Easy, slow cooker Dal Makhani recipe, cooked overnight in a crockpot and tastes just like restaurants and dhabas. This black dal is perfect with rice and tandoori rotis!
Another easy peasy recipe – Slow Cooker Dal Makhani for all you dal makhani lovers! Are you going all like – one more slow cooker recipe? I promise this is is not the last in the series!
Guys I can’t help it. My slow cooker is seriously the best thing that happened to me in a long time. And as a friend recently pointed out, slow cooker dal makhani is genius! Coz dal makhani was originally made over an open wood fire. It was slow cooked all night so that you had all the delicious smoky flavors of a real dal makhani, and creamy, melt in your mouth dal that just screamed your name by morning!
And that’s exactly what we are doing here. Slow cooking this dal makhani all night or all day, and keeping it warm in the slow cooker till you are ready to eat. You’ll be amazed at how no work little work goes into making this dal makhani recipe!
At home, we are all dal makhani pros. Like my mum makes amazing dal makhani and so does the sis and I’m hoping I’m joining the team with my slow cooker version. All this while we’ve made dal makhani in a pressure cooker, because it’s fast and easy and just gets the job done. Till we discovered how much easier it is to make dal makhani in a slow cooker. Side note: if you don’t own a slow cooker, I have a pressure cooker version coming soon!
I’m seriously considering getting my mum one too because I think everyone needs one. Christmas present for mum? Yay or nay?
Unlike most slow cooker dal makhani recipes on the internet, this one doesn’t require you to do any prior cooking. You just dump everything in and let it simmer till you are ready to eat.
Usually, Denver’s my officially taste tester. But this time I went a little further with a really happy facebook experiment. We tested this recipe multiple times, making sure it was just right which meant a LOT of dal makhani and no space to keep it in my tiny refrigerator. I need a bigger one, I swear I do! So I posted a picture of this slow cooker dal makhani on facebook, letting people know that it was up for grabs. Surprise surprise! It was claimed in under a minute. Which makes me wonder if I should give away food on facebook more often. Plus major potential for second level feedback – Denver’s always going to be first level guys. He’s my man!
Usually a dal makhani recipe would have lot of onions, but I think the slow cooked version doesn’t really need them. The lentils cook so long that they break down and add their own flavor without needing onions to boost it up. So I’ve done away with them, but if you want, feel free to add one chopped onion to the recipe.
Also, if you are making some slow cooker dal makhani, make sure to try my Instant No Yeast Naan and Bombay Potatoes to go with it. It’s pureeee perfection that combination. And will make you sleep like a baby after! Sunday afternoon sorted.
Easy Slow Cooker Dal Makhani
Equipment
- Slow Cooker
Ingredients
- 1 cup Urad dal whole black gram lentils
- 1/2 cup Rajma kidney beans
- 1 Bayleaf
- 1 Cinnamon Stick
- 3-4 Cardamom Pods
- 3-4 Cloves
- 1 tablespoon Ginger finely chopped
- 8 Garlic Cloves finely chopped or minced
- 2 Green Chillies slit lengthwise
- 1 tablespoon Coriander Powder
- 1/2 teaspoon Turmeric Powder
- 1/2 teaspoon Red Chilli Powder
- 4 Tomatoes diced (large)
- 1 teaspoon Garam Masala Powder
- 2 tablespoons Butter + extra
- Salt to taste
- 1/4 cup Cream
- 1 teaspoon Kasuri methi optional
Instructions
- Soak both the lentils (urad dal/whole black gram and rajma/kidney beans) in water overnight or at least for 6 hours. This needs to be done only if you are using dry lentils.
- Add all the ingredients to the slow cooker (except cream and kasuri methi) along with four cups water. Stir well. Cook on high for 8 hours or low for at least 12 hours till the lentils are cooked through and can be easily smashed between your fingers.
- Mix well and lightly mash everything with the back of a ladle or spoon. Add the cream and kasuri methi if using and cook on low for another 20 minutes. Top with more butter and serve hot. If serving later, you can keep this on warm for up to 3 hours. Just thin with a little water or milk before serving if it's too thick.
Nutrition
Try these with the Slow Cooker Dal Makhani:
Whole Tandoori Baked Cauliflower
I didn’t see any mention of boiling the beans before placing them into the slow cooker. This can cause bean poisoning, particularly with kidney beans. If they are slow cooked they become 4x more poisonous.
Ethel you don’t need to boil the beans before adding them to the slow cooker because they’ll boil/cook in it – that’s the whole point. But to avoid indigestion and to help our body digest complex sugars such as oligosaccharides, we’ve recommended soaking the beans for 6 hours in the recipe.
This was soooooo good!! Unbelievably easy and super yum! I just added some extra tomato puree to the ingredient list. I used the slow cook option on mealthy – cooked on slow for around 10.5 hours, opened & gave it a stir once. I then slow cooked on high for another 3 hours. Thanks a bunch, I’m never cooking dal makhani another way now!
Wohooo! So happy you enjoyed this!
This recipe is great, delicious and easy. I have been consistently making this dish that I love every month since I’ve discovered this recipe on your website. Thank you so much! With by boyfriend, we bought a new slow-cooker so we could make more dal makhani. That’s how much we love it!
Woww!! You really did love it. Soooo happy you liked the recipe Margaux! Thank you for leaving a comment
My lentils were not cooked in 9 hrs
Hey Arushi, that can happen if your lentils are too old. The problem with lentils is that their age can affect the cooking time. I would recommend just cooking it for longer.
I tried using instant pot as slow cooker to make this recipe but that was a big flop 🙁 this was the first time I tried my instant pot as slow cooker and Rajma was not at all cooked and very hard after keeping it for 12 hours in slow cooker mode . I followed exactly your recipe as is but I guess instant pot is not so good as slow cooker after all . There is nothing wrong in your recipe though so I’ll try stovepot version of this recipe in instant pot 🙂
Hey Sree! Honestly the slow cooked function on the instant pot doesn’t work well. I have an instant pot version of this recipe on the site. Give that a try: https://myfoodstory.com/dal-makhani-recipe/
Best and easiest recipe ever, reminds me so much of the dhal my Mum used to make on a rayburn, cooking it overnight.
Thank you so much
I would like to give you a big thanks for this recipe. I tried it yesterday and it was probably one of the best dal makhni I ever had. though I made some changes to it, like adding onions and skipping soaking the lentils and instead cooked on low for 13.5 hours instead of 12. It came out so awesome that I had to come back to your blog to say thanks. keep sharing.
So happy you liked it Gaurav!!
Bought a slow cooker yesterday and was raring to use it. Immediately went online in search of a recipe and found this. After reading it, couldn’t wait to try it out. And I’m so glad I did. The Dal Makhani came out amazing. Thank you for this recipe. I did make a few changes…added onions and 3 tbsp of store bought tomato purée additional to the existing recipe. It was lip smacking tasty.
Thanks! So glad you liked it!
Hello, I’m going to try this at the weekend, can I use tinned lentils and kidney beans instead of soaking overnight?
Absolutely you can!
Brilliant, thank you! Would the measurements stay the same?
Lentils and beans double in volume after soaking, so you’ll have to use them keeping that in mind.
I can’t wait to try the recipe. I soaked the beans overnight and everything has been cooking in the slow cooker for about 12 hours. It smells wonderful! When I checked on the lentils this morning they were still a bit hard. Should I just let them continue coooking in the slow cooker?
Hey Janet, The beans can take extra time based on how old or new they are. Please let them continue cooking till they become tender. Feel free to add a little water if required.
Great recipe. Needed help for slow cooker Dal makhani. Everybody loved it including very critical 92 year old guiding light of family MIL(I love her) she’s taught me everything the good old way. Time and labor was an issue as well as number of guests. Wow magic. Thank you.
So so glad you liked this dal makhani so much! Thank you for sharing your feedback
Made this yesterday. It was amazing: I’ve been craving Dal Makhni for a while and this totally hit the spot!!!! Now going to go try some other recipes…
So glad you liked it Mallesh!
Can i use instant pot’s slow cook option too? If yes, how does it vary from the timings mentioned here?
Thank you.
Hey Aditi, the slow cooker function on the Instant Pot doesn’t work very well. You can try this recipe instead which gives specific instructions to make dal makhani in the instant pot: https://myfoodstory.com/dal-makhani-recipe/
Absolutely loved it!
The slow cooker version of making this Dal Makhani is pure joy. Easy to prep, cook and it turned out so delicious. I just followed the recipe as is (I did use onions).
Thanks for sharing Richa 🙂
Thanks so much for your feedback Anu!
Hi how big is the cup you are using to measure the ingredients?
I used a standard cup size for this Karen. The same ones I would use to measure baking ingredients.
What size or capacity is the cup? I want to try this recipe but don’t want to get measurements wrong!
Karen
I live in Colorado, USA. Water boils at a lower temperature here, so recipes must be adjusted accordingly. Also tomatoes here tend to be harder and not as sweet as they are imported. Any suggestions on how I can achieve tasty results?
Hey Willard, I’m not super familiar with these substitutions. For the water, you might just have to cook this for longer. With tomatoes, just use canned and they should work really well.
I tried this over the weekend and it turned out so well! It was super easy to put together and so yummy, totally restaurant style. I love love love this recipe. And it has now become my go to recipe! Thanks so much for sharing this.
Yaaaay thank you!
Hey.. Just wanted to know.. If you dont have time to soak.. Is there any other alternative?
Hey Isha! In that case, boil enough water to soak the dal. Take a casserole or any other vessel with a lid, add the beans in it and fill it up with hot water and let it soak for 45 mins-1 hour. This is a quick soaking method which works. If you don’t soak the dal and use it as is, the time taken may be longer.
Which cream do you use?
I use Amul Cream or any fresh cream I can get my hands on. Homemade malai also works.
Hello,
How much water do I soak the dal in and can I cook it in the same water?
Hey! Add enough water that the dal is completely soaked and there is an inch of water above the dal. And yes, if you use drinking water you can use the same water to cook the dal.
Hi Richa,
Any substitute of cream? Waiting to try your recipe eagerly but don’t want to add cream ????
Thanks,
Divya
Sure you can add some yogurt or curds. Just make sure you whisk them till smooth before adding them. Or 1/2 cup milk should also work. Hope you like the recipe!
Thanks!! Will try it this week 🙂
Hope you like it 🙂
Hello, thank u so much for such a great recipe. I tried it with a few minor changes. Loved it totally:) will soon share it in my blog with credits to u:)
Thank you Shubha, I’m glad you liked it. I don’t allow anybody to reprint my recipes, so please refrain from sharing my recipe on your blog.
I absolutely LOVE dal! I can’t wait to try this slow cooker version, and I just got an instant pot so can wait to try the pressure cooker one too! Beautiful photography, I’m drooling over here!
Thanks much! I’ll putting up the pressure cooker version soon 🙂
So tempting! Please post the pressure cooker version soon!
Coming up very very soon!
Does the Preethi electric rice / dal cooker count as a slow cooker? Very tempted to try this out!
Hey Vidisha, it doesn’t act like a slow cooker because it’s a pressure cooker. But it’ll definitely do the job. Just cook this the way you would cook rajma (use the same time and settings) and then simmer it for an hour to get really creamy dal makhani. I hope you give it a go 🙂
Hi Dear,
I wanted to ask about the makhani daal. Do we have to boil them separetly or put everything togther including tomatoes??
Thank you!!
Hey Radiya, If you are using a slow cooker, I don’t boil the dals before. I just soak them overnight and add everything including the tomatoes. I hope you try this out!