Moringa Leaves Dal - Instant Pot & Stovetop

Moringa Leaves Dal recipe is a comforting and easy one-pot pressure cooker recipe made with yellow split moong lentils, moringa leaves (drumstick leaves), tomatoes, Indian spices in the Instant Pot or Stovetop.

I grew up eating this drumstick leaves dal, drumstick pod sambar, and drumstick sabji at home back in India. I never knew its enormous health benefits and being called a superfood until recently in the USA.

Drumstick leaves or moringa greens ('Nugeekayi soppu' in Kannada) are a significant source of beta-carotene, vitamin C, protein, iron, and potassium.

You can find these moringa leaves in the Indian grocery stores the most time of the year in the Bay Area, California. You can also spread drumstick leaves on cloth or large plate and sundry in a covered area for 1-2 days (do not put in direct sunlight as it will affect the green color of the leaves) or can be dried under the fan as well and use them when fresh leaves are unavailable.

I usually make moringa makhana or moringa tea with moringa powder.

Other Moringa/Drumstick leaves recipes I make are drumstick leaves paratha, moringa rice, panniyaram (paddu), moringa chutney, akki rotti (thalipet), moringa raita, and off-course sambar.

You can prepare this easy instant pot moringa dal recipe in under 30 minutes. I have shared both Instant Pot Pressure Cooker and Traditional Stovetop recipe below.

Moringa Dal Ingredients

• Dal: I have used moong lentils (yellow split moong dal), Instead of mung dal, you can also use red lentils (masoor dal) or toor dal. You can also use a combination of toor, masoor, and moong dal.
• Moringa (drumstick leaves): Choose tender and fresh drumstick leaves. You can also increase the quantity of moringa leaves in the dal. You can also use dried moringa leaves.
• Ghee or oil: I always prefer ghee for tempering. Replace ghee with oil if you are vegan or you can use a combination of ghee and oil for this dal recipe.
• Cumin seeds (jeera): cumin seeds are a must in any Indian dal tempering so do not skip it.
• Garlic: I have minced fresh garlic for this recipe. You can also use store brought garlic paste.
• Green chilies: I have used 2-3 Thai green chili, you can skip to reduce the heat.
• Onion: I have used pearl onions (shallots). You can skip onion for no onion recipe variation.
• Tomato: I have used fresh chopped Roma tomatoes. For a variation, you can skip tomato and use lemon juice for tanginess.
• Spices: I have used turmeric powder, red chili powder, garam masala. You can increase or decrease the spices according to your choice.
• water: lentil to water ratio - For ½ cup of dal, 1 ½ cups of water is added.
• Coriander leaves: I have used coriander leaves for garnish.
• Curry leaves: Adding curry leaves gives unique and best flavor to this dal curry, so do not skip it.

How to make Moringa Leaves Dal in Instant Pot

Firstly wash and de-stem the moringa leaves.

Wash and rinse the dal, keep aside. Press SAUTE on Instant Pot. Add oil, and once it's hot, add mustard seeds and cumin seeds. Let them crackle.

Add minced garlic, green chilies, curry leaves, and saute till the garlic turns golden brown.

Next, add shallots or onions and saute for a minute. Then add chopped tomato and cook till tomatoes turn soft.

Add drumstick/moringa leaves, saute for a minute till the leaves wilt.

Then add water and deglaze the pot to avoid the BURN notice.

Finally, add rinsed dal, turmeric powder, red chili powder, garam masala, salt, and give a stir.

Furthermore, close the lid on the pot. Set the pot to MANUAL/PRESSURE COOK (High Pressure) and Set Timer to 6 minutes.

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

Lastly, remove the lid away from you, add cilantro and lemon juice. Also, adjust the consistency of the dal at this point.

Instant Pot Moringa/Drumstick leaves dal is ready and served hot with steamed rice and quinoa.

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. Drumstick leaves dal recipe is ready to serve.

Serving Suggestions

Serve Moringa dal with chapati,  jeera rice, or steamed rice. It also can be eaten with quinoa, brown rice! or even eaten as a lentil soup.

Tips & Variations

• Choose tender and fresh drumstick leaves for this moringa dal recipe.
• I have used split yellow moong dal for this recipe but you can use any kind of dal/lentil like toor dal, masoor dal, or a mixture of toor, masoor, and moong dal.
• If you are a South Indian and want to make sambar with drumstick leaves, follow the same steps, instead of dry spices mentioned below add 1.5 tablespoons of sambar powder and some tamarind extract instead of lemon.
• If your moringa lentils/dal is watery, you can turn on the saute mode and cook for another 2-3 minutes in the end.
• One wants really soft mashed dal, 8 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 6 minutes Manual/Pressure Cooker (high pressure) option.

If you like this, Check out more Pressure Cooker Lentils/Bean recipes below

• Dal Tadka – Dal cooked with toor dal (yellow lentils).
• 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.
• Spinach Dal / Palak Dal – Dhal cooked with spinach leaves.
• Raw Mango Dal – Dal cooked with Raw Mango.

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