Crock Pot Indian Cooking- Spinach Dal

Today, I introduce one of the best kitchen appliances I have ever invested in, the Crock Pot! Yes, ladies and gentlemen, this appliance is not only responsible for the time I save cooking, it is also one of the cheaper appliances in the market. At $15 for the smallest (but perfectly efficient) kind, the crock pot kicks butt when it comes to making tasty, healthy, and time saving meals. So all you busy professionals, bleary-eyed grad students, and busy mommas, listen up!

The key to getting the best out of your crock pot, is understanding cook time for each dish. For example, if a dish takes 15-30 minutes on the stove top, you want to cook it on high for about 2 hours. Here is a chart that tells you what your approximate cook time will be according to stove top/oven cooking time.

Usually starches like white rice and pasta cook very quickly, so you must watch out for that. Lentils, meats, and other tougher foods, cook as per the chart above, so you never risk burning your food. It just cooks away until you are ready to eat. Isn’t that brilliant?! The only downside to using the crock pot is that you must plan ahead if you want to save time. But, it’s worth the little effort to get healthy and cheap home cooked meals, that pretty much cook themselves.

Here is how I would do it. If you know that your day tomorrow is going to be really busy, you would want to set the crock pot tonight so that when you wake up, your food is ready. Alternatively, you set it before you leave for work and the food cooks itself by the time you get home. Or….you set it as soon as you get home, and you eat late. You get the idea.

So, here is a simple recipe to demonstrate the use of a crock pot in Indian cooking, and mind you, simple doesn’t mean poor on taste. My husband swears that the best dals I have ever made are the crock pot ones!

Spinach Dal

Cuisine: Indian
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 3-4 hours
Level: Easy

Ingredients:

1. Toor Dal (or any dal of your choice) – 1.5 cups
2. Onions, chopped- 1
3. Tomatoes, chopped- 1-2 (depending on how much you like tomatoes.)
4. Fresh or frozen spinach, chopped- 2 cups
5. Turmeric powder- 1/2 tsp
6. Red chilli powder OR green chillies – 1 tsp/ 3-4
7. Jeera powder- 1.5 tsp
8. Garlic, chopped- 1 big clove
9. Salt – to taste
10. Whole jeera- 1 tsp

Directions:
Layer the above ingredients in order from top to bottom in the crock pot (dal first, then onions, tomatoes, etc). Add water to the pot such that it is about half an inch above the top layer of ingredients (as shown in the picture). Cook it on high for 3-4 hours or on low for 6-8 hours. Garnish with chopped, fresh, coriander, and serve hot with basmati rice, or rotis.

Note: Some people prefer to temper the dal in the end with a little oil/ghee and jeera, I just put the whole jeera in the dal (Queen Lazy!)

Don’t for get to comment on or hit the “Like” button for this recipe if you want more of crock pot deliciousness!