Description
A comforting and nutritious yellow lentil dish cooked in an Instant Pot.
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 cup yellow moong dal (dhuli moong dal, split and skinned yellow lentil)
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
- 2 teaspoons salt (or to taste)
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice
- 2 tablespoons ghee
- ¼ teaspoon asafetida (hing) (skip for gluten-free)
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic
- 1 teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder
Instructions
- Wash moong dal with water 2-3 times until the water runs clear.
- Soak it in 3-4 cups of water for 30 minutes.
- Drain the water. Add the soaked dal to the Instant Pot along with 3 cups of water, turmeric powder, and salt and stir gently.
- Close the lid of the pot and set the valve to the sealing position.
- Press PRESSURE COOK and set the timer to 10 minutes at HIGH PRESSURE. The Instant Pot will take some time to build pressure and the timer to start.
- Once the timer goes off, let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes.
- Release the remaining pressure manually by moving the valve to the venting position.
- Open the lid of the pot. Add lime juice and mix well.
- Add some more water if the dal is too thick. Check for salt and add more if needed. Keep in mind that it will continue to thicken once it starts to cool down. If you have added more water, then press the SAUTE button and bring the dal to a boil.
- To cook the dal in a traditional Indian pressure cooker, increase the amount of water to 4 cups and cook on high heat for one whistle. Then reduce the heat to low and cook for 10 minutes.
- Remove the cooker from heat and let the pressure release naturally.
- Open the lid of the pot. Add lime juice and mix well.
- Add some more water if the dal is too thick. Check for salt and add more if needed.
- Heat ghee in a small pan over medium-high heat.
- Once the ghee is hot, add asafetida and cumin seeds and let them crackle for 4-5 seconds.
- Add garlic and fry until lightly browned (40-50 seconds), stirring frequently.
- Switch off the heat and add chili powder to the pan. Immediately remove the pan from the heat. This step is important to prevent the chili powder from burning.
- Pour the tempering immediately over the warm dal and mix well. Serve hot.
Notes
- If you prefer a vegetarian option, skip the ghee and substitute it with oil.
- This dish pairs well with rice or flatbreads.
- The consistency of the dal can be adjusted with water as needed.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Main Course
- Method: Instant Pot
- Cuisine: Indian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cup
- Calories: 180
- Sugar: 2g
- Sodium: 500mg
- Fat: 6g
- Saturated Fat: 2g
- Unsaturated Fat: 4g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 25g
- Fiber: 8g
- Protein: 10g
- Cholesterol: 0mg