It’s healthy, it’s comforting and makes a cozy meal when served with piping hot basmati rice with a side of kachumber salad, papad and mango pickle.

❤️About Moong Dal Recipe

Moong dal is the most commonly used lentil type in India. And toor dal comes in the second number. This moong dal fry is made with yellow, split, skinless moong dal which is the split version of whole green moong dal. There is another type of moong dal which is moong dal chilka aka lentils have green skin.  There are many recipes made with moong dal e.g. moong dal khichdi, moong dal payasam, sweet pongal, dal palak and many more.

In Ayurvedic text, moong dal is considered a balancing food amongst all the legumes and lentils.  It is easy to digest compared to the rest of beans and lentils. Hence it is a smart food choice when recovering from sickness, flu, fever, dehydration, diarrhea or post-surgery when one’s digestive strength is not at its best.

You’ll Love This Instant Pot Moong Dal

This instant pot moong dal is super easy to make. Quick to make: gets ready in 20 minutes only. You’ll need basic easy-to-find ingredients. It is lightly spiced with basic spice powders. There are no strong-flavored spices (like garam masala or kasoori methi) are added. It’s simple yet super delicious. Meal prep friendly: make a big batch and have it for a lunch too or freeze it for later.

NOTE: Instant pot is just the electric pressure cooker. So this moong dal recipe can be made in an Indian traditional stovetop pressure cooker. See the cooking time instructions below.

🧾 Ingredient Notes

Here is the pic of the ingredients you’ll need to make this simple instant pot moong dal fry recipe.

Ginger, garlic, green chili: I have crushed them together in the wet jar of my spice grinder. You can use ready-made ginger garlic paste and chopped green chili instead. Curry leaves: It adds a nice flavor and aroma. If you don’t have then skip it. Lime juice (or lemon juice): It perks up the flavor of the dal. A must-add ingredient. 

👩‍🍳 How To Make Moong Dal Recipe? (With Photos) 

Prep: Take dal in a colander and rinse under running cold water until water runs clear. While rinsing massage the dal using fingers. Alternately, you can rinse the dal in a bowl 2-3 times until the water is not cloudy anymore.

  1. Turn on the instant pot with saute mode and add oil. Once hot add cumin seeds and let them sizzle a bit.
  2. Add curry leaves and hing. Saute for 25-30 seconds.
  3. Immediately add chopped onion and ginger garlic chili paste.
  4. Saute for 3 minutes or until the onion starts to soften and becomes light pink in color.
  5. Add tomatoes and mix.
  6. Cook for 3-4 minutes or until tomatoes starts to soften and be mushy.
  7. Add salt, turmeric powder, red chili powder and coriander powder.
  8. Mix well and saute for a minute.
  9. Add rinsed dal and water. 
  10. Mix, turn off the saute mode. Cover the instant pot with a lid, keep the valve to a sealing position. Cook on manual (high pressure) for 3 minutes. Stovetop pressure cooker: Cook for 2 whistles on medium heat.
  11. Let the pressure go down by itself (aka NPR – natural pressure release). Once the pin drops, open the lid. 
  12. Stir the cooked dal and check the consistency. If it’s too thick then add a splash of water to make desired consistency and bring it to a boil on saute mode.
  13. Once you get the right consistency, add the lime juice and mix.
  14. Lastly, garnish with freshly chopped cilantro.

💭 Expert Tips

Avoid overcooking moong dal otherwise, it becomes too smooth and pasty with a sticky, gooey texture. Add a good amount of water. This dal gets thick after cools down. If added less water then it comes lumpy. This requires more water compared to other dal recipes. Adjust the spices. I prefer to keep my dal mildly spiced to keep the original taste of lentils. You can increase the amount of spices to get spicy dal. Even you can add garam masala after pressure cooking.

🍽 How To Serve Moong Dal?

Make a light, comforting meal: serve this dal with basmati rice with a side of Indian salad and your choice of pickle. Make a complete Indian meal: make a thali with dal, rice, sabzi (e.g. bhindi masala, aloo gobi, aloo beans, jeera aloo) and roti. You can have cucumber raita or kachumber on the side.

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