Butternut Squash Dal (Instant Pot & Stovetop)

The Butternut Squash Dal is a comforting and easy dal recipe made in an Instant Pot pressure cooker with toor dal (split pigeon peas lentils), butternut squash, tomatoes, and a few Indian spices, and cooked with pot-in-pot rice. This butternut squash lentil curry is vegan, gluten-free, and pairs well with rice, quinoa, and roti.

Butternut Squash (aka Butternut Pumpkin), is a type of winter squash tastes sweet, juicy, rich, and somewhat like pumpkin or sweet potatoes. They can be roasted, grilled, pureed, mashed, or pressure cooked.

It is a good source of fiber, vitamins, minerals, and other vital nutrients, low in calories, and has lower carbs than sweet potatoes.

I have prepared this dish in my electric pressure cooker, Instant Pot DUO60 6 QT, and it can be made in under 30 minutes.

Jump to:

• What is Dal?
• Why You'll Love this Instant Pot Squash Dal Recipe
• Ingredients for Indian Butternut Squash Dal Recipe
• How to Make Butternut Squash Dal in Instant Pot
• Stovetop Pressure Cooker Method
• Serving Suggestions
• Storage Suggestions
• Tips & Variations for Butternut Squash Dal
• More Indian Butternut Squash Recipes
• More Lentil/Beans Recipes
• Instant Pot Butternut Squash Dal

What is Dal?

Dal also called Daal, Dhal, or Dahl basically are dried pulses that can be whole or split. Dal is naturally Vegan and Gluten-free and is a great source of proteins, carbohydrates, fiber, and many essential vitamins and minerals. Every region in India makes dal in different ways. Dal is frequently eaten with flatbreads such as rotis or chapatis or with rice.

Why You'll Love this Instant Pot Squash Dal Recipe

• Ready in under 30 minutes
• Easy to make
• Healthy and delicious
• One-pot recipe
• Perfect for fall and winter days
• Made with simple ingredients from the pantry
• Vegetarian, Vegan, and gluten-free.

Ingredients for Indian Butternut Squash Dal Recipe

• Butternut Squash: Pick the squash with a nice beige-ish color, firm, heavy for its weight, and without any deep cuts or bruises. If you do not have time, use the peeled and pre-cut squash that is available in the grocery stores. You may also use frozen cubed squash.
• Split toor dal: I used toor dal (yellow split pigeon peas). You can also substitute toor dal, with yellow lentils (moong dal) or red lentils (masoor dal). You can also use a combination of toor, masoor, and moong dal.
• Oil (or ghee): I used oil in this recipe, but I always prefer to use ghee for tempering as it gives the dal a divine taste. Skip ghee and use the oil of your choice if you are vegan. You can also use a combination of ghee and oil for this squash dal tadka recipe.
• Cumin seeds (jeera): They are a must in any Indian dal tempering, so do not skip them.
• Ginger and garlic: I have minced fresh ginger and garlic for this recipe. You can also use store-bought ginger garlic paste. You can skip garlic for no garlic variation.
• Green chilies: I used 1 Thai green chili. However, you can skip to reduce the heat.
• Onion: You can skip onion for no onion recipe variation.
• Tomato: I have used chopped fresh Roma tomatoes. For a variation, you can skip tomato and use extra lemon juice for tanginess.
• Spices: I have used turmeric powder, red chili powder, coriander powder, and garam masala. You can increase or decrease the spices according to your choice.
• Water: lentil to water ratio - For 1 cup of dal, 3 cups of water is added.
• Coriander leaves: I have used coriander leaves for garnish.

How to Make Butternut Squash Dal in Instant Pot

Firstly, soak toor dal (split pigeon peas) for 15 minutes in hot water.

Press SAUTE on Instant Pot. Heat oil (or ghee), and add cumin seeds. Let them crackle.

Then add ginger garlic paste, asafetida, green chili, chopped onion. Saute till onions turn light brown.

Add tomatoes along with dry spices, turmeric powder, red chili powder, coriander powder, garam masala powder, and cook till tomatoes turn soft, which takes 2-3 minutes.

Then add diced butternut squash, rinsed & soaked lentils or dal, salt, water and give a stir. Adjust spices at this stage.

Once you add all ingredients for Butternut squash dal in the instant pot, place the trivet and then the bowl of rice with water. This way, they will both cook together.

Close the Instant Pot with pressure valve to Sealing. Cook on High Pressure for 6 minutes. If you don't have time to soak the dal, then increase the timer to 8 min high pressure.

Once the pot beeps, let it release the pressure naturally (NPR) for 10 minutes.

Lastly, add cilantro and lime juice, and mix well. Serve instant pot lentil butternut squash curry hot with boiled rice, quinoa, or roti.

Accessories needed for this Dal and Rice Pot-in-Pot recipe

1. Tall Trivet
2. Stackable Steamer Insert Pans, or any oven-safe bowl

Stovetop Pressure Cooker Method

Follow the steps from the instant pot instructions. Give 2-3 whistles on medium flame and let the pressure release naturally. All the other steps remain the same.

Serving Suggestions

Serve Butternut Squash Dal with basmati rice, jeera rice, brown rice, or quinoa with salad and pickles on the side.

You can also pair it with Indian flat bread like roti, or paratha along with some vegetable side dishes like

• Aloo Gobi
• Bombay Potatoes
• Zucchini Sabzi
• Aloo Beans
• Cabbage Potatoes Curry
• Carrot Beans Stir Fry 

Storage Suggestions

• Refrigerate: Store the leftover butternut squash dal in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2-3 days.
• Freeze: You can store the dal fry in a freezer-safe airtight container for up to 2-3 months in the freezer.
• Reheat: Reheat the squash dal on the stove or in the microwave oven. The dal will thicken on standing, so thin it out with some water. If frozen, Defrost for a few hours on the kitchen counter before reheating.

Tips & Variations for Butternut Squash Dal

1. Size of Butternut squash: The size of the pieces of butternut squash is very important, try to dice each piece of 1.5-2 inches so that the squash won't get mushy and dissolve in the dal.
2. Type of Lentils/Dal: Today, I have used toor dal (split pigeon peas) for this butter squash recipe, but you can use any kind of dal/lentils like red lentils (masoor dal), chana dal, split yellow moong dal, or a mixture of toor, masoor, and moong dal.
3. Soaking Lentils: Don’t skip out on soaking the toor dal for at least 15-20 minutes – toor dal takes a longer time to cook than butternut squash. Soaking softens the lentils and cooks faster, hence butternut squash will not turn mushy.
4. Other Veggies: You can also add bottle gourd, zucchini, or pumpkin to this dal.
5. No Onion-No Garlic: To make a simple no onion-no garlic dal, you can also skip onion and garlic.

More Indian Butternut Squash Recipes

• Butternut Squash Soup
• Butternut Squash Pasta
• Butternut Squash Stirfry with Coconut
• Butternut Squash Paratha
• Butternut Squash Coconut Curry

More Lentil/Beans Recipes

• Dal Tadka – Dal cooked with toor dal (yellow split pigeon peas).
• Yellow Moong dal tadka - Dal prepared with split yellow moong lentils, assorted spices.
• Green Lentil Soup – lentil soup made with green lentils, carrots, celery, red bell pepper, and Indian spices.
• Spinach Dal / Palak Dal – Dhal cooked with spinach leaves.
• Whole green moong dal– Dal cooked with whole mung beans.
• Panchmel dal – Dal prepared with five varieties of lentils.
• Raw Mango Dal – Dal cooked with Raw Mango.

Explore more Lentil recipes for your family gathering.

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