Chana Dal Slow Cooker Recipe

Published on Mar 2, 2015. Modified on Jan 5, 2021 by . This post may contain affiliate links.

My easy slow cooker dal is perfect for a busy lifestyle. This cold weather makes me want to eat food that will warm me, both with the flavour of spices and with the heat from a long slow cook.

This split pea dal is so easy to throw in the pot in the morning and then it is ready for your lunch or dinner later in the day.

White bowl of yellow dal topped with coriander on a wooden board with homemade naan breads to the side.

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What is dal
How to make
Sides
FAQ
More veggie slow cooker dishes
More dal recipes
Recipe
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What is dal

Dal is sometimes also spelt daal, dhal or dahl. The word is derived from the Sanskrit word for "split".

It refers to a type of split pulse that doesn't require pre-soaking, and also the dish made by simmering the peas, beans or lentils with water and spices. This is typically an Indian dish but is also popular in other countries.

There are different types of dal (or dried pulse):

Chana dal – Split yellow gram. These are made by splitting and skinning brown chickpeas. This is what is used in this recipe.
Urad dal – black gram or urad bean.
Mung dal – split mung beans.
Toor dal – pigeon peas.
Masoor dal – split red lentils
Matar dal – dried yellow peas.
Rajma dal – split kidney beans.

This recipe uses yellow split peas and so is a chana dal recipe.

How to make

Making the dal is as easy as putting the ingredients in the pot and turning it on!

Simply add the yellow split peas and spices to the slow cooker pot, add boiling water and leave to cook for 4 hours on high or 8 hours on low.

Sides

I served my dal with homemade naan, using this simple recipe from BBC Food by Anjum Anand. It requires no yeast or proving time and was so easy to do.

FAQ

Storage

Once cooked, you can store your dal in the fridge for up to 3 days in a covered container.

Freezing

Allow dal to cool completely then freeze in tubs or freezer bags, to prevent freezer burn, for up to 3 months.

Serving

Traditionally dal is topped with a friend onion garnish just before serving. This is sometimes known as tarka or tadka. Flatbreads such as roti, chapati or naan are often served on the side of dal, as well as rice. When dal is eaten with rice, this makes a complete protein, which is useful for vegetarians.

More veggie slow cooker dishes

If you like this vegan slow cooker dish, you might also like these other vegetarian and vegan slow cooker dishes:

slow cooker halloumi bake (vegetarian)
slow cooker spicy bean stew (vegan omitting the sour cream garnish or using an alternative)
slow cooker vegetable curry (vegan)
slow cooker chickpea and paneer curry (vegetarian)
slow cooker sweet potato and chickpea stew (vegan)
slow cooker whole spiced cauliflower (vegan)
slow cooker bean chilli (vegan)

Get even more ideas from my Vegetarian recipe archives.

More dal recipes

For dal recipes using other types of pulse I would recommend visiting Mamta's Kitchen who has many authentic dal recipes including slow cooker and pressure cooker methods.

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Recipe

White bowl with yellow dal topped with chopped coriander on wooden board with coriander naan next to it.

250 g yellow split peas (chana dal, 'yellow split gram')
1 onion diced
3 cloves garlic crushed
1 tsp lazy ginger
2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp lazy red chilli
800 ml boiling water
Salt and pepper

Place all the ingredients in the slow cooker.
Cook on high for four hours (or on low for eight hours).
Sprinkle with chopped coriander and serve with naan bread or rice. Can also be served as a side dish to other curries.

Storage

Once cooked, you can store your dal in the fridge for up to 3 days in a covered container.

Freezing

Allow dal to cool completely then freeze in tubs or freezer bags (to prevent freezer burn) for up to 3 months.

Serving

Traditionally dal is topped with a fried onion garnish just before serving. This is sometimes knwn as tarka or tadka.

Flatbreads such as roti, chapati, naan are often served on the side of dal, as well as rice.

When dal is eaten with rice this makes a complete protein, which is useful for vegetarians.

Then please leave a review and rating in the comments at the bottom of the post. If you post your creation on Instagram, tag me @bakingqueen74 or use hashtag #bakingqueen74!

Linking up with March's Slow Cooked Challenge with Janice from Farmersgirl Kitchen, where the theme this month is Spicy.

Linking up with Credit Crunch Munch, which is hosted this month by Jo from Jo's Kitchen, and organised by Helen from Fuss Free Flavours and Camilla from Fab Food 4 All.

I think this is a great Credit Crunch dish, since slow cookers are so cheap to run. I also used up a bag of split peas for this recipe.

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