Easy Slow Cooker Dal Makhani
on Nov 28, 2016, Updated Nov 26, 2024
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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!
This Slow Cooker Dal Makhani is another easy-peasy slow recipe you need to try! It’s creamy, flavorful, and so luxurious – I promise you won’t want to stop eating.
Traditionally, dal makhani is made over an open wood fire, where it’s slow cooked all night to attain those delicious smoky flavors and creamy, melt in your mouth dal. But for this recipe, we are trying to achieve the same results – except this time in a slow cooker!
Slow cooking this dal makhani all night or all day, and keeping it warm in the slow cooker till you are ready to eat is an absolute genius way to make it. You’ll be amazed at how little work goes into it, and the results will blow your mind!
jump to section: Slow Cooker Dal makhani
Ingredients Overview
The ingredients list for this slow cooker dal makhani is long. But everything is either pantry staples or easily available both online and in stores.
Since this a dump-and-go recipe that also requires no chopping, the only prep you need to do is remember to soak urad dal and rajma overnight (approx 6 hours).
The next morning, all the ingredients (except cream and kasuri methi) to the slow cooker, along with water and cook for 8-12 hours until the lentils are super tender. Finish it off cream and kasuri methi, cook for another 20 minutes and done!
Richa’s Top Tips
- Usually a dal makhani recipe would have lot of onions, but in the slow cooked version the lentils cook so long that they break down and add their own flavor without needing onions to boost it up. So I’ve skipped them, but feel free to add one chopped onion to the recipe if you like.
- It’s important to soak the lentils overnight to achieve the creamy texture we want from this recipe.
- All slow cookers are different, so the cooking time may vary slightly. I would recommend checking for doneness after about 6 hours and then cooking longer if needed.
Serve this creamy, smokey goodness with my Instant No Yeast Naan, lachha paratha, or good ol’ rotis and Bombay Potatoes for a wholesome, warming meal. It’s pureeee perfection that combination.
Check out my slow cooker lamb curry and slow cooker chicken tikka masala recipes. They are such good non-vegetarian recipe to make in your slow cooker.
As always, send in your pictures over on my IG @my_foodstory if you happen to make this recipe. I LOVE seeing your recreations.
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.
Notes
- This slow cooker version has flavours similar to the authentic dal makhani that is slow cooked over a wood flame overnight. If you don’t have a slow cooker, you can try my stovetop version. Click here for the recipe -> https://myfoodstory.com/dal-makhani-recipe/
- Dal Makhani is traditionally made with whole black urad dal (black lentils) and rajma (kidney beans). Avoid using canned kidney beans.
- But if you are vegan or lactose intolerant, use ¼ cup cashew cream or ¼ cup coconut milk in the end in place of cream. The coconut milk might add a milk coconut-ty flavour, but the quantity is so small that you’ll barely notice it.
- Kasuri Methi is dried fenugreek leaves that help round up the flavors in the dal makhani. Its available on amazon, and is used in many Indian recipes (on this blog), so stocking it won’t be a waste.
- Don’t skimp on the cream and butter in the recipe. These give the dal makhani its distinct texture and flavour.
- Feel free to adjust the spice levels based on your tastes by reducing or increasing the green chillies.
- 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.
Can you use split beans? I don’t have the whole version, i got Urad Split and I really want to try this recipe but want to use what’s on hand. Do I adjust the timing? Or would it end up being mushy? Etc. Thanks so much in advance for your help!
Hey Marcail, you can absolutely use split urad dal for this recipe. the texture will be slightly different but it won’t be mushy. Don’t change the cook time.
Hi can I use cardamom powder and clove powder instead of whole? if so how much
Please use 1/4 teaspoon cardamom powder. There’s no need to add clove powder. Whole clove works best because it lends an aroma but you can’t taste it
Hi, I followed the recipe to the exact specifications as laid out. Unfortunately the end result was a very bland dal makhani. none of the flavors popped. any advice on where I may have gone wrong?
Hey Wayne, I’m sorry this didn’t turn out well for you. Were your spices old? That could be a reason for the bland flavours. We’ve made this countless times and I know the flavours are authentic
I want to make this, but the FDA suggests that you must boil the kidney beans for at least 10 mins before even putting them in a slow cooker. Kidney beans need this to avoid food poisoning. Putting them in a slow cooker is not enough!
Hey Lisa, I’ve eaten kidney beans every week for my entire life and have never had a problem. If you’ll notice, the beans are soaked for 8 hours before adding them to the slow cooker. That helps them become easy to digest.
I made this dal and it was awesome. I didn’t want to soak anything so i skipped that step, mixed everything in the instant pot (Except cream and methi) and put it on high pressure for an hour. Then I turned it down to slow cook for 16 hours and it was GREAT!!
Hiya, I am hoping to make this recipe for Diwali. A few questions – can I use ginger, garlic and chilli paste instead of chopped fresh ingredients? If so, how much. If not- my husband does not like spicy food so is it worth adding the chillis at the end so it doesn’t cook in chilli for 10h. Last time I made Rajma and added the chilli in the beginning and it ended up being super spicy! Many thanks
Tried this recipe for the first time and it was deliciously amazing! My family liked it too. I always thought that dal Makhni was a difficult recipe. Thank you Richa!
May be a stupid question…. But do you crush/grind the cloves and cardamom pods or just leave them to do their thing whole? Thanks!!!
Hey! Just leave them whole
This is the easiest recipe for busy day and really delicious with no compromise on taste. Thank you.
Hi, I really want to try this recipe! Could please you let me know roughly how much one cup of lentils is in grams? Thanks!
1 cup of lentils is 200 gms
Hi Richa,
Just a quick question: what type of cream did you use? Single cream or heavy cream?
Also, would you brown the onions before adding them or just add them raw if I wanted to add onions? Thank you.
Hey Raja! This dal makhani recipe is all about indulging, so pick full-fat cream for extra flavour!
You could brown onions and add them directly to the dish, OR you could serve raw chopped onions along with the dish to munch on separately!