Garam Masala Tuesdays: Slow Cooker Dal Makhani
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Serves: 4-6
Ingredients
  • 1 cup urad saboot (whole unskinned black lentils)
  • ½ cup red kidney beans
  • 2 tbsp channa dal
  • 2 tbsp ghee (clarified butter)
  • 1½ tsp salt, or to taste
  • 4.5 cups water
  • 1 cup ready made tomato puree (If you have no tomato puree you can blanch the tomatoes, skin them and use pureed. But I have realized using canned tomato puree gives it the restaurant style colour and taste.)
  • ¼ tsp nutmeg powder
  • ½ tsp garam masala
  • 1 tsp roasted cumin powder
  • 2 tbsp kasoori methi (dried fenugreek leaves)
  • pinch garam masala
  • ½ tsp red chilli powder
  • ½ tsp aamchoor powder (raw mango powder- can be found in Indian grocery stores)
  • 2-3 tbsp unsalted butter
  • ½ tsp black salt (can be found in Indian grocery stores)
  • 1 tsp ground coriander
  • 2-3 tbsp fresh cilantro/coriander, finely chopped
  • ½ tsp onion powder
Grind to paste
  • 2 dry, whole red chillies, preferably Kashmiri red chillies- deseeded and soaked for 10 minutes and then drained
  • 1 inch piece ginger
  • 6-8 flakes garlic
To Add later
  • ½ cup milk mixed with ½ cup cream (you could also just add ½ cup milk and skip the cream altogether if you like)
Instructions
  1. Wash the lentils, red kidney beans and channa dal properly and add them to the slow cooker with 4 cups of water. (If you are pressure cooking them, then it is advisable to soak them in the water overnight but since these cook the whole night, I never pre soak them). Cook on low overnight with salt, ghee and the ginger-garlic-chilli paste added to the lentils and water. Update: As pointed by a reader of the blog, to avoid red kidney bean food poisoning, it is advisable to boil them for 10 minutes in water. And then dump them in the slow cooker. A link for the reason to do this is given in the blog post above.
  2. The next day in the morning, mash the lentils a bit and add the tomato puree, kasoori methi, red chilli powder, roasted cumin powder, nutmeg powder, aamchoor, coriander powder, black salt, onion powder, butter and let cook on low for another 4-6 hours.
  3. minutes before you are ready to serve, add the garam masala powder and if you like the cream and milk, or just milk.
  4. Add the chopped cilantro and serve with rice, naan or roti.
Recipe by The Novice Housewife at https://novicehousewife.com/2013/10/22/garam-masala-tuesdays-slow-cooker-dal-makhani/