Name: Instant Pot Toor Dal – Easy Lentil Soup
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 1 cup toor dal; 1 and 1/2 tbsp oil or ghee; 1/2 tsp asafoetida; 1 tsp cumin seeds; 1 serrano pepper, small ((hari mirch)); 8 curry leaves; 1/2 onion ((1/2 cup chopped)); 1 tsp ginger garlic paste; 1 tomato, large ((1 cup chopped)); 1/2 tsp ground turmeric; 1 tsp ground coriander; 3/4 tsp red chili powder; 1/2 tsp garam masala; 1 and 1/4 tsp salt; 3 cups water; 3 tbsp cilantro ((dhaniya ke patte)); 1 tbsp lemon juice

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This Instant Pot Toor Dal – Easy Lentil Soup is loaded with delicious spices and very easy to make. One bowl is never enough!

This recipe is quick and easy to prepare when you get home from work for an easy weeknight dinner. A combination of dal and rice is the prefect comfort food in our household.

Type of dal: The base for this lovely, lentil soup is toor dal / arhar dal (pigeon pea lentil). It is easily available on amazon or in Indian grocery stores.

How do I make this Instant Pot Toor Dal – Easy Lentil Soup?

Traditionally the dal is pressure cooked with water, salt and ground turmeric. The tempering ingredients are sautéed separately in a pan in ghee or oil and then added to the pressure-cooked dal.

However, I am trying to simplify my recipes and make them fast, quick and easy. In this recipe in order to simplify the cooking process. I sautéed the tempering ingredients in the instant pot, then threw the dal and water in the pot and pressure cooked it altogether. This methodology makes the cooking process fast, easy, and convenient. This quick recipe tastes great! You must give it a try.

Prep: Rinse and dice the onion finely, rinse and chop the tomato and slit the green chili vertically but keep it still intact. Rinse and chop the cilantro finely and set it aside.

Rinse the dal with water a couple of times and set aside.

When you are ready to cook, select sauté on the Instant Pot. First, add oil or ghee to the pot. Second, add asafoetida, cumin seeds, serrano pepper, and curry leaves.

Third, after the cumin seeds splutter add in onions and ginger garlic paste. Stir well. Next after the onions turn golden brown, add in tomato and spices (ground turmeric, ground coriander, red chili powder, garam masala and salt), and sauté the tomatoes for 2 to 3 minutes until mushy.

Further add the rinsed dal and water. Stir it all up.

Press cancel. Furthermore, Close the lid and select manual for 15 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally for 5 minutes and then quick release the pressure. Finally open the lid and garnish with lemon juice and cilantro leaves.

Transfer to a serving bowl and serve with steamed white rice.

Tried this recipe yet? Give us a rating, comment below in the reply section and let us know what you think.

Try some of our other recipes:

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Instant Pot Kashmiri Dal

Instant Pot Toor Dal – Easy Lentil Soup

Shilpa

This Instant Pot Toor Dal – Lentil Soup is loaded with delicious spices and very easy to make. One bowl is never enough!

Print Recipe

Prep Time 5 mins

Cook Time 25 mins

Total Time 30 mins

Course Main Course, Side Dish

Cuisine Indian

Servings 4

Equipment

Pressure Cooker

Ingredients

1 cup toor dal
1 and 1/2 tbsp oil or ghee
1/2 tsp asafoetida (heeng)
1 tsp cumin seeds (jeera)
1 serrano pepper, small (hari mirch)
8 curry leaves
1/2 onion (1/2 cup chopped)
1 tsp ginger garlic paste (freshly minced or packaged)
1 tomato, large (1 cup chopped)
1/2 tsp ground turmeric (haldi)
1 tsp ground coriander (dhaniya powder)
3/4 tsp red chili powder (cayenne pepper)
1/2 tsp garam masala
1 and 1/4 tsp salt
3 cups water
3 tbsp cilantro (dhaniya ke patte)
1 tbsp lemon juice

Instructions

Prep

Finely rinse and dice the onion.
Rinse and chop the tomato and slit the green chili vertically but keep it still intact. Rinse and chop the cilantro finely and set it aside.
Rinse the dal with water a couple of times and set aside.

Cook

Select sauté on the instant pot.
Add oil or ghee to the pot. Then add in asafoetida, cumin seeds, green chili, and curry leaves.
After the cumin seeds splutter add in onions and ginger garlic paste. Stir well.
After the onions turn golden brown, add in tomato, ground turmeric, ground coriander, red chili powder, garam masala and salt and sauté the tomatoes for 2 to 3 minutes until the tomatoes are mushy.
Add the washed dal and water. Stir it all up.
Press cancel. Furthermore, Close the lid and select manual for 15 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally for 5 minutes and then quick release the pressure. Finally open the lid and garnish with lemon juice and cilantro leaves.
Transfer to a serving bowl and serve with steamed white rice.

Notes

This dal tends to thicken if kept in the refrigerator for the next day. You can add a little boiling water to thin it as needed.

You can reduce the red chili powder or eliminate the serrano pepper as per your spice tolerance. On a scale of 1 to 5, I would place this dal at 3 in terms of spice levels, with 1 being the lowest and 5 being the highest.

Keyword Easy Dal Instant Pot, Instant Pot Arhar Dal, Instant Pot Dal, Instant Pot Dal Tadka, Instant Pot Lentil Soup, Instant Pot Pigeon Pea, Instant Pot Toor Dal, Instant Pot Tuvar Dal, Pigeon Pea Recipe, Quick Dal, Toor Dal

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