Easy Vegan Dal Makhani

After living in India for just over two years I just can’t get enough of lentils, and I’ve been working on this delicious vegan dal makhani recipe for quite a while. The perfect balance between easy and delicious, yet authentic-tasting Indian food.

This vegan dal makhani (also known as butter lentils) can be made with jarred cooked lentils and kidney beans, or in a pressure cooker/instant pot, depending on how much of a hurry you’re in.

Using pre-cooked lentils and kidney beans will get this recipe ready in 45 minutes with a minimum of chopping.

If you’re like me and you love Indian food, especially easy vegan and vegetarian Indian food, you might want to check out some of my other recipes, or go the whole hog and serve various curries and pretend you’re at a restaurant!

What is dal makhani served with?

Dal makhani is a filling dish from the north of India and this delicious lentil curry with lashings of sauce is perfect served with roti or naan bread.

I usually serve curries with Indian flatbreads first to tear off and dip in and scoop up the luscious sauce with, and have steamed basmati rice on standby to mix with any leftover sauce.

You can also add a dollop of plain unsweetened vegan or non-vegan yogurt, or try my gut-healthy kefir onion raita. Honestly, this lentil curry is so rich that a bit of bread and/or rice is all you need.