal makhani not just lentil curry, and it freezes brilliantly. Soak lentils Saturday night, make masala Sunday morning, bag with soaked lentils, freeze. Day of: dump, pressure 75 min, finish with butter and cream.

The cream-and-butter finish stays fresh — it goes in at the end, never the freezer bag.

Heat: 1/5. Aromatic warmth, not chile heat.

Bag contents

• 200g urad dal sabut (whole black gram lentils — Mundo Verde) (genuinely irreplaceable; or 200g lentilha verde + 80g feijão preto cooked separately as last-resort approximation)
• 80g rajma (red kidney beans) — or feijão vermelho regular
• The cooked masala base (see below)
• 1.2 L water (added on cook day, not in bag)
• 1.5 tsp salt to start

Soaked lentils + beans (overnight)

The night before bagging: combine urad dal + rajma in a bowl, cover with cold water, soak 8-12 hours. Drain and rinse before bagging — the soaked lentils go in the bag drained, not in their soaking water.

Masala base (cook on Sunday morning, cool, then bag)

• 4 tbsp ghee (or 2 tbsp ghee + 2 tbsp neutral oil)
• 2 medium onions, finely diced
• 2 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
• 2 medium tomatoes, finely chopped (or 200g passata)
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tbsp ground cumin
• 1 tbsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp Kashmiri chile powder (or paprika doce + ¼ tsp Cepera Extra Forte)
• 4 green cardamom pods, lightly bruised
• 2 black cardamom pods (substitute 2 extra green if not available)
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 4 cloves
• 2 bay leaves

In a heavy skillet:

1. Heat ghee. Add green and black cardamoms, cinnamon, cloves, bay leaves. Fry 30 sec.
2. Add diced onions. Cook 8-10 minutes over medium until deep golden brown.
3. Add ginger-garlic paste, cook 2 min.
4. Stir in cumin, coriander, turmeric, Kashmiri chile. Cook 30 sec.
5. Add chopped tomatoes + tomato paste + a splash of water. Cook over medium 8-10 minutes, stirring, until the oil separates from the masala and the tomatoes are jammy.
6. Cool fully before bagging.

Prep day (Sunday assembly — ~10 min once masala is cool)

1. Drain soaked lentils thoroughly.
2. Bag. In a 2-gallon zip bag: drained lentils + drained beans + cooled masala (with all its oil and aromatics) + 1.5 tsp salt. Mix gently in the bag so the masala coats the lentils.
3. Press out air. Lay flat. Label.

Label

Dal Makhani — 2026-05-10
Serves 6
Cook: PCC20 + 1.2 L water → P9 (Feijão) 75 min frozen / 60 min thawed
After cook: 4 tbsp butter + 100ml cream + 1 tsp kasoori methi + 1 tsp garam masala

Cook day

Pressure cooker (PCC20, P9 — Feijão)

From frozen:

1. Dump frozen kit into PCC20.
2. Add 1.2 L water or stock.
3. P9 (Feijão), adjust to 75 minutes, high pressure. Natural release fully (15 min).

From thawed: 60 minutes instead.

After cook (the makhani finish — mandatory)

1. Open lid. Lentils should be soft, beans creamy, masala integrated.
2. Mash gently with a wooden spoon to break down some lentils — keep some whole. Should look like a thick dark soup-stew.
3. Switch to simmer/sauté mode. Add:
   • 4 tbsp unsalted butter, cubed (don’t skip)
   • 100ml heavy cream (creme de leite fresco)
   • 1 tsp kasoori methi crushed between palms (or ½ tsp dried fenugreek seed crushed)
4. Simmer gently 10-15 min, lid off, stirring every 2-3 min. Dal will thicken and become deeply glossy.
5. Stir in 1 tsp garam masala. Taste, adjust salt.
6. Serve: ladle into bowls, swirl extra 1 tbsp cream on top, sprinkle chopped coriander.

Tame it

Already mild. To go to heat 0: skip Kashmiri chile, use only paprika doce.

Sub: bottled chiles only

Replace Kashmiri chile in masala with: 1 tbsp paprika doce + ¼ tsp Cepera Extra Forte (already in the recipe as alt).

Serving

Hot naan torn and dipped, raw onion rings, lemon wedges, cold lassi. A meal in itself.

Notes

• The masala-cooking is the only Sunday work that matters. Lentils don’t need any cooking on Sunday; they go in raw-soaked-drained.
• Don’t add butter or cream to the bag. Both need to go in fresh, post-cook. Butter/cream that froze and re-cooked tastes off.
• Why P9 (Feijão) not P14 (Carne): P9 is calibrated for legumes, similar pressure but gives the gentle ramp-up that prevents cracked-skin lentils.
• Make 3-4 kits at once. Same masala batch covers all of them. Soak more lentils, divide.
• Cross-reference: lentilha_dal-makhani.md for the from-scratch single-session recipe.
• Bonus: the masala base alone (without the lentils) freezes for 4 months in ice cube trays — pop a couple into any North Indian dish for instant flavor base. Same masala makes the start of butter chicken, paneer makhani, chicken tikka masala.