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    Home > Indian Vegan Recipes > Dal Recipes

    Fat-Free Slow Cooker Dal

    Posted: Dec 6, 2013 ยท Updated: Aug 16, 2021

    Jump to Recipe

    This vegan fat-free slow cooker dal is creamy and nutritious and flavored with black pepper, turmeric, garlic, ginger, tomatoes, and leafy greens. Soy-free, nut-free recipe.

    fatfree slow cooker dal 4Winter makes me want to pull out the slow cooker and get something cooking. Because there's something warm and fuzzy and comforting about food cooked in a crockpot. And is there one good reason not to love food that cooks itself?

    My Fat Free Slow Cooker Dal requires just a little bit of prep, but after that all you need to do is plug in your crockpot and leave it alone for a few hours and voila! You are rewarded with a delicious and nutritious dish for your rice or your roti, all without much effort.

    One thing to keep in mind when cooking recipes with beans and lentils in a crockpot is that legumes are not perfect crockpot foods, unless you add them precooked or canned. And if you have to precook the legumes, that pretty much defeats the purpose of one-pot cooking, doesn't it? Soaking the dals can help somewhat, but I am also not looking to add more hours of soaking on top of the four or five needed to cook the dal in the crockpot.

    Fat Free Slow Cooker DalThe secret, then, to making a successful dal in a crockpot is to use the right lentils. The kind that break down easily so you ย get a creamy consistency to your dal. Pink lentils-- or masoor dal-- are a perfect choice. Dals like udad dal used to make Dal Makhani, and tuvar or chana dal aren't.

    I made my slow cooker dal fat-free and to it I added some leafy greens for more nutritional muscle. This is a perfect time to dig up those wilting greens in the back of the crisper and give them a happy new life. ย Use any kind of green, really. Kale is perfect here, but so is spinach. I sometimes add spring greens when I have some left over from a salad.

    Yummy Indian vegan dal recipes from the archives:

    • Dal Tadka
    • Dal Bukhara
    • Dhabay ki Daal
    • Vegan Dal Makhani

    Fat Free Slow Cooker Dal

    Fat Free Slow Cooker Dal

    This fat free slow cooker dal is creamy and nutritious and flavored with black pepper, turmeric, garlic, ginger, tomatoes, and leafy greens.
    4.73 from 11 votes
    Print Recipe Review Recipe
    Course: Side
    Cuisine: Indian
    Diet: Gluten Free, Vegan, Vegetarian
    Keyword: Slow cooker dal
    Prep Time: 15 mins
    Cook Time: 4 hrs
    Total Time: 4 hrs 15 mins
    Servings: 8 servings
    Calories: 94kcal
    Author: Vaishali ยท Holy Cow! Vegan Recipes

    Ingredients 

    • 1 cup masoor lentils
    • 1 medium onion, finely chopped
    • 4 cloves of garlic, minced
    • 1 teaspoon ginger
    • ยฝ teaspoon turmeric
    • ยฝ cup tomato puree
    • 4 packed cups of greens (kale, spinach, watercress, lettuce, or any kind of green, really, is fine here)
    • Ground black pepper to taste
    • Salt to taste
    • ยผ cup chopped coriander
    • A few drops of lemon juice
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    Instructions

    • Soak the lentils in enough water to cover them by an inch.
    • Put the crockpot on a high setting and once it is quite hot add the onions, garlic and ginger along with a couple of tablespoons of water.
    • Add some salt and ground black pepper. Stir everything well together. Let the onions cook until they are translucent. Placing the lid on the crockpot helps expedite the cooking. Stir the onions every once in a while. This should take about 10 minutes.
    • Add the greens and the tomato puree and mix well. Add the turmeric. Stir.
    • Drain the lentils and add them to the onions and greens and stir well to mix. Add four cups of water or vegetable stock and mix thoroughly. Add more salt and black pepper.
    • Put the lid on the crockpot. Cook for about three hours on a high setting or five hours on a low setting. If the mixture gets dry during cooking, add more water.
    • When the dal has broken down thoroughly, stir the dal well with a ladle. Check for salt and add more if needed. Also add more black pepper if you have a taste for it-- I do.
    • Squeeze a few drops of lemon juice and add the coriander and stir well. Serve hot.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 94kcal | Carbohydrates: 17.4g | Protein: 6.5g | Fiber: 4.5g
    Tried this recipe?Please leave a comment and recipe rating below!
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    About Vaishali


    Hi! I am so happy you're here. I'm Vaishali, and I've been sharing recipes for delicious vegan food at Holy Cow Vegan since 2007. Every one of the more than 1,000 recipes on this blog has been tried and tested -- and loved -- by my family and I. I hope you will find something here to share with your loved ones. Thanks for stopping by!
    Read more about me here.

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Anita

      May 19, 2014 at 8:17 am

      My dal never broke down, the lentils are still chewy. What did I miss??

      Reply
      • Vaishali

        May 19, 2014 at 9:56 am

        Anita, did you use the pink masoor lentils? Any other lentil will not break down in the slow cooker-- something I specify very clearly in the blog. If you did use masoor, there is no reason why the lentils would not break down after cooking for long. The only explanation could be there may be something wrong with the setting son your slow cooker.

        Reply
    2. Joanne T Ferguson (@mickeydownunder)

      December 11, 2013 at 5:50 am

      G'day Vaishali! beautiful photos and lovely recipe!
      LOVE dal and this looks so easy to do! My crock pot would virtually cook it by itself and thanks for sharing this too!
      Cheers! Joanne

      Reply
    3. Pavani

      December 07, 2013 at 3:36 am

      That is a easy to make crockpot dal. I will dust my crockpot to make this sometime soon. Thanks for sharing.
      What size crockpot do you use?
      BTW I love your new blog look.. Looks like you moved to WP now. Do you like it better than blogger?

      Reply
      • Vaishali

        December 07, 2013 at 7:05 am

        Thanks, Pavani, I use the big sized one -- Not sure about the exact size but I only have seen two sizes ever, the tiny one and the big one. And I don't know yet if I like wp more. Both have their upsides and downsides.

        Reply
    4. Pallavi Kulkarni Desai

      December 06, 2013 at 10:41 pm

      This is the second or third crock pot recipe I am looking at and now I am determined to get my crockpot out and use it!
      This daal will be a good start, I can mix other daals and follow the rest of your steps.

      Reply
      • Vaishali

        December 07, 2013 at 7:02 am

        Winter is definitely the season for crockpot cooking, Pallavi. Hope you try the dal!

        Reply
    5. kum

      December 06, 2013 at 9:14 pm

      Dal looks so nutritious and tasty!

      Vaishali, I recently made "Hotel Sambar" , by following the recipe from Srirangam Radhu. The Sambar was awesome with idlis, dosas and Pongal! If you like traditional Tamil Nadu recipes, you will surely like it!

      I hope you try it some time!

      Reply
      • Vaishali

        December 06, 2013 at 9:27 pm

        Thanks for the link, Kum. I definitely love restaurant-style sambar so I will give it a try.

        Reply
    6. Ellen

      December 07, 2013 at 12:26 am

      This looks good! And easy and healthy. I am going to make it tomorrow. Thank you very much for sharing this!
      I have made a few slow cooker dals that were good from the cookbook:
      The Indian Slow Cooker: 50 Healthy, Easy, Authentic Recipes
      by Anupy Singla

      Reply
      • Vaishali

        December 07, 2013 at 7:00 am

        Thanks, Ellen. Hope you like it! And that sounds like a good book. I will check it out.

        Reply

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    Hi, I'm Vaishali! I cook, eat and share easy, tasty and nutritious plant-based recipes from my Washington, D.C. kitchen, but I never fight a craving for samosas or French fries. 

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    Vaishali Honawar, Holy Cow Vegan author, profile photo

    Hi, I'm Vaishali! I cook, eat and share easy, tasty and nutritious plant-based recipes from my Washington, D.C. kitchen, but I never fight a craving for samosas or French fries. 

    More about me โ†’

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