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Home » Recipes » Lentils & Beans

Indian Dal Tadka / Dal Fry with Basmati Rice - Instant Pot Pressure Cooker

Published September 18, 2018 Updated September 16, 2021 By Meeta Arora 165 Comments | This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

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Dal Tadka / Dal Fry / Yellow Lentils Instant Pot Pressure Cooker

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

Dal and Rice are the staple food in many indian homes. It is basically a lentil stew made with split pigeon peas served with rice 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 a dish prepared almost everyday in an Indian home. Every region in Indian makes dal in different ways.  In North India, it is made by tempering 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 to 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 the one of the most popular dal made in India. The cooked toor dal is also popularly called as 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 week night 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 necessary protein.
  • Toor dal also contain 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 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 such that each grain can be seen and not all mushed up. However I hear in South India, the preference is to cook dal to a the 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 do pot-in-pot cooking, 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 take about 4-6 mins at high pressure. Hence if I add rice pot-in-pot with these lentils, they would get cooked 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.

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

Once you add all 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 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 less 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 lentils too:

  • Green Moong Dal
  • Yellow Moong Dal Tadka
  • Madras Lentils
  • Brown Lentils (Whole Masoor Dal)
Tried this recipe?Give a rating by clicking the ★ below
Instant Pot Dal Fry

Instant Pot Dal Tadka / Dal Fry with Basmati Rice

Meeta Arora
A simple yet flavorful yellow dal tempered with cumin, curry leaves and spices. This is an everyday lentil enjoyed with rice. 
4.89 from 195 votes
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Servings: 4
Calories: 222
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Indian
Diet: Dairy-free, Gluten-free, Nut-free, Vegan, Vegetarian
Method: Instant Pot/Pressure Cooker
Prep Time: 5 mins
Cook Time: 20 mins
Total Time: 25 mins

Equipment

  • Instant Pot/Pressure Cooker
  • Pot-in-Pot Stackable Contianers
  • Trivet

Ingredients
 
 

  • 1 tablespoon Ghee or Oil
  • 1 teaspoon Cumin seeds (Jeera)
  • 1 Green Chili Pepper sliced into 2 pieces or chopped
  • 6 Curry Leaves (Kadi Patta)
  • ¼ teaspoon Asafoetida (Hing) optional, skip for gluten-free
  • 3 cloves Garlic minced
  • ½ Onion finely chopped
  • 1 Tomato finely chopped
  • 1 cup Split Pigeon Pea (Toor dal) washed
  • 3 cup Water
  • Cilantro to garnish

Spices

  • ¼ teaspoon Ground Turmeric (Haldi powder)
  • ½ teaspoon Coriander powder (Dhaniya powder)
  • ½ teaspoon Red Chili powder (Mirchi powder)
  • 1 teaspoon Salt

For Basmati Rice

  • 1 cup Basmati Rice
  • 1.25 cup Water
  • 1 tablespoon Ghee or Oil (optional)
  • 1 teaspoon Salt (optional)

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. 

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

Nutrition

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

Comments

  1. Heike van den Hoevel says

    September 04, 2021 at 4:08 pm

    If i don't make the rice in the pressure cooker, does it affect the overall cooking time of the dal?

    Reply
    • Meeta Arora says

      September 15, 2021 at 11:11 am

      Hello - No, you can cook the dal for the same amount of time. I would suggest to do 10 minute pressure release when not cooking rice. Hope you enjoy the dal!

      Reply
  2. J lopez says

    August 23, 2021 at 4:39 pm

    Meeta, can you tell me where the inside rice pot is from? I am having trouble finding one.

    Reply
    • Meeta Arora says

      August 27, 2021 at 4:23 pm

      Hi - You can find the stackable containers on Amazon. I just added links to the containers and trivet in the equipment section on the recipe card. Hope that helps!

      Reply
    • Meeta Arora says

      September 13, 2021 at 1:57 pm

      Hello - I added the links to the containers and trivet to the recipe card. Let me know if you need any more details.

      Reply
  3. Duncan says

    August 10, 2021 at 5:08 pm

    Been making some variation of this every week since I found it. Depending on what I have in the pantry I improvise a little bit. Great framework for consistently great dal.

    Reply
    • Meeta Arora says

      August 27, 2021 at 4:18 pm

      Hi Duncan - Glad to hear you found the recipe helpful!

      Reply
  4. LeeJin says

    July 16, 2021 at 3:21 pm

    Meeta this is a fab recipie . I doubled the amounts as I like to freeze dal for no cook days.
    It freezes great .
    Thank you so much .

    Reply
    • Piping Pot Curry says

      July 19, 2021 at 8:16 am

      Hello there - Delighted to hear that. Thanks for getting back 🙂

      Reply
  5. Sam says

    May 23, 2021 at 8:14 pm

    Hi Meeta, love your recipes!! I just had some of your Bhindi Masala for dinner and it was heavenly. I want to make this recipe without the pot in pot rice, would the cooking time be the same still? Thank you!

    Reply
    • Meeta Arora says

      June 10, 2021 at 2:22 pm

      Hi Sam - Glad to hear you enjoyed the bhindi masala. Yes, the cooking time will remain the same even if you skip the pot-in-pot rice.

      Reply
  6. Sid says

    May 09, 2021 at 12:07 pm

    Hi Meeta ,

    I made this Dal today and have to say it came out brilliantly, thanks to your instructions. I like my ‘curries’ spicy so I added 3 Birdseye chillis and just over half a teaspoon of red chilli powder.
    Love the instant pot , drastically reduced the time to cook food

    Reply
    • Piping Pot Curry says

      May 10, 2021 at 10:56 am

      Hi- So happy to hear that. Thank you for sharing it back 🙂

      Reply
  7. Saumya says

    April 23, 2021 at 5:29 pm

    Hey Meeta, just confirming rice is also not soaked in this recipe, right ?

    Reply
    • Meeta Arora says

      April 30, 2021 at 10:55 am

      Hi Saumya - Thats right, I do not soak the rice.

      Reply
  8. Bozenna says

    April 22, 2021 at 12:28 pm

    I just made it. It is so good. I always add more spices , otherwise it is too bland for me. Every 10 days I make this one or the one with red lentils, but this one is my favourite.
    I love the website, it is so easy to navigate and so far I am not disappointed.
    Thank you very much. I am new to instant pot and to Indian food and I am happy with both.

    Reply
    • Meeta Arora says

      April 23, 2021 at 9:39 am

      Hi Bozenna - So glad to hear you have been enjoying the indian recipes. Thank you for sharing back your feedback!

      Reply
  9. Christina Besner says

    March 30, 2021 at 3:35 am

    Can this be made with red lentils?

    Reply
    • Meeta Arora says

      April 08, 2021 at 2:38 pm

      Hi Christina - Here is a similar recipe with red lentils - https://pipingpotcurry.com/red-lentil-masoor-dal-instant-pot/. Hope you enjoy it!

      Reply
  10. Anchal says

    March 09, 2021 at 5:24 pm

    LOVE this recipe, I’ve made it successfully with these exact proportions but when I doubled the recipe it became watery. What is your recommendation when doubling the quantity?

    Reply
    • Meeta Arora says

      March 17, 2021 at 6:57 am

      Hi Anchal - Thank you! I usually do double the liquid, as the dal soak it up as it cools down. But it would be totally fine to reduce the quantity of water to 1.5 times and then add more later as needed.

      Reply
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