This Masoor Daal recipe is easy to fix and absolutely delicious. Cooking whole brown lentils in an instant pot is a game changer. It takes only 10 minute in an instant pot to cook this recipe. Serve it with garlic naan or plain rice for a great meal.
Masoor Daal
Whole Brown lentils (Masoor Daal) have been an essential pantry ingredient of every South Asian household for centuries. Growing up, my mother cooked these lentils so often with Rice, Roti, Naan, and Pulao.
Masoor is hearty and has that meaty flavor to them. I like to cook lentils with fresh tomatoes and Indian spices like my mother did. You have got to try this amazing dish full of flavors. It's healthy and full of good nutrients and antioxidants.
Cooking Daal in An Instant Pot
Brown lentils are high in potassium and a great source of fiber. They make a great Vegan substitute for meat. Pressure Cooker has been part of my life ever since I can remember. I didn't mind whistles creeping in while trying to relax on a couch with a cup of Tea. However, things changed when I had my boys. My kids hate the sounds pressure cooker cooking and I can't stand cooking lentils and meat in a regular pot.
My Mother In Law gifted me magical kitchen equipment called an 'instant pot". It pressure cooks and doesn't make a sound like my creepy Indian pressure cooker.
What's in My Whole Masoor Daal Recipe:
This Instant Pot whole brown lentil recipe requires only a few ingredients to cook. Curry that takes less than 30 minutes and tastes great is a win-win dinner prep for me.
- Whole Brown Lentils: I love the meaty flavor of whole brown lentils. Brown lentils are very easily found at any major grocery store in the Rice and Lentil sections.
- Tomato: I have used Roma Tomatoes for this recipe. Feel free to use your favorite type of Tomato.
- Onion: Thinly sliced fried onions are great for garnishing. I love the flavors of fried onions.
- Garlic Cloves: I am using garlic cloves to temper the daal. You may use bottled minced garlic if you like.
- Cumin seeds: cumin seeds are great for tempering Indian daal.
- Ginger-Garlic Paste
- Spices: I am using Kashmiri red chili powder, Turmeric powder, Cumin powder, Coriander Powder, and Salt.
- Oil: any cooking oil should work great for daal tempering. Butter can be a great substitute for oil to temper daal.
Storing and Freezing
Lentils stay great in the refrigerator for up to 2-3 days and up to a 1 week in the freezer.
- To Refrigerate– Refrigerate Lentil Curry in an air tight container. Reheat it in the Microwave or in a sauce pan with some water.
- To Freeze– Freeze Lentil Curry in a freezer-friendly container. Defrost it in the fridge overnight or reheat it in a sauce pan with a little water.
Kitchen Tools You’ll Need:
What to Serve Masoor Daal with
- Indian Naan
- Plain Rice
Easy Indian Recipes for Dinner
Masoor Daal Recipe | Instant Pot Brown Lentil
Ingredients
- 1 cup Whole Brown Lentils , rinse and soak the lentils in water for 15 minutes to an hour
- 1 medium Tomato
- ⅓ cup thinly sliced Onion
- 2-3 minced Garlic Cloves
- ½ teaspoon Cumin seeds
- ¼ cup freshly chopped Cilantro
- 1 teaspoon Ginger-Garlic Paste
- 1 teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder
- 1 teaspoon Turmeric powder
- 1 teaspoon Cumin powder
- 1 teaspoon Coriander Powder
- 3 Tablespoons Oil
- 2 ½ cups Water
- 1 teaspoon Salt or to taste
- ½ Lemon , optional
Instructions
- Rinse and drain soaked whole brown lentils. Wash and thinly chop a Tomato.
- Set InstantPot on sauté mode on high heat for at least 25 minutes. Heat oil in an InstantPot and add thinly sliced onion. Cook onion until golden. Remove fried onion in a bowl and set it aside, for garnish.
- Add cumin seed in the same oil you cooked onion in the InstantPot. Once cumin starts to change color, add chopped garlic.
- Quickly add lentils, spices, ginger-garlic paste, chopped tomato, water and salt.
- Stir well. Cover the lid and pressure cook. Make sure the vent is closed, otherwise the pressure won't build.
- Cancel Sauté setting and set the InstantPot to Pressure Cook on high for 10 minutes on high pressure setting. Make sure to cancel "keep warm" setting.
- Once cooked, let it stand while pressure releases naturally.
- Garnish Masoor Daal with fried Onion, chopped Cilantro and a squeeze of lemon juice.
- Serve it with plain Rice, Naan, or Roti(Indian flatbread).
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information is sourced from a third-party application and should be considered as approximate figures for reference purposes only.
victoriarose002 says
This sounds really good????
Summi_kitchen says
Thank you ????!! It tastes so good ????.