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    Home » Recipes » Lentil & Beans

    Zucchini Dal (Instant Pot & Stovetop)

    Sep 9, 2023. by Bhavana Patil. 2 Comments | This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Jump to Recipe

    Zucchini Dal recipe is a comforting and easy dal made in an Instant Pot pressure cooker with masoor dal (red lentils), zucchini, tomatoes, Indian spices, and cooked with pot-in-pot rice. This dal is vegan, gluten-free, and pairs well with rice, quinoa, and roti.

    When someone mentions "comfort food from India," what is the first meal that comes to mind? It's either dal chawal, or dal roti for any of us. Dal is one ingredient that appears in all of these meals. They are not only packed with protein and other healthy ingredients, but they are also utterly tasty!

    The enormous diversity of dals in Indian food speaks powerfully about the culture's unending devotion to it. We offer a dal dish for every occasion, ranging from rich and buttery dal makhani to healthy panchratna and filling moong ki dal. 

    Here, we bring you one more type of dal that is loved by all. Ever heard? Zucchini dal. If not, this is the time to try it out! Simple yet a crowd-pleaser at all times, this dal recipe combines masoor dal (red lentils) with rich Indian flavors and zucchini. This dal is vegan and gluten-free and pairs best with steamed rice, quinoa, paratha, and roti.

    Jump to:
    • Health Benefits of Zucchini
    • How to Make Zucchini Dal in Instant Pot
    • Accessories needed for this Dal and Rice Pot-in-pot recipe
    • Stovetop Pressure Cooker Method
    • Serving suggestions
    • Tips & Variations
    • More Indian Zucchini Recipes
    • More Lentil Recipes
    • Instant Pot Zucchini Dal

    Health Benefits of Zucchini

    Zucchini, a summer squash, is a member of the cucumber, gourd family. This green vegetable has many benefits, rich in several vitamins, minerals, and other beneficial plant compounds that are well known to reduce weight, improve digestion, slow aging, and are rich in antioxidants. 

    Check for more about Zucchini and its health values here.

    How to Make Zucchini Dal in Instant Pot

    Let's gather all the ingredients required to make Zucchini red lentils in an Instant pot.

    • Zucchini: I used fresh zucchini for this recipe. Make sure to cut into 1.5-2 inch pieces.
    • Masoor dal (Red lentils): I used masoor dal for this recipe. It's easily available in local & Indian grocery stores in the USA. You may also substitute it with moong dal or toor dal or use a combination of them.
    • Oil (or ghee): I used oil in this recipe, but using ghee for tempering gives the dal a divine taste.
    • 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.
    Zucchini Dal ingredients

    Press Saute on Instant Pot. Add oil, and once it's hot, add cumin seeds. Let them crackle.

    Add ginger-garlic paste, asafetida, green chili, and saute for 15-20 secs.

    saute ginger garlic and cuminseeds

    Then add chopped onion. Saute till onions turn light brown.

    saute onions till soft

    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 Zucchini, rinsed lentils or dal, salt, water, and give a stir. Adjust spices at this stage. No need to soak the dal for this recipe.

    cook tomato with spices and add dal,water and zucchini

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

    Close the lid on the pot, and turn the pressure valve to the SEALING position. Set the pot to MANUAL/PRESSURE COOK (High Pressure) and increase the timer to 5 minutes.

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

    Add cilantro and lime juice, mix well. Serve zucchini lentil curry hot with boiled rice, quinoa, or roti.

    pot in pot rice and dal

    Note on the consistency:

    If one wants soft mashed dal, 6 minutes manual/pressure cook (High Pressure) is probably the ideal setting in manual mode.

    But I like dals (lentils) to be a little firm, so I selected 5 minutes Manual/Pressure Cooker (high pressure) option.

    If you want a more firm dal, choose 4 minutes Manual/Pressure Cooker (high pressure).

    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

    • In a pressure cooker, add diced zucchini, minced garlic-ginger, green chilies, onion, tomatoes, masoor dal, turmeric powder, salt, water, and pressure cook up to 2 whistles.
    • Meanwhile, prepare the tempering and add this tempering into the dal once cooked along with red chili powder and garam masala and let the dal simmer for 6-8 minutes.
    • Add cilantro and lime juice, mix well, and serve zucchini masoor dal hot with boiled rice, quinoa, or roti.

    Serving suggestions

    Zucchini Dal (lentil) curry is served traditionally with basmati rice, roti, or chapati. But it can be eaten with quinoa, brown rice!

    Tips & Variations

    • Choose tender and fresh zucchini with no seeds. Always taste a small piece of zucchini, if it's bitter, discard it.
    • Today I have used masoor dal (red lentils) with this zucchini recipe, but you can use any kind of dal/lentils like toor dal, split yellow moong dal, or a mixture of toor, masoor, and moong dal.
    • If you are a South Indian and want to make sambar with zucchini, follow the same steps, instead of the dry spices mentioned below, add 1.5 tablespoons of sambar powder and some tamarind extract instead of lemon juice to make a zucchini sambar recipe.
    • To make a simple no onion-no garlic dal, you can also skip onion and garlic.

    More Indian Zucchini Recipes

    • Zucchini Stir Fry
    • Zucchini Carrot Paratha
    • Zucchini Besan Sabzi
    • Zucchini Pakoda
    • Air Fryer Roasted Zucchini
    • Zucchini Bajji
    • Zucchini Chutney

    More Lentil Recipes

    • Dal Tadka – Dal prepared with split pigeon peas lentils, assorted spices
    • Green Lentil Soup – lentil soup made with green lentils, carrots, celery, red bell pepper, and Indian spices.
    • Whole Masoor Dal (Brown Lentils) - Dal cooked with whole masoor dal.
    • 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
    Tried this recipe?Don’t forget to give a ★ rating below
    zucchini dal served in a bowl garnished with cilantro and side of steamed rice

    Instant Pot Zucchini Dal

    Bhavana Patil
    Zucchini Dal recipe is a comforting and an easy dal made in Instant Pot pressure cooker with masoor dal (red lentils), zucchini, tomatoes, indian spices and cooked with pot-in-pot rice
    4.84 from 6 votes
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Servings: 4
    Calories : 214
    Course: Main Course
    Cuisine: North Indian
    Diet: Gluten-Free, Vegan, Vegetarian
    Method: Instant Pot/Pressure Cooker, Stovetop
    Prep Time : 10 minutes minutes
    Cook Time : 15 minutes minutes
    Total Time : 25 minutes minutes

    Equipment

    • Instant Pot/Pressure Cooker
    • Stovetop Pressure Cooker

    Ingredients
      

    Measuring cup used 1 cup = 250 ml

    • 1 cup masoor dal (red lentils)
    • 2 large zucchini chopped into 1.5 inch pieces (about 2-3 cups)
    • 1 tablespoon ghee or coconut oil
    • 1 teaspoon cumin seeds(jeera)
    • 1 pinch asafetida (hing)
    • 2 green chillies split into halve
    • 1 tablespoon ginger and garlic paste
    • 1 small onion finely chopped
    • 1 large tomato finely chopped
    • salt to taste
    • 3 cups water
    • 2 tablespoons coriander leaves chopped
    • juice of ½ lemon

    Dry Spices:

    • ½ teaspoon turmeric powder (haldi)
    • 1 teaspoon red chilli powder
    • 1 teaspoon coriander powder
    • ½ teaspoon garam masala powder

    For Basmati Rice

    • 1 cup basmati rice
    • 1.5 cups water
    • a pinch salt (optional)

    Instructions
     

    Instant Pot Method:

    • Press Saute on Instant Pot. Add oil, and once it's hot, add cumin seeds. Let them crackle.
    • Add ginger-garlic paste, asafetida, green chili, and saute for 15-20 secs.
    • Then add 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 Zucchini, rinsed lentils or dal, salt, water, and give a stir. Adjust spices at this stage. No need to soak the dal for this recipe.
    • Once you add all ingredients for Zucchini 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 lid on the pot, and turn the pressure valve to the SEALING position. Set the pot to MANUAL/PRESSURE COOK (High Pressure) and increase the timer to 5 minutes.
    • Once the pot beeps, let it release the pressure naturally (NPR) for 10 minutes.
    • Add cilantro and lime juice, mix well serve zucchini lentil curry hot with boiled rice, quinoa, or roti.

    Stovetop Pressure Cooker:

    • In a pressure cooker, add diced zucchini, minced garlic-ginger, green chilies, onion, tomatoes, masoor dal, turmeric powder, salt, water, and pressure cook up to 2 whistles.
    • Meanwhile, prepare the tempering and add this tempering into the dal once cooked along with red chili powder and garam masala and let the dal simmer for 6-8 minutes.
    • Add cilantro and lime juice, mix well serve zucchini masoor dal hot with boiled rice, quinoa, or roti.

    Notes

    I have prepared this dish in my electric pressure cooker, Instant Pot DUO60 6 QT

    Tips & Variations:

    1. Choose tender and fresh zucchini with no seeds. Always taste a small piece of zucchini, if it's bitter discard it.
    2. Today I have used masoor dal (red lentils) with this zucchini recipe but you can use any kind of dal/lentils like toor dal, split yellow moong dal, or a mixture of toor, masoor, and moong dal.
    3. If you are a South Indian and want to make sambar with zucchini, follow the same steps, instead of the dry spices mentioned below add 1.5 tablespoons of sambar powder and some tamarind extract instead of lemon juice to make a zucchini sambar recipe.
    4. To make a simple no onion-no garlic dal, you can also skip onion and garlic.
    5. If one wants really soft mashed dal, 6 minutes manual/pressure cook (High Pressure) is probably the ideal setting in manual mode. But I like dals (lentils) to be a little firm so I selected 5 minutes Manual/Pressure Cooker (high pressure) option.
    6. Vegan Variation: Skip ghee and use the oil of your choice.
     
    Note: Nutrition values are my best estimates. If you rely on them for your diet, use your preferred nutrition calculator.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 214kcalCarbohydrates: 30gProtein: 12gFat: 4gSaturated Fat: 3gSodium: 21mgPotassium: 710mgFiber: 14gSugar: 3gVitamin A: 285IUVitamin C: 14.6mgCalcium: 46mgIron: 4.2mg
    Keyword instant pot lentils, red lentils instant pot, zucchini dal
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    1. Maggie says

      August 20, 2023 at 6:51 am

      If you want to double the ingredients of the recipe for the instant pot, do you double the amount of water as well plus increase the time? This information would be very helpful to know. Please can you advise?
      Many thanks in advance

      Reply
      • Bhavana Patil says

        August 20, 2023 at 9:33 am

        Hi Maggie, In the recipe card there is an option see the ingredients quantity when you do 2X, or 3x times. Coming to your question, Yes you will need to double the water but the cooking time will remain the same.Hope this helps.

        Reply

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