Instant Pot Zucchini Dal

zucchini dal served in a bowl garnished with cilantro and side of steamed rice

4.86 from 7 votes

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

Course Main Course

Cuisine North Indian

Keyword courgette dal, instant pot zucchini dal, red lentils instant pot, zucchini dal

Diet Gluten-Free, Vegan, Vegetarian

Method Instant Pot/Pressure Cooker, Stovetop

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 15

Total Time 25

Servings

Calories 214kcal

Author Bhavana Patil

Equipment

Ingredients

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:

For Basmati Rice

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

Instructions

Instant Pot Method:

Press the Saute function on the Instant Pot. Heat oil until it's hot, then add cumin seeds and let them crackle.
Add ginger-garlic paste, asafetida, and green chili, and saute for a few seconds.
Next, add the chopped onion and sauté until it turns light brown.
Add the tomatoes along with the dry spices—turmeric powder, red chili powder, coriander powder, and garam masala powder. Cook until the tomatoes turn soft, which usually takes 2-3 minutes.
Then add diced Zucchini, rinsed lentils or dal, salt, and water, and give a stir. Adjust spices at this stage. No need to soak the dal for this recipe.
Once you add all the ingredients in the instant pot, place the trivet and then the bowl of rice with water. This way, they will both cook together using the pot-in-pot method.
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.
Note: If you prefer a firmer dal texture, choose 4-minute Manual/Pressure Cooker (high pressure) setting.
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 rice, quinoa, or roti.

Stovetop Pressure Cooker:

Follow the same steps as above for stovetop pressure cooker. Cook for 2 whistles on medium heat, then release the pressure naturally.

Notes

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

Tips & Variations:

- Choose tender and fresh zucchini with no seeds. Always taste a small piece of zucchini, if it's bitter, discard it.

- I 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, add 1.5 tablespoons of sambar powder and some tamarind extract instead of lemon juice to make a zucchini sambar recipe.

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

Nutrition