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Monday, May 05, 2008

Dal Makhani Cooked In Slow cooker

Dal makani is prepared with whole black urad dal and red kidney beans (rajma). This is a delicacy in punjab which is rich in proteins and fiber. Traditionally dal is slow cooked for hours together to get a creamier texture. Cream /malai gives a rich taste to this dal. Since cooking dal for a long duration gives good flavor and taste, i have cooked dal in slow cooker/crockpot. Cooking duration in slow cooker is for 7 hours and by the end of which you will get a creamy dal makhani. Dal will taste even better the next day.

Ingredients

1.5 cup - Whole black urad dal, washed well
1/2 cup - Kidney beans / Rajma, washed well
4 tbsp - Ghee
3 to 4 tbsp - Heavy Cream /Malai
8 cups - Water
Salt to taste

Grind to coarse paste

7 to 8 - Green chili
2'' piece - Ginger
1 - Whole garlic pod ( about 8 to 10 flakes )

Seasoning

1 tsp - Jeera
1/2 tsp - Turmeric powder
1/4 to 1/2 tsp - Hing powder
1 tsp - Garam masala powder
1/2 tsp - Red chili powder
1 tsp - Shan dal masala powder
1/2 cup - Green onion, chopped
3 to 4 - Tomato, coarsely ground

Garnishing

2 tbsp - Coriander leaves, chopped
1 tsp - Ginger, julienne
1 tbsp - Cream

Method

1 ) Since this is a slow cooker recipe, you have to use more water to cook dal, which will reduce as dal gets cooked. To a crockpot add 8 cups of water, then 1 tbsp ghee, coarsely ground paste, black urad dal and rajma. Set the temperature to high and cook for 45 minutes on high setting. Open the lid and give a quick stir, to loosen any dal stuck to the bottom.

2 ) Lower the temperature to low and cook for 6 hours. Prepare the seasoning to add to the dal.Heat a pan, add 3 tbsp ghee, then add jeera, turmeric powder, hing, red chili powder, garam masala powder, shaan dal masala powder and fry for a few seconds on low heat. Then add onion and fry for a minute, then add tomato, cook till tomato is well cooked and oil separates.

3 ) Since you should not add cold ingredients to hot cooked ingredients in crock pot, add 3 to 4 tbsp heavy cream to the seasoning and warm it up. Then pour this seasoning to the dal, that has been cooking for 6 hours. Add salt to taste, stir and mix in. Close the lid and cook for one more hour. Let all the spices blend in with the dal.

4 ) After 7 hours of cooking in slow cooker the dal will be all creamy and thick. Now you can transfer the dal to a serving dish and garnish with coriander leaves, ginger julienne and heavy cream.

Serve hot with butter naan or basmati rice.

51 comments:

FH said...

I did that too ie Dal Makhani in slow cooker few weeks ago,is in the draft. It became a bit slimy by morning (overnight cooking), so I cut the down the time now for just few hrs!:D
Looks yummy.

Kalai said...

Now that looks absolutely sublime, Pravs! Awesome presentation, too! :)

TNL said...

I think this would taste fabulous in the slow cooker...what a treat to come home to.

cheers, trupti

Pravs said...

Asha : Oh i will look forward for your recipe :) With slow cooker such dishes will cook so well, right ?

Kalai :Thanks kalai :) You do really cheer me up with your comments :)

Ts: Yes, slow cooker does a wonderful work making the dal creamy. Cheers to you too trupti :)

Richa said...

dal looks creamy & d-lish, am tempted inspite of just hvng dinner ;) my bhabhi uses the slow cooker as well.

Pravs said...

Richa : oh thats nice to hear :) Anyways dal needs long hours of cooking..slow cooker is ideal for that.

Madhavi said...

Lovely recipe, makhani looks divine, rich and tasty. Thanxx for sharing pravs!!!

Uma said...

wow, dal makhani looks so delicious! never used slow cooker. looks like I have to get one.

Purnima said...

Pravs, unique idea of slow cooker, the daal surely looks good in color n rich!! Yumm..m drooling! TKs a gr8 deal for sharing!

Alpa said...

wow, looks just like in the restaurants! thanks for sharing the slow cooker technique! mine has never been used, lol.

Suganya said...

WOW!.... That was a excellent recipe... Looks YUM!... Dal makhani cooked in slow cooker that was a different idea...

Swati said...

Looks absolutely authentic and delicious Pravs!!

Shweta said...

I am tempted to go buy a slow cooker now! :) This should come closest to traditional daal makhani cooked the whole day on an 'angeethi' in Punjab.

Manasi said...

Oooh! looks gr8! Wish i had a slow cooker :(

EC said...

Colour of the dal is very perfect...I dont have a slow cooker to try it out

Sangeeth said...

i luv dal makani....your look mouth watering......

Jans said...

Im in the process of learning some new dishes n this one was on my list....looks good ,will try it out soon...Nice blog !!!

Unknown said...

this really looks yummy. I was thinking abt cooking dal in my slow cooker for the first time and found your post . Great help. Thanks. I am a vegetarian, can you suggest any other recipes for slow cooker.

Pravs said...

Shilpy : Thanks for visiting and do try dal makhani. You can try rajma, chana , make payasam and like.

Anonymous said...

I have not tried Dal makhani yet, will try tonight. Do post more receipes for slow cooker, we need this type of receipes more in this busy life here in the U.S.

Anonymous said...

I used split 1 cup split urad and 1/2 cup split chana dal... instead of fresh tomatoes, i used tomatoe paste...came out fantastic!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

i used 1 cup split urad and 1/2 cup split chana dal, also i used tomatoe paste instead....came out fantastic!!!!!!!!!!

Pravs said...

Meena : Thanks for the feedback. Oh sure, chana dal does add a yummy flavor. I will try that one day.

Anonymous said...

I made this recipe over the weekend but it came out really soupy :( The Dal Makhani I've had before has been much thicker. I also couldn't get this to be as creamy as I would have liked. I think I may have peeked one too many times (I kept stirring hehe), I'll try it again tomorrow with less water and see what I can come up with! The flavor was excellent :)

Pravs said...

Mandy : Thanks for the feedback. you can reduce the quantity of water, maybe to 8 or 9 cups, if it's not becoming creamy. Or cook longer to reduce the water to reach creamy stage. Its okay to peek :)

Anonymous said...

Success, Pravs! I added only 7 cups of water and it is a much better consistency. I also cooked it overnight so I wouldn't be as tempted to meddle ;) Finally, I added tomato paste instead of fresh tomatoes (the tomatoes I used last time were from my dad's garden, and I think they were much more juicy than the usual and therefore thinned out the finished product). The color was much better and the consistency is perfect! thanks for a great recipe and for your suggestions :)

Pravs said...

mandy : Great !! :) Happy to know you tried it again. We all perfect a recipe as we do it more often. Thanks for trying again and for the feedback :)

Anonymous said...

I do not eat Urad dal but I make Dal Makhani with Kala Massoor - better know in the west the stuff Lentil soup is made of. Go help is hard to find and my husband messed up my pressure cooker - so I was looking for slowcooker ways to make it - and I will try in my Lecruest pot. Actually most people think they are having Urad dal -

superfinefeline said...

Thanks for sharing this recipe! Dhal Makhani is my all-time favourite dish! :)

Aishwarya said...

I made this as my first slow cooker recipe to serve 20 guests.Believe me as much as I was worried, I received double the compliments.. It was totally yummmmmm.. thank you so much for posting such a detailed recipe. Looking forward for some more slow cooker recipes. Aishwarya

Pravs said...

Aishwarya : wow, 20 guests and all that praises :) Thanks for this feedback, you made my day :)

Hollywould said...

I just returned from my first trip to India and want to have a dinner party for several friends who have also been to India. I bought a packet of spices they said were good for Dal, but I have no idea what's in the packet! 2 questions; for your Dal Makhani in the crock pot, how many people does it serve? and, if I use my spice packet, should I just add up all the quantities for your spices and just use that much of my stuff? Thanks for any help!!!

Pravs said...

Hollywould : I am finding it hard to respond to your query, since i am not sure what that spice packet contains. If you plan to follow this recipe, then please go by the ingredients i have listed for this recipe.I guess this recipe can serve for 8 to 10 people.

Anonymous said...

I have tried this recipe and after 6 hours it seems VERY liquidy. Should I drain it, or let it cook longer?

Pravs said...

Anon : Please cook for 7 hours...by then the excess liquid will cook away. I have mentioned 7 hours in the recipe.

Connie said...

What a smart idea to make dal in the crockpot! And I've never used the black dals, this will be a great recipe to try in winter! Can't wait.

Anonymous said...

I just tried it last night. One word - Fantastic !

Anonymous said...

Tried it last night. I felt like it could be thicker. I has to use the mixer and grind a portion to make it thicker. I am going to try it with 7 glasses of water next time.

Anonymous said...

Awesome recipe! I didn't know what Shan dal mix is so I didn't add it. I did use a bay leaf, methi seeds, and a few fennel seeds. And I didn't have cream so I used a little pinch of butter and a spoon of whipped cream cheese. My husband practically ate the whole thing!

Corrie said...

This is the second dal makhani recipe we've tried and we really liked yours. Cooking in the slow cooker was great. Thanks for the yummy recipe!

Jeena said...

Hi, I had a few questions about the recipe (I'm really excited to try it). Can I substitue butter for the ghee (and perhaps put a little less of it)?

Can I skip the heavy cream? What can I substitute for the heavy cream-- maybe yogurt?

So one whole bulb (many cloves) of garlic won't be too overpowering?

Thanks.

Pravs said...

Jeena : Hi there :)
Yes you can use butter instead of ghee. you can reduce garlic if you don't like too much of it.(Though it adds flavor).Heavy cream adds flavor, you can reduce the quantity to 1 or 2 tbsp. Do try :)

jay said...

I made this dal following your recipe......awesome! I'm making this again today for Lohri party.
I always modify online recipes but I don't want to change anything about this one......PERFECT! Thanks for sharing :)
Do you have other recipes for slow cooker.....kheer etc?

Pravs said...

Jay : Happy to see a very positive feedback on this recipe :)

Anonymous said...

@Anon (Wed Dec 22, 05:38:00 PM 2010)

It's a long time since you posted, but as nobody appears to have answered you directly, I thought I might as well.

Shan Dal Masala is a ready made spice mix for dhal made by Shan. Shan is a Pakistani food company that ready mixed spice blends - you can find their products in most Asian grocers (in the UK at least).

Anonymous said...

can we do this in electric cooker

saiu

Pravs said...

saiu : By electric cooker, do you mean the rice cooker ? This recipe is for slow cooking in electric slow cooker.

Anonymous said...

How many people does this recipe serve and what size of crackpot is required?

Pravs said...

Anon : this could serve probably,5 to 10 people ( depending on the portion size one wants to have ). A 6 quarts or bigger slow cooker can be used to make this recipe.

TestingSalesforce said...

Should we soak the dal before or just cook it without soaking?

Pravs said...

Anu : There is no need to soak the dal before cooking. Since it's slow cooked for long duration. Do try and let me know.