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Dal Tarka Instant Pot and Pressure Cooker Recipe

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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Course Beans, dal, Dinner, lentils, lunch
Cuisine Asian, Bihari, Gujarati food, Indian, Maharashtrian food, North Indian, Punjabi, South Indian

Equipment

  • 1 Instant Pot or Pressure Cooker
  • 1 small pan
  • 1 cutting board
  • 1 Knife
  • 1 measuring cups and spoons

Ingredients
  

  • 3/4 cup Toor/Arhar Dal
  • 1/4 cup Yellow Moong Dal
  • 3 tbsp Chana Dal
  • 3 cups water May need more later to adjust consistency
  • 1 tsp salt I used close to 1.5 tsp, start with 1 tsp and add more if needed
  • 1/4 tsp Turmeric/Haldi

1st Tarka/Tempering

  • 2 tbsp oil
  • 1/2 tsp Cumin seeds/jeera
  • 1.5 tsp finely chopped ginger
  • 1.5 tsp finely chopped garlic
  • 1/2 cup chopped onion
  • 1 green chili, chopped optional
  • 1/2 tsp Red Chili Powder/Lal Mirch Powder
  • 1/4-1/2 tsp Garam masala powder as per preference
  • 1 cup chopped tomatoes I used 1 1/2 Roma tomatoes

Toppings

  • 1 tbsp dried fenugreek leaves/kasuri methi
  • 1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
  • 3 tbsp cilantro/coriander/fresh dhaniya washed and chopped

2nd Tarka/Tempering

  • 2 tbsp Ghee Use oil for vegan
  • 1/2 tsp Cumin seeds/Jeera
  • 1/4 tsp Mustard Seeds/Rai optional
  • 2 whole Dry Red Chilies I had Small Red ones, so I used 5 of them
  • 1/2-1 tbsp chopped garlic I used 1 tbsp
  • 2 sprigs curry leaves, washed and dried optional
  • Pinch of Asafoetida/hing
  • 1/3 tsp Paprika/Kashmiri Lal Mirch This provides vibrant red color to the tempering

Instructions
 

For Instant Pot

  • Wash the dals 4-5 times till the water runs clear. Soak the dals in 3 cups water while we chop our ingredients for tarka
  • Chop onions, ginger, garlic and tomatoes and set aside. If using green chili, chop that as well We need garlic for both the first and second tempering, so chop extra garlic for the second tempering as well
  • Turn Instant Pot to Saute mode
  • Add oil, once the oil is hot add the Cumin seeds, till they start crackling
  • Add ginger and garlic and fry for few minutes but do not brown
  • Add chopped onions and cook till onions are translucent
  • Press 'cancel' to stop the saute mode
  • Add Red chili powder, garam masala, turmeric and salt and mix well
  • Turn the Instant Pot back to Saute and add the chopped tomatoes. Cook till the tomatoes are soft and mushy
  • Press 'cancel'. Rinse the dals one more time, throw away the water it was soaking in and add the soaked dals to the Instant Pot
  • Add 3 cups water and choose the manual pressure cook option for 6 minutes. The knob should be on 'sealing'
  • Let the pressure release naturally and the pin drop down. Open the Instant Pot. At this point the toor dal and moong dal should have turned mushy but there should be some texture from the chana dal(it takes longer to cook)
  • Add kasuri methi(crushed between your palms), lemon juice and chopped cilantro/coriander/dhania and bring to one boil

2nd Tarka/Tempering

  • In a small pan, heat ghee, use oil for vegan. To hot ghee/oil add cumin and mustard seeds and let them crackle
  • Add Dry red chilies and garlic. stir for few minutes but do not brown the garlic.
  • Turn off the heat, Immediately add curry leaves, asafoetida and paprika and pour over hot dal

Dal tarka in Pressure Cooker

  • In pressure cooker, add washed soaked dal, 3 cups water, salt and turmeric and cook for 3 whistles. let pressure release naturally.
  • In a pan make the first tarka. Heat oil. Add cumin seeds, when they crackle, add the ginger and garlic and fry but do not brown. Add onion and cook till translucent.
  • Add Red chili powder, garam masala, stir.(we already added the turmeric and salt to the dal, so skip it in the tarka) Immediately add tomatoes and cook till soft and mushy. Add to dal in pressure cooker. Add kasuri methi, lemon juice, coriander leaves and bring to 1boil
  • Pour your 2nd tarka/tempering on top

Video

Notes

If you want to prep from before- make the two tarkas day before and keep them in the fridge. I do this when I am making for a party. Simply boil the dal-either in instant pot or pressure cooker and mix in the tarka. When I boil the dal from before- I cook it with salt and turmeric. Skip both in the tarka. The second tempering is always added just before serving. I have made the dal many times using fresh ginger garlic or the frozen minced ginger garlic- both give good results, its a matter of time and convenience. I have never used the jarred ginger garlic paste. It has preservatives and vinegar and could alter the taste of the dal. I didnt have fresh green chilies, so I didnt use it this time, but I like to use fresh green chilies in the tarka when i have it. You can reduce the amount of red chilie powder. Using curry leaves and mustard seeds is not very typical of North Indian cooking. You can skip both in the second tempering. I have used both.
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