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–+ servings
one bowl of whole masoor dal with tempering and the white bowl with white rice and lentil with a green towel running between them with 2 curry leaves sprig on each side.
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Quick 20-Minute Whole Masoor Dal

Quick 20-Minute Whole Masoor Dal is easy and flavorful lentil can be made in Instant Pot. This easy recipe uses minimal Ingredients.
Prep Time2 minutes
Cook Time18 minutes
Total Time20 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Indian, Pakistani
Keyword: #lentils, kaali dal, kali dal, whole masoor dal
Servings: 6 people
Calories: 21kcal
Author: Sarah Mirza

Equipment

  • Instant Pot

Ingredients

  • 1½ cup whole masoor dal
  • 1 tsp kosher salt or as needed
  • 1 tsp turmeric powder
  • 1 tsp red chili powder
  • 1 medium onion roughly cut into 4-5 pieces
  • 2 tbsp ginger garlic paste
  • 1½ tsp tamarind concentrate paste imlee ka paste
  • water

Tarka/Tampering

  • ⅓ cup olive oil or any neutral oil
  • ½ medium onion thinly sliced
  • 2 medium serrano peppers green pepper (finely chopped)
  • 4 sprig curry leaves
  • ½ tsp cumin seeds
  • 4 garlic cloves finely chopped
  • 12 mint leaves finely chopped
  • 1 tbsp cilantro finely chopped

Instructions

  • Add in the Whole Masoor Dal, 2.5 cups of water, salt, turmeric powder, red chili powder, onion, ginger garlic paste, mix it.
  • Turn on the Instant Pot.
  • Select Pressure Cooker setting set for 18-20 minutes or until the lentil are cooked.
  • Let the steam vent out and open the lid.
  • Select sauté mode
  • Next add 1½ cup of water and mix.
  • Now add tamarind concentrate paste and mix well.
  • Now the Instant Pot on Keep warm.

Tarka/Tempering

  • In a fry pan, add oil on medium heat on stovetop, and let it heat up.
  • Now add onion sauté onion until they are brown.
  • Add in the remainder of the tarka/tempering ingredients and fry them for 2 minutes.
  • Turn off the stove
  • Then pour it on top of the Whole Masoor Dal.
  • Serve it with Basmati Rice and some Kachumber salad.

Video

Notes

 
 
  1. Use a wooden spoon when making this recipe so you can easily mash the lentils after pressure cooking if desired.
  2. If you’re missing some ingredients for tempering, feel free to skip them. As shown in the video, I also left out several tempering ingredients I didn’t have on hand.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 21kcal | Carbohydrates: 1g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 66mg | Potassium: 20mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 43IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 6mg | Iron: 1mg