Whole Green Moong Dal

5 from 8 votes

Whole Green Moong Dal is a simple high protein, delicious curry made with green lentils and spices in an Instant Pot or a stovetop pressure cooker.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Indian, North Karnataka

Keyword green lentil recipes, green moong dal, hesarukalu palya, karnataka style

Diet Gluten-Free, Vegan, Vegetarian

Method Instant Pot/Pressure Cooker, Stovetop

Prep Time 6

Cook Time 10

Total Time 6 10

Servings

Calories 156kcal

Author Bhavana Patil

Firstly, wash and soak moong dal overnight (or about 6-7 hours).
Press Saute on Instant Pot. Add oil and once it's hot add cumin seeds. Let them crackle.
Add ginger-garlic paste, saute till the ginger-garlic turns golden brown.
Next add onions, green chili and allow to saute for 2-3 minutes until translucent - stir regularly.
Then add tomatoes, dry spices like turmeric powder, red chili powder, coriander powder, garam masala, and cook for 1-2 minutes, till tomato turns soft.
Now add soaked moong dal, water, and salt give a stir.
Close the lid on the pot. Set the pot to manual (High Pressure) and set the timer to 3 minutes (for firmer moong beans) or 5 minutes(for softer, broken up moong beans).
Once the pot beeps, manually do a quick pressure release (QR).
Lastly, remove the lid away from you, add cilantro and lemon juice. Also, adjust the consistency of the dal at this point.
Whole green moong dal is ready and serve hot with any flatbread, boiled rice, roti, quinoa or eat as a soup.

Follow the same steps as above. Just cook the green lentils on a stovetop pressure cooker for 2 whistles on high heat, then set the heat to medium-low and cook for another 5-8 minutes.

Use a thick bottomed deep pot or pan. Follow the same steps as above. Add the soaked green moong dal, 3-3.5 cups of water. Cover the pan with a lid and cook the green lentils on medium-high flame till done (appx takes 15-20 minutes).

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

If you don't have time to soak lentils. You can still make this dish by setting the timer to 15 minutes on the INSTANT POT with (Quick Pressure Release) and for ¾ cup of dry green lentils add 3 cups of water.
If you don't have garam masala, add half a teaspoon each of cumin powder and coriander powder.
If your green moong dal is watery, you can turn on the saute and cook for another 2-3 minutes in the end.
No onion/no garlic variation: You can take out the onion and can replace garlic with a pinch of asafetida/hing.

Note: Nutrition values are my best estimates. If you rely on them for your diet, use your preferred nutrition calculator.