Instant Pot Dal and Rice is the most delicious Indian comfort food. Toor dal or Yellow Split Pigeon Pea cooked with onions, tomatoes and flavorful spices, along with pot-in-pot basmati rice for a complete meal. This is a vegan & gluten free Dal Fry!

Dal Tadka / Dal Fry / Yellow Lentils Instant Pot Pressure Cooker 3
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Dal and Rice are the staple foods in many Indian homes. It is basically a lentil stew made with split pigeon peas and served with rice. It is also known as Varan Bhaat in Marathi.

What is Dal?

Dal is basically dried pulses. These dried pulses can be whole or split. Dal is also used as a term for various soups prepared with these dried pulses. It is also called Daal, Dahl, or Dhal.

Dal is the main protein dish for many vegetarians, and hence, it is a dish prepared almost every day in an Indian home. Every region in India makes dal in different ways.  In North India, it is made by tempering it with cumin, curry leaves, onion, and tomato.  In South India, it is used to make sambar.

You will find it interesting that all of over India, dal is prepared in a stovetop pressure cooker. Hence, it is a perfect dish for many in your electric pressure cooker or instant pot. Check out 10+ Instant Pot Lentils recipes.

Lentils used for Pressure Cooker Dal Fry

Toor dal, or Yellow Split Pigeon Pea or Arhar Dal, is one of the most popular dal made in India. The cooked toor dal is also popularly called Dal Tadka or Dal Fry. Dal tadka is very quick to prepare and can be ready in minutes. It is one of the easiest to make for a weeknight dinner.

I have also shared a different, slightly sweeter preparation of toor dal in this delicious Gujarati Dal recipe.

Toor Dal Nutrition

Toor dal is from the legume family and has a number of health benefits.

  • It contains Folic acid, an important vitamin for all women.
  • Toor dal contains protein and dietary fiber.  Legumes such as toor dal are especially beneficial for vegetarians as they provide the necessary protein.
  • Toor dal also contains carbohydrates, which our body needs to generate energy.  They contain complex carbohydrates, which are digested slowly by the body and are much better than simple carbohydrates.

How to make Indian Dal Fry in Instant Pot?

This recipe shows how to make Dal Fry in Instant Pot. The main difference in this preparation is that I made it as a one-pot recipe.  Usually, we boil the dal separately and then add the tadka in it.  In this recipe, I cook the tadka in the pot before adding the dal and cook the dal along with the tadka.

Start with heating oil in the instant pot. Then, add cumin seeds, curry leaves, asafoetida, and garlic. Once the garlic is lightly browned, add chopped onions and cook for 2-3 minutes. Lightly brown the onions, then add chopped tomatoes and spices. Add toor dal and water.  No need to soak the dal for this recipe.

Instant pot Toor dal fry steps

The below steps show pot-in-pot basmati rice cooked along with the yellow lentils. More details about pot-in-pot are below.

Instant pot dal with rice steps

Pressure Cook for 5 minutes and then release the pressure 5 minutes after the beep. Garnish with cilantro and additional garam masala if you like a spice kick. Don’t worry if the dal does not look well mixed when you open the pot. Stir it well, and it will be delicious.

If you do soak the dal for 2 hours, you can reduce the cooking time to 3 minutes for toor dal.

Toor dal fry steps in pressure cooker

A note about consistency – In North India, dal is preferred so that each grain can be seen and not all mushed up. However, I know in South India that, the preference is to cook dal to a consistency of sambar, where each grain is not visible, and it is more like a smooth soup. For this consistency, pressure cook for 8-10 minutes at high pressure.

Indian Day Fry in a ladle on top of instant pot

Dal Fry with Pot-in-Pot Basmati Rice

One of the big advantages of the Instant Pot is – the option to do Pot-in-Pot Cooking or PIP. This means being able to cook multiple things at a time by also cooking in a small pot inside the main pot. To cook pot-in-pot, you need a tall trivet and stainless steel containers that you can use within the main pot.

Another important thing with pot-in-pot cooking is to consider the cooking time for the dishes you want to cook together. As an example, toor dal takes about 5 mins to cook at high pressure, and basmati rice takes about 4-6 mins at high pressure. Hence, if I add rice pot-in-pot with these lentils, they will cook well. I would not cook brown rice along with these lentils, however they would work well with kidney beans that cook in 30 mins at high pressure.

Learn more about the instant pot pot-in-pot method with this comprehensive guide!

instant pot Dal Tadka (Yellow Lentils) in a pretty bowl with rice on the side

Once you add all the ingredients for Dal in the instant pot, place the trivet and then the bowl of rice with water. This way, they will both cook together. See the pictures above for reference.

Enjoy dal served over basmati rice and some homemade ghee (this would make it non-vegan)!

Why you will love this Instant Pot Dal & Rice?

√ It is easy to make in the instant pot with very little active time needed.

√ Healthy, nutritious & protein rich

√ This dal be made ahead and freezes well.

√ Vegan & Gluten free

If you like this Dal Fry, you might like these below lentil recipes too:

4.91 from 277 votes

Instant Pot Dal Tadka / Dal Fry with Basmati Rice

A simple yet flavorful yellow dal tempered with cumin, curry leaves and spices. This is an everyday lentil enjoyed with rice. 
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes
Servings: 4

Ingredients 

Spices

For Basmati Rice

Instructions 

  • Start the instant pot in sauté mode and heat the oil in it. Add cumin seeds, green chili, curry leaves, garlic and asafoetida.
  • After the garlic turns light brown, add the chopped onions and cook for 2 minutes until the onions turn golden brown.
  • Add tomato and spices and cook for another 2 minutes.
  • Add the washed dal and water. Stir it all up. 
  • Place the trivet. In a bowl, add all ingredients for basmati  rice and place it on top of the trivet. Close the lid with vent in sealing position. 
  • Change the instant pot setting to manual or pressure cook mode at high pressure for for 5 mins. After the instant pot beeps, let the pressure release naturally for 5 minutes, then release the pressure manually (5 minute NPR). 
  • Using tongs, carefully take out the bowl of basmati rice. Then take out the trivet. 
  • Garnish with cilantro and stir. Optionally, sprinkle the juice of half a lemon. Dal tadka is ready to be served.

Video

Notes

Thick dal: If you like thick dal, reduce the amount of water to 2.5 cups.
A note about consistency: Don’t worry if the dal does not look well mixed when you open the pot. Stir it well and it will be delicious. I understand that some people like more cooked dal, you can also increase the pressure cooking time to 7-8 minutes. That will still work for pot-in-pot basmati rice.
Vegan Variation: Skip ghee and use oil of your choice.
Soaking: I did not soak the toor dal in this recipe. If you do soak the daal for 2 hours, you can reduce the cooking time to 3 minutes.  
Green Chili Pepper: I typically use Thai, Birdeye or Serrano Chili Pepper in my recipes. Don’t forget to adjust to your taste. 

Nutrition

Calories: 222kcalCarbohydrates: 32gProtein: 13gFat: 4gSaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 9mgSodium: 602mgPotassium: 569mgFiber: 15gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 430IUVitamin C: 38.4mgCalcium: 54mgIron: 4.2mg

Additional Info

Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Indian
Diet: Dairy-free, Gluten-free, Nut-free, Vegan, Vegetarian
Tried this recipe?Mention @pipingpotcurry or tag #pipingpotcurry!

About Meeta

I strongly believe that each one of us has a chef inside us, we just need to explore the ingredients and create great food. My passion is to share easy, healthy, and wholesome recipes made using Instant Pot & Air Fryer, that are well tested, so you can cook with confidence.

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Recipe Rating




214 Comments

  1. The smell is absolutely delicious and everything turned out perfectly. I had a big bunch of very skinny asparagus to use up so after everything was cooked I just chopped it up in little pieces and threw it in and let it heat. Fantastic!

    1. Hey Lori – So glad to hear you enjoyed the dal. We love to add veggies to dal as well. Spinach has been a favorite to stir in at the end. I have not tried asparagus, and will give it a try!

  2. Best Indian blog recipe I’ve found.awesome!!!!!have used Atleast 10 recipes all great.i especially like moms chicken curry.i double the recipe,add cauliflower and a can of peas and bang!dinner for a week.have made it 4 weeks in a row!

    1. Hey Corey – So glad to hear you are enjoying the recipes. Mom’s chicken curry is definitely a favorite. It is great to add veggies and make it a complete meal. Thank you for sharing back your review!

  3. Used my instapot for the first time in ages. I made only the dal it turned out fantastic and was so quick to cook! Thank you for sharing this recipe!

  4. A quick question about Tadka, put onions first saute for about 10 minutes then add garlic saute for another 3 to 4 minutes on medium flame?

    1. Hey Ajay РAre you planning to add additional tadka after the dal is cooked? I usually make this Dal as a one-pot recipe. I would say go for the visual cues for saut̩ing onions and garlic. You can add them together and you want the onions to turn golden brown in color.

  5. Hi Meeta,
    I followed your recipe and Daal and Rice was excellent.
    We were about to go out and then thought we will spend 2 hours. And with preparations andand cooking dinner was served in 30 min

    1. Hey Gargi – So glad to hear the dal and rice were perfectly cooked. This is a big advantage of instant pot, quick dinner with less monitoring. Thank you for sharing back your review!

  6. Hi Meeta,
    IP newbie here..
    I got an IP ultra recently and tried making this dal as my first recipe (also did water test before it)
    I used 1 cup dal and 3 cups water
    I sauted all the ingredients and then put the dal in for pressure cook for 15 mins
    My IP ultra never got out of preheating mode and about 20 -25 mins I got a burn message. I could open the lid within 30 secs as my IP never got into pressure. Do you know what am I doing wrong??
    The only thing different I did was used more garlic and soaked the dal for maybe about 15 mins before using it.

    Thanks,
    Deepika

    1. Hey Deepika – This seems like an setup issue. During the water test, did the ip come to pressure, i.e. the pin popped up and then dropped when the pressure released. Make sure the sealing ring is properly setup, so the ip comes to pressure. It should only take about 10 minutes for the pressure to build (pin comes up). You can also try to make sure with doing the water test again. The changes of adding more garlic and soaking should not matter. Hope that helps.

      1. Thanks Meeta. I realized later what I messed up on. I had used the measuring cup which came with the IP which was only 160 ml and I had just assumed that it was a full cup. So my first time it had very less water for the IP to come to pressure.
        I did make the dal again and it was awesome. Trying the garlic chilli potatoes today.
        Again thankyou for all these amazing recipes 🙂

      2. Hey Deepika – Thanks for sharing back the issue you faced. Glad you tried again and enjoyed the dal. Would love to hear how the potatoes turn out. Thanks!

    1. Hey Paulette – yes, any stainless steel bowl that fits in the instant pot steel insert would work. Hope you enjoy it!

  7. This is the first time I m writing to you , I just got my IP & I have tried few recipes from your blog ! They turned out perfect ? ! So big thank you ! I will be doing pip first time with the recipe above ! Quick question! Does the rice or dal need to be soaked – and do we put the lid on the rice dabba while cooking ?

    1. Hey Heta – So glad to hear you have been enjoying recipes from the blog. For Dal Tadka with pip rice, I do not soak the dal or rice. Also, do not add the lid on the rice bowl, as otherwise it will foam and rice will fall into the dal while cooking. To get a better idea, check the video in the recipe card. Hope you enjoy pip cooking. I find that to be a great help!

      1. Thanks ! Did not cover the rice ! But I did soak dal & rice for half hour! But the taste texture was just mind blowing ! Thank you for very easy to understand and streamlined recipes !

      2. So glad to hear that you enjoyed the Dal and Rice. Thank you for sharing back your experience 🙂