Red Lentils Recipe (Masoor Dal)

4.84 from 6 votes

Masoor Dal or Red Lentils is a simple, extremely delicious and comforting dal cooked in the Instant Pot with pot-in-pot basmati rice.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Indian, North Indian

Keyword instant pot masoor dal, red lentil curry, red lentil dal, red lentils instant pot

Diet Gluten-Free, Vegan, Vegetarian

Method Instant Pot/Pressure Cooker, Stovetop

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 15

Total Time 25

Servings

Calories 215kcal

Firstly Wash and rinse the dal, keep aside. Press Saute mode on Instant Pot. Add oil, and once it's hot, add cumin seeds. Let them crackle.
Add asafetida, minced ginger-garlic, green chilies, curry leaves, and saute for 15 secs. Then add chopped onion. Saute till onions turn light brown.
Add tomatoes, turmeric powder, red chili powder, coriander powder, garam masala powder, and cook till tomatoes turn soft, which takes 2-3 minutes.
Then add 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 masoor dal in the instant pot, place the trivet and then the rice bowl with water. This way, they will both cook together.
The big advantage of the Instant Pot is the option to do Pot-in-Pot Cooking or PIP. It means you can cook multiple things at the same time. See pictures below for reference.
Close the lid on the pot. 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.
Instant Pot Red Lentils (Masoor Dal) is ready. Add some lemon juice and cilantro, mix well and serve hot with boiled rice, quinoa, or roti.

Pressure cook the masoor dal adding 3 cups of water for 2-3 whistles.
Heat oil or ghee in a Kadai and add the cumin and let them splutter.
Then add asafetida, minced ginger-garlic, chopped green chili, curry leaves, and saute for 15 seconds
Next, add the onions and saute till the onions turn light brown in color.
Add tomatoes and all the spice powders – turmeric powder, red chili powder, coriander powder, and garam masala powder and cook till tomatoes turn soft, which takes 2-3 minutes.
Now add the cooked and mashed dal (lentils), and stir well. Add water to adjust consistency and salt to taste. Boil dal for 2-3 minutes on a medium-low flame. Finally, add lemon juice and chopped coriander leaves. Mix well and serve hot.

I have prepared this dish in my electric pressure cooker, Instant Pot DUO60 6 QT
No need to soak the dal in water.
If your dal is watery, you can turn on the saute mode and cook for another 2-3 minutes in the end.
For a variation, you can also make this dal by skipping onion, ginger, and tomatoes.
Note on the consistency: 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. If you want a firmer dal then choose 3 minutes Manual/Pressure Cooker (high pressure).
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.