Everyone loves a good dal – it is the ultimate comfort food with a bowl of rice. Make this comfort food even more comfortable by making this Instant Pot version of Dal Fry.
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Instant Pot is the best thing to use to cook things like lentils, beans, brown rice etc, things that need a lot more time on the stove top or even meat like chicken, lamb and mutton. I usually use a traditional stove top pressure cooker to cook dal, but it just makes a whole lot of mess on the stove top, most times and you have to baby sit it.
On the Instant Pot, I just have to put them all in, set it to Pressure cook and I can walk out the door, go upstairs and take a bath or read a book, with the comfort of knowing that dinner will be cooked and ready to eat when I need it. The freedom that comes with the Instant Pot cooking is the best of all.
I usually make dal fry by cooking the dal first. I make the masala and then add it to the dal and cook one last time to get it all mixed together. Here in the Instant Pot, however, I make the masala first, add the dal to it and then let it cook together.
I was a little skeptical of this different method at first and for some time, I just used the Instant Pot as a regular pressure cooker to cook the dal – then make the masala on stove top and add to it, like I usually do. But as I got used to this device more and more, I wanted to cook the entire meal in this and now, this is how I make dal fry all the time – Instant Pot Dal Fry.
Dal Fry is made with Toor Dal (Pigeon Peas) or Moong Dal / Yellow Mung Dal. I love moong dal a little more and I use to mostly to make dal fry, but I sometimes use Toor Dal too. This recipe is for Dal Fry with Moong Dal – you may need to increase the time by a few more minutes. say 4-5 mins, if you want to make Instant Pot Toor Dal instead of Instant Pot Moong Dal.
Love a good dal? Here are some other recipes to check out.
Also, here are some reader favorite Instant Pot Indian recipes:
- Instant Pot Avial - Mixed Vegetable Curry with Coconut
- Instant Pot Vegetable Masala Rice
- Instant Pot Saffron Kheer - Instant Pot Indian Saffron Rice Pudding
- Instant Pot Sambar Rice
📖 Recipe
Instant Pot Dal Fry
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon avocado oil
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- ½ teaspoon asafetida
- 1 red onion chopped
- ½ teaspoon ginger paste
- ½ teaspoon garlic paste
- 2 green chillies chopped
- ½ teaspoon coriander powder
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
- ½ tsp cayenne
- 1 tomato chopped
- 1 cup yellow moong dal
- 3 cups water
- salt to taste
- ¼ cup cilantro minced
Instructions
- Set the Instant Pot to saute mode. Add the oil, once it heats up, add the cumin seeds and let it crackle. Add the asafetida, onion, ginger, garlic and green chillies.
- Saute till the onions soften a little. Add the turmeric powder, coriander powder and cayenne. Add the tomatoes too. Saute for 1-2 mins, till the tomatoes start to soften.
- Add the rinsed dal, water and salt.
- Set the Instant Pot to Manual mode in High Pressure and set the timer for 10 mins. Keep the vent in sealing position.
- In about 10-12 mins after the timer runs out, the sealing pin will go down with Natural Pressure Release (NPR) and you can open the Instant Pot.
- Mix well, squeeze some lime (Optional) and garnish with minced cilantro.
Nutrition
CB says
I look forward to trying this! My daughter loves moong dal. She is a picky eater… textures are huge! But she loves many vegetarian Indian dishes!
Manju says
Please do try and let me know! If you need help with managing the texture for this recipe or just suggestions for any other recipe, send me a note [email protected] or on Instagram @cookingcurries Happy to help!