Ma ki Dal/ Dal Makhni in Crock Pot-recipe for 20-30 people

Dal Makhni In Crockpot/ Mah ki Dal in Pressure Cooker/ Dal Makhni in Instant Pot/ Recipe for 20-30 people

Want to impress your guests with restaurant style Dal without spending hours slaving over the stove, then make Dal Makhni in a crockpot. This is one dal which needs to be cooked to a point when the dal becomes a thick, creamy consistency. This Recipe was shared by my sister, who is a graduate of Institute of Hotel Management , India. This is how they make it in the 5 star restaurants in India! If you don’t have a crockpot, don’t fret, you can still make it in a pressure cooker or Instant Pot. The pressure cooker and Instant Pot methods are shared in the end.

I love making this Mah ki Dal in a crockpot for parties, because honestly, who doesn’t love this dal. Plus ,the crockpot does the cooking while I focus on other dishes. The recipe was made in a 6 quart crockpot meant to serve 20-30 guests. I use the crockpot to make dishes that require slow, simmer style of cooking with a lot of stirring and pot watching. With hectic life’s’, jobs and kids activities, who has time to spend hours making one dish. Crockpot to the rescue!

If I want to serve it for lunch, I soak it the previous morning. The evening before, I start the dal in the crockpot on High for at least 2-3 hours before sleeping. Just before sleeping ,turn setting to medium and go to sleep. Next morning it should be perfectly cooked. Add the tarka and milk and continue to cook.

If I want to serve for dinner, I soak it the night before, In the morning I start the crockpot, by evening by the time my guests arrive, fresh, hot dal is ready and piping hot in the crock pot. No need to warm up.

Cooking in a pressure cooker- put Dal/ Rajma  along with all ingredients and give 2 whistles on High. Turn the setting to low and cook for 30 minutes. Do not release pressure. After pressure is released on its own, add tarka  and bring to a boil. Add milk and continue to stir and cook on stove top till all flavors blend in. Top with minced Ginger. If using pressure cooker method, boil dal only with water no milk, milk is added after tarka.

Some other recipes to try are-

Moong Ki Dal-A simple Ayurvedic Preparation

Baingan Bharta in Pressure Cooker

Air Fried Eggplant-Roast Baingan/Eggplant in Air Fryer

Gatte ki Sabzi-No Onion Garlic-Instant Pot Recipe

Dum Aloo-No Onion,Ginger or Garlic-Instant Pot Recipe

Recipe updated on November 2022 to include Instant Pot instructions, along with new pictures

Moving on to the recipe, here is the written recipe followed by the step by step pictorial one-

Ma ki Dal, Dal Makhni, Kaali Dal,in Crock Pot,recipe for a crowd/party

Aanchal Gupta

Dal makhni using recipe from Institute of Hotel Management-Kolkata. Learn how the chefs in 5 star restaurants make Mah ki Dal/Dal Makhni.

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 8 hours hrs

Total Time 7 hours hrs 5 minutes mins

Course Lentils/Beans/Dal

Cuisine Indian

Servings 20

Equipment

• 1 crockpot or pressure cooker or Instant Pot
• 1 small pan
• 1 chopping board
• 1 Knife
• 1 measuring cups and spoons

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

For Dal

• 3 cups Whole Urad Dal
• 1 cup Rajma. Kidney Beans
• 3 tbsp Ghee or mustard oil
• 4 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp Kasoori Methi/Dried Fenugreek leaves washed in a sieve/channi and squeezed dry
• 6-7 Dry Red Chilies
• 8 cups hot water
• 4-5 cups Milk I used 2% milk, you can use Full fat, skim or 1%

For Tarka/Vaghar

• 1 1/4 cup Ghee
• 2 cups finely chopped onions 3 small or 2 medium
• 3 tbsp Kasoori Methi washed in a sieve/channi and squeezed dry
• 4 tbsp Ginger, divided minced, divided
• 3 tbsp Garlic minced
• 11/2 cups Crushed Tomatoes/Tomato Puree from can you can used fresh chopped tomatoes too, though the color from canned tomatoes, is better.
• 1 tbsp cumin seeds jeera
• 1/4 tsp Garam Masala
• 1 tsp Red chili powder lal mirch powder

Instructions

 

• Soak Dal and Rajma Overnight.
• Next morning, throw away that water, rinse well and put 8 cups boiling water along with all the ingredients,EXCEPT milk, on High setting, in the crockpot. Make sure to cover with lid.
• You don’t even need to stir the first 2-3 hours. Keep stirring , every hour after that.
• Meanwhile prepare Tarka/Vaghar
• In hot Ghee, add jeera/cumin. Once it splutters, add chopped onions.
• Once onions turn golden, add 2 tbsp Ginger,(save the other 2 tbsp, we will use it later) and garlic and continue to cook till the raw smell of ginger garlic goes away
• Add in the kasoori methi and stir
• Add crushed tomatoes/tomato puree lal mirch and garam masala and cook till Ghee separates. When ghee separates that means tarka is ready.
• Meanwhile, Once you see that the water and Dal are no longer separated and have incorporated into a thick consistency, add the tarka and give it a good stir.
• Add milk, stir and cover and bring to a boil. Cook till flavors blend in and the dal milk and tarka are all blended in. This can take about an hour or more
• Add the remaining 2 tbsp of minced Ginger in the end.

For Instant Pot

• Put all the ingredients for dal, except milk in Instant pot and choose 'Bean Mode' or choose manual and cook for 25 minutes. Let pressure release naturally
• Follow the instructions for making tarka. Turn on IP to saute and add the tarka. Mix and bring to a boil.
• Now add in the milk and continue to boil the dal, in saute, till everything blends in and the dal is of the right consistency.

Notes

The recipe from IHM, calls for a little bit of mustard oil while boiling, I replaced that with ghee as I was making for a party and wasnt too sure of how everyone would like the taste.I have tried with both and they both taste great, just personal preference.

The original recipe calls for equal amounts of ghee, cream and tomato puree. It was too rich for me, so I use milk instead.

Ghee is preferred for the tarka, but you can use unsalted butter. If using sticks of butter, you would need 18 tbsp of butter or 2 1/4 sticks of butter.  

If you choose to use cream, add tarka and bring to a boil. Now add cream and continue to cook till everything blends in. You would use about 1 to 1 1/2 cups cream instead of 4-5 cups milk. Add water to adjust consistency of dal.

I usually start in the morning, cook for 7-8 hours and by the time my guests arrive for dinner, tada! my dal is ready. In 5-6 hours, when dal and water have blended in, add the tarka.

You don’t have to add hot water, I like to heat water in my kettle and add from there if I am in a rush. If you add tap water, it will take a slightly longer time, that’s all.

The cooking time can vary depending on the brand of crockpot/slow cooker used. For me it takes about 7-8 hours. Dal is done when the liquid is fully incorporated into the dal.

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Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Here is the step by step pictorial recipe-

Soak Dal and Rajma overnight

After 2 hours

After 3 hours, turned to medium and leaving overnight

Overnight in crockpot, after 8 hours

In Ghee, add jeera, then add chopped onions

Washed Kasoori Methi

Add Ginger, Garlic and Kasoori Methi

Add Crushed Tomatoes and cook till Ghee separates

Add Tarka/vaghar

Dal should be thick, not watery when you add tarka

Add Milk and let flavors cook through

Enjoy

Have the best stress free dinner party!