For my home cuisine, from Bangladesh, sometimes the easiest food is the most common one - Daal (เฆกเฆพเฆฒ) or Lentils.
But after tasting variations of the same thing from neighbouring regions (India) or even from Europe, sometimes you want it properly slow, buttery, savory, and restaurant-heavy.
And sometimes you want something in the same family โ thick, spiced, slightly sweet, deeply savory โ but without having to go to restaurant or even ordering or even owning different spices and pan/woks for every life stage of the lentils.
This was the second mood! ๐ค๐ฝ
I mixed three types of lentils, fried a generous amount of onion and garlic in mustard oil, built a spice base that smelled like it had opinions, par-fried everything in a pan, then finished the whole thing in one pressure cooker.
One pot. Lots of spice. Still that honey-sweet, slow-cooked feeling at the end.
Not traditional daal makhani, I am not claiming, purists can debate. But honest home cooking - and it goes with almost anything carb-shaped.
Unfortunately, no video this time either. So, as usual, photos and a dry description.
Very-very premium laziness ๐ค.
๐ค๐ฝ Ingredients: #
- Red lentils (masoor daal) ๐ด โ 100โ120 gm
- Split/yellow Moong beans (moong daal) ๐ก โ 100โ120 gm
- Split chickpeas (chana daal) ๐ โ 100โ120 gm
- Onion ๐ง โ lots (I used a big batch; slice thin)
- Garlic ๐ง โ lots (slice or chop)
- Green chili ๐ถ๏ธ โ several (keep some whole, split some)
- Cherry tomatoes ๐ โ a handful (halved)
- Mustard oil โ as needed
- Ground coriander
- Ground cumin
- Methi (fenugreek)
- Cardamom
- Cinnamon
- Cloves
- Red chili powder or paprika โ a little
- Fried cumin (for finishing)
- Ghee โ 1 TBSP
- Coriander leaves ๐ฟ (optional, smashed and scattered at the end - I didn’t use this time)
- Lemon ๐ (for serving)
- Salt ๐ง (to taste โ I never understand or comply with the measurement)
- Water โ about 1.5 litres for pressure cooking
๐ค๐ฝ Preparation: #
First, I mixed all three lentils together in a pot.
Red lentils, moong dal, and chana dal โ three different sizes, three different boiling speeds, one shared destiny.
I washed them properly, rinsed a few times, then left them soaking for at least 30 minutes. This step matters. Chana dal is thicker and slower; red lentil is eager and collapses early. Soaking gives the slow one a head start and stops the fast one from turning into soup before the others have found themselves.
While the lentils were soaking, I prepared the aromatics.
Lots of onion, sliced thin. Lots of garlic, sliced. The pressure cooker was already sitting nearby like it knew where this story was going.
Then the green chilies โ some left whole, some split.
And the cherry tomatoes, halved.
For the spice mix, I combined ground coriander, cumin, methi, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, and a little red chili powder (paprika works too if you are not into chilli-game).
No fancy measuring ceremony. A home-style handful of each, adjusted by nose.
๐ค๐ฝ Cooking: #
In a pan, I heated mustard oil and fried the onion and garlic until they turned properly red and soft โ not pale, not shy, actually fried.
Then I added the spice mix and fried that too. Properly. Until the oil darkened and the whole pan started smelling like it had graduated from “ingredients” to “gravy.”
I added some water and made a thick spice gravy.
Then came the soaked lentils.
I mixed them in and fried everything together so the lentils picked up the onion, garlic, and spice base before any serious boiling began.
Then I added the split green chilies and cherry tomato halves on top.
I poured in enough water to bring the lentils to about half-boiled โ not fully cooked, not raw, somewhere in the responsible middle. Remember: three lentils, three boiling personalities. This stage is the compromise meeting.
Once that was done, I switched off the hob.
Then …
Everything went into the pressure cooker.
I poured in about 1.5 litres of water.
Then sealed the cooker and put it back on the heat.
After the first whistle, I lowered the temperature and let it cook gently.
About 10 minutes later, I switched off the hob and moved the cooker aside. Then I waited โ properly waited โ until all the steam was gone before opening it. Still not comfortable with pressure cookers - after all these years.
When I opened it, the lentils had merged into that thick, creamy, honey-coloured mass that makes daal makhani feel worth the trouble.
I finished with fried cumin and 1 TBSP ghee.
If you have coriander leaves, smash some and scatter them on top. It helps. It always helps.
๐ค๐ฝ Final Result: #
The result was thick, savory, slightly sweet, and deeply spiced โ not thin everyday daal, not restaurant-black-dal either, but something in between that still feels like a hug.
The three lentils gave it texture: moong dal softened smoothly, red lentil melted into the body, and chana dal kept a little honest bite in the background. The cherry tomatoes added a gentle sweetness. The mustard oil and ghee gave it that familiar sharp-then-rich finish.
Serve with lemon on the side.
It goes with plain rice, fried rice, bread, naan, roti, wraps โ basically any carb that is willing to cooperate.
That’s the one! โ๏ธ 1๏ธโฃ ๐ฅ
And honestly, for a one-pot weekend experiment with three lentils and a pressure cooker, that is enough reason to save the recipe.