Whole Masoor Dal
Jun 04, 2019, Updated Aug 12, 2019
Whole Masoor Dal (Brown Lentils) cooked in the Instant Pot. This simple and flavorful dal is vegan and gluten-free and pairs well with rice for a comforting meal.
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Simple and comforting whole masoor dal (brown lentils/sabut masoor dal) cooked in the Instant Pot.
This dal is vegan and gluten-free and pairs well with rice, quinoa, roti. You can also enjoy it as a soup.
If you love all the Instant Pot vegetarian/vegan recipes that I share on the blog, please join me on this Facebook Group – Instant Pot Vegetarian Recipes. The group would feature vegetarian instant pot recipes from all around the web!
We can never have enough of dals, can we?
I grew up eating toor/arhar dal everyday, that’s like the staple in eastern Uttar Pradesh (part of India where my family belong from).
So every morning would start with toor dal being cooked in the pressure cooker. Out of 365 days, that yellow dal would be made for 350 days, I am not kidding.
Rest of the days, maybe we would get an occasional chana dal or dal makhani.
Basically, I was so bored of it that now when I cook myself, I keep changing dals all the time.
I mix and match dals and make them differently each time. One of my favorite dals these days is Whole Masoor Dal or Sabut Masoor Dal as we would call in hindi.
These are whole brown lentils and they have such a distinct taste. You don’t really need a ton of spices to make this dal flavorful.
A good tadka of onion and tomatoes is all it needs and it goes perfectly with roti or rice.
This Whole Masoor Dal
✓ is one-pot dal which is easy to make
✓ vegan and gluten-free
✓ perfectly spiced and flavorful
✓ goes well with rice or quinoa
✓ you can even enjoy it as a soup with a side of bread
I usually refrain from using a lot of spices in my dal until and unless I am making a restaurant style Dal Tadka.
Because I grew up eating such a basic dal which had nothing in it really except turmeric and salt and a tadka of cumin seeds, garlic (at times), I like to keep my everyday dal simple too.
This sabut masoor dal is slightly on the thicker side and it gets even thicker and creamier as it cools down. That’s why it goes well with roti or paratha too.
Usually when my mom made it, she pressure cooked the dal first and then added the tadka to the dal. I just dump it altogether in the instant pot, saves me time and also less dishes.
Like I said, I keep this dal simple but you can add ghee to it to enhance flavors. You can also add crushed kasuri methi or a tablespoon of cream in the end to make it more flavorful and creamier.
Making Whole Masoor Dal On Stove-Top Pressure Cooker: you can make the same dal on stove-top pressure cooker, you would follow the same steps and cook for 5 to 6 whistles on high heat.
Then let the pressure release naturally.
Serving Suggestions for Whole Masoor Dal
You can serve this whole masoor dal with roti, paratha, rice, quinoa or any other grain of choice.
Typically, I would serve this with roti and a sabzi (stir-fry) on the side like this bhindi masala.
Method
1- Press the sauté button on the Instant Pot. Once it displays hot, add oil and then add the cumin seeds and let them sizzle for a few seconds.
2- Then add the chopped ginger, onion, green chili and mix.
3- Cook for 4 to 5 minutes until onions are light golden brown in color. Stir often.
4- Add in the tomatoes and de-glaze the pot by scrapping the bottom with a spatula. There shouldn’t be anything stuck at the bottom.
Add the spices- coriander powder, turmeric and garam masala. Also add the salt and mix. Cook for 1 minute.
5- Add the rinsed whole masoor dal to the pot and toss with the masala.
6- Then add in the water and stir.
7- Close the pot with the lid. Press the manual or pressure cook button and cook on high pressure for 13 to 14 minutes, with the pressure valve in sealing position.
Let the pressure release naturally.
8- Open the pot and add chopped cilantro and mix. At this point, you can also add a teaspoon of ghee for extra flavor.
You can also add crushed kasuri methi.
Serve whole masoor dal with a side of lemon wedge. It goes well with roti or rice!
Other Instant Pot Dals
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Whole Masoor Dal
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon oil 15 ml, I used avocado oil
- 3/4 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 inch ginger chopped
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 1 green chili chopped
- 2 medium tomatoes chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon coriander powder
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1/4 teaspoon garam masala
- 3/4 teaspoon salt or to taste
- 1 cup whole masoor dal brown lentils
- 2.5 cups water
- 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
- lemon wedges to serve
Instructions
- Press the sauté button on the Instant Pot. Once it displays hot, add the oil and then add the cumin seeds and let them sizzle for a few seconds.
- Then add the chopped ginger, onion, green chili and mix. Cook for 4 to 5 minutes until onions are light golden brown in color. Stir often.
- Add in the tomatoes and de-glaze the pot by scrapping the bottom with a spatula. There shouldn't be anything stuck at the bottom.
- Add the spices- coriander powder, turmeric and garam masala. Also add the salt and mix. Cook for 1 minute.
- Add the rinsed whole masoor dal to the pot and toss with the masala.
- Then add in the water and stir. Close the pot with the lid.
- Press the manual or pressure cook button and cook on high pressure for 13 to 14 minutes, with the pressure valve in sealing position. Let the pressure release naturally.
- Open the pot and add chopped cilantro and mix. At this point, you can also add a teaspoon of ghee for extra flavor. You can also add crushed kasuri methi or squeeze in some lemon juice.
- Serve whole masoor dal with rice or roti or paratha.
Stove-Top Pressure Cooker Instructions
- Follow all the steps as it is and then pressure cook for 5 to 6 whistles on high heat. Let the pressure release naturally. Alternatively, you can also pressure cook the dal only with salt and turmeric and water and then make a tempering/tadka in a separate pan and add to the dal.
Stove-Top Pan Instructions
- If you don’t have a pressure cooker and want to make this dal, follow all the steps as it is until add the lentils. Add the lentils, water and then cook for around 30-35 minutes uncovered on medium heat until lentils are soft and done. You may need to adjust the amount of water here as water will evaporate when cooking in an open pot compared to a pressure cooker.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
You forgot, or I guess you forgot, to tell us to add the oil before everything else in starting this dish. Right?
right, it’s a typo, let me fix it now.
I’ve been using this recipe using a manual pressure cooker. Tried it today in the instant pot. Both methods give delicious results. Great comfort food.
glad to know Tanya!
Scrumptious! I made this for lunch today and loved it.
I left out the onion and garlic and it was still full of flavour.
I used methi leaf and served it with rice.
Thankyou Manal!
I made this today on the stove top.and it was so delicious and easy to make.
Thank you for the detailed instructions.
This has become a favorite in our house.
So hearty and satisfying.
Thanks, Manali, love all your recipes!
I love this too and in fact made it today for lunch! 🙂 Glad you enjoy it Bob!
I am making this daal but 5 whistle are not enough (even after soaking daal in water more than 30 minutes). let’s see how tgi swill turn out.
it can definitely change depending on quality of dal being use and also how old the dal is
I made this yesterday in my instant pot. Followed the recipe instructions & it was sooo good! Adjusted salt & lemon to my taste. Thank you, Manali!
welcome Ankita, I love whole masoor too!
Great recipe, followed all the instructions with some adjustments and it worked perfectly
Adjustments made: replaced the ginger with minced garlic (our toddler doesn’t like ginger), ran out of tomatoes so used 200g of tinned diced tomatoes
Great recipe, thanks! Just 1 point: 5-6 whistles is not enough. I had to add 5 more whistles.
Dear Manali,
Thank you so much for this recipe. I am a vegetarian and yogini and love to cook indian food. I often try recipes from your page and they are really great!
This dal became the most favorite dish of my russian husband🙂 easy to make, quick, healthy and so tasty! I cooked other masoor dal recipes but always come back to this one! It is really delicious!
Warmest greetings from Germany to you!
Welcome Tan, glad you enjoy it!
Can this recipe be modified to manual release the pressure?
wait at least 10 minutes before manually releasing the pressure
This is such a fantastic recipe – it’s so simple but whenever we make it, it’s our favorite part of the meal.
Only change I have made is 13-14 minutes wasn’t quite long enough. Second time I made it I set the Instant Pot for 18 minutes and it was perfect (I have made a similar recipe that called for 20 min and that was a bit too much).
Actually, this time for fun I also stirred in a big handful of fresh radish greens I had just thinned out from the garden right after the release step, then covered it again for a few minutes for them to wilt. Probably a bit of spinach, mustard, or similar green would work well too. Highly recommend it!
So easy to make and delicious. Thanks!
Manali all of your dishes are perfect. I know I can cook anything from your website and it will be a success. We ate this tonight and it was yummy and not too spicy. Thanks a lot, i am. Learning such a lot about Indian cooking from you, from Heather Alleyne, currently living in Chennai but from the UK.
Thanks Heather, appreciate your support! 🙂
Made this tonight somflavourful & tasty
Thank you so much for the receipe… Everybody loved it at my home ?
Hi,
Can I use any other dal instead of masoor dal?
there are many other dal recipes on the blog, please use the search button and try those 🙂
Thank you so much for the recipe and the precise instructions for making it in IP! The daal came out delicious and creamier than the traditional pressure cooker. The only extra step I did was to let the daal soak in water for a few minutes after rinsing while I chopped onions, tomatoes etc.
good to know!
Hey! Nice recipe plz try my version
Boil wid raw mango and salt and temper wid Jeera and red chili powder and Garam masala at the end . U will like it
sure Richa, I will. Thanks for the recommendation! 🙂