Lentils and Kidney Beans in Creamy Tomato Sauce
- Yield
- 6 servings
Lentils and kidney beans cooked until creamy, then simmered slowly in a spiced tomato, butter and cream sauce. The kidney beans need an overnight soak and a hard boil, so start the day before.
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Ingredients
Batches and reset
6 servings · US measures · 1 batch
Batching
Cook one base batch at a time in a 4-quart pot. For 12 servings, cook a second batch; soaking, the thirty-minute hard boil and simmering times do not change with quantity.
Original recipe: 6 servings.
Nutrition is incomplete. The whole spices are removed before serving, the soaking water is discarded, and dried fenugreek leaves have no matching food record in the retained data. Salt, cayenne and extra tomato puree added to taste are not included.
Before you start
- Read through the recipe a day ahead: the kidney beans soak for at least five hours. Gather the bowl, both pots and measured ingredients.
Directions
Read and gather
For the whole recipe
Read through the recipe, gather the equipment, and use the ingredient lines to measure and prepare everything. Plan ahead: the kidney beans soak for at least five hours or overnight before cooking. Everything is measured and within reach.
Soak the kidney beans
For each pot
Soak the kidney beans in the soaking water in the bowl for at least five hours or overnight, until they have plumped and their skins look smooth.
Pour off the soaking water and boil the beans hard
For each pot
Pour the beans into the colander, discarding the soaking water, and put them in the 4-quart heavy pot with the cooking water. Bring them to a full, rolling boil over high heat and keep it boiling hard for at least thirty minutes; a gentle simmer alone does not make kidney beans safe.
Add the lentils and simmer
For each pot
Add the lentils, lower the heat to medium-low heat and simmer, partly covered and stirring now and then, until the beans and lentils are completely tender and crush easily against the side of the pot. Keep all the cooking liquid.
Heat the oil and bloom the whole spices
For each pot
Heat the oil in the wide pot over medium heat until it shimmers. Add the cumin seeds, cardamom pods, cinnamon stick, bay leaves and cloves, and stir until they sizzle and smell toasty.
Lower the heat and build the tomato sauce
For each pot
Lower the heat to medium-low heat and stir in the ginger paste, garlic paste, turmeric and cayenne pepper to taste until the raw garlic smell fades. Add about 1 cup canned tomato puree and cook, stirring, until it thickens slightly and darkens. Stir in the chili powder, coriander and butter until the butter melts into the sauce.
Add the beans and lentils and simmer
For each pot
Add the cooked beans and lentils with enough of their cooking liquid to make a loose sauce. Crumble in the fenugreek leaves between your palms and simmer gently over low heat, stirring often so nothing sticks, until the dal is thick and creamy, about 45 minutes.
Stir in the cream
For each pot
Stir in the cream and warm it over low heat without letting it boil, until the dal is steaming.
Fish out the whole spices and taste
For each pot
Fish out the cinnamon stick, bay leaves, cardamom pods and cloves. Taste the dal. Aim for rich and creamy with warm spice and a gentle tomato tang. If it tastes flat, stir in salt to taste; for more tang, add canned tomato puree to taste, and for more heat, add cayenne pepper to taste.
Serve
For the whole recipe
Serve the dal hot as 6 servings. Refrigerate leftovers within two hours and reheat them until they reach 165°F (74°C).
About this recipe
Research preview: these details come from our sourced research and haven't been reviewed by our chef yet.
Why it works
Frying whole spices in oil (a tadka) releases their aroma into the fat, and cooking the tomato down concentrates it. A long, gentle simmer breaks the lentils and beans down into a creamy body, and butter and cream finish it.
Associated with
Punjabi
Dal makhani was created in Old Delhi in the early 1950s by Punjabi cooks who had moved from Peshawar after Partition, as a vegetarian companion to butter chicken. It is a modern variation on traditional Punjabi lentil dishes, made with lentils and kidney beans enriched with butter and cream.
Taste
- Sweet
- Sour
- Salty
- Bitter
- Savory
- Heat
Whole spices fried in oil, then ginger, garlic and tomato, give a warm, layered base., Butter and cream make it rich; dried fenugreek leaves add a savory, slightly bitter note. · thick, creamy and buttery · hot
Skill level
Some practice
Simple steps but a long process, about two hours of cooking after soaking, and the kidney beans must be boiled hard.
Allergens
Contains: milk.
Check the chili powder, spice and lentil labels.
Diets
Vegetarian: Fits as listed Pescatarian: Fits as listed Vegan: Doesn't fit as written Dairy: See the allergen lines Egg: See the allergen lines Gluten: See the allergen lines
Occasions
Lenten abstinence days (Ash Wednesday and the Fridays of Lent)
A meatless main; dairy is permitted.
Serving and keeping
Best served: Hot, once the cream is warmed through and the whole spices are out With jeera (cumin) rice or naan, finished with a little cream or yogurt and chopped coriander
Make ahead: The flavor deepens overnight; loosen with water when reheating.
Storage: Refrigerate within 2 hours (1 hour above 90 °F / 32 °C), in shallow containers. Frozen, it keeps best for about 2 to 3 months.
Leftovers: It thickens as it stands; stir in a little water when reheating.
Food safety
- Raw or undercooked red kidney beans contain a natural toxin; as few as four or five raw beans can make people ill. Soak them at least 5 hours, pour away the soaking water, and boil them in fresh water at a full boil for at least 30 minutes. Do not cook them in a slow cooker.
- Look over dried lentils and beans for small stones and debris; this removes stones and debris, it is not gluten control.
- Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours (1 hour above 90 °F / 32 °C) and reheat to 165 °F (74 °C).
We make no statement about cross-contact in your kitchen or in packaged ingredients. Check the spice labels.
Nutrition notes
Lentils and kidney beans bring fiber and plant protein.
The butter and cream supply most of the saturated fat; halving both lightens the dish.
Swap notes
butter · vegan
Use: neutral oil or vegan butter, with full-fat coconut cream or cashew cream in place of the cream
What changes: Less buttery; a coconut note if coconut cream is used.; Still creamy, but it changes the character of the dish.; Cashew cream adds tree nuts, a major allergen.
Not a swap: Dairy butter or ghee, which are milk products.
heavy cream
Use: half the cream, or plain yogurt stirred in off the heat
What changes: Also halve the butter.; Lighter and less silky.
Not a swap: Boiling yogurt in the sauce, which can make it split.
garlic paste · jain.standard
What changes: Leave out the ginger and garlic pastes and use a chili powder without garlic.; Less pungent.
Not a swap: Garlic powder, which is still garlic.
garlic paste · buddhist.five_pungent
What changes: Leave out the garlic paste and use a chili powder without garlic.; Less pungent.
Not a swap: Garlic powder, which is still garlic.
butter · orthodox.fast_strict
Use: neutral oil, with coconut cream in place of the cream, on oil-permitted days
What changes: Less buttery but still creamy.
Not a swap: Butter or cream, which are dairy.
dried brown lentils · passover.ashkenazi
Not a swap: Lentils and beans are kitniyot and are the dish; no substitute keeps it.
These notes don't change the amounts, allergens or nutrition shown for this recipe.
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- Recipe url
- https://isthebestrecipe.com/indian/lentils-and-kidney-beans-in-creamy-tomato-sauce
- Name
- Lentils and Kidney Beans in Creamy Tomato Sauce
- Servings
- 6
- Recipe yield
- 6 servings
- Recipe ingredient
- about 1/4 cup dried red kidney beans, about 2 cups water for soaking the kidney beans, about 5 cups water for cooking the beans and lentils, about 1 cup dried brown lentils picked over and rinsed, 2 tbsp vegetable oil, 1 tbsp cumin seeds, 4 whole green cardamom pods, 1 whole cinnamon stick broken in half, 4 whole bay leaves, 6 whole cloves, 1 1/2 tbsp ginger paste, 1 1/2 tbsp garlic paste, 1/2 tsp ground turmeric, to taste cayenne pepper, about 1 cup canned tomato puree, 1 tbsp chili powder, 2 tbsp ground coriander, about 1/4 cup butter, 2 tbsp dried fenugreek leaves, about 1/2 cup heavy cream, to taste salt
- Copy action wording
- Copy recipe and estimated nutrition
Sources
- Dal makhani (Wikipedia (English), 2026-07-27)
- Food Allergies: What You Need to Know (major food allergens under FALCPA and the FASTER Act) (U.S. Food and Drug Administration, 2026-03-11)
- Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011, Annex II: Substances or products causing allergies or intolerances (legislation.gov.uk (The National Archives) copy of the EU regulation text, 2014-02-19)
- Four Steps to Food Safety (U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2025-11-24)
- Cold Food Storage Chart (FoodSafety.gov, 2023-09-19)
- Phytohaemagglutinin (Wikipedia (English), 2026-10-04)
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Nutrition Values
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