Wholesome Green Moong Dal made in an Instant Pot or a Stovetop Pressure Cooker. This is a delicious creamy lentil soup, that is so easy and quick to make in a pressure cooker. Very nutritious with lots of protein and perfect for a cold evening.
This is a North Indian style recipe for green moong dal, also known as sabut moong dal. Growing up this used to be made almost every week for dinner. We always had a veggie curry and a lentil or legume, along with roti (Indian flatbread) for dinner. Some days we would have rice, but not every day. This is a very typical north indian dinner.
If you don't have green moong dal in your pantry, check out other popular North Indian lentil soups - Chana Dal, Moong Dal Fry.
Don't forget to check out my post for 29 Best Instant Pot Vegetarian Recipes.
How to make Green Moong Lentils in Pressure Cooker?
I do not soak these lentils. You can if you have planned well, and reduce the cooking time to 10 minutes. I usually don't plan much for lentils, as I know that I can easily and quickly cook them in the pressure cooker.
Follow the same process as in the video when cooking on a stovetop pressure cooker. Cook on high flame for 2 whistles and then change to medium-low flame and let it cook for another 8 minutes.
If you plan to enjoy this as a soup, you can add veggies like carrot, sweet potato to celery along with the lentils before you pressure cook. Stir spinach or kale at the end to make this a hearty vegetable lentil soup.
You can also double this recipe with the same cooking time. The pressure cooker will just take longer to come to pressure. This lentil also freezes well, so it is great for meal prep.
Enjoy this easy and delicious lentil soup.
If you like this recipe, you might like the below Indian favorites made in a pressure cooker:
Green Moong Dal (Green Lentil Soup)
Ingredients
- 1 cup Green Gram Lentils (Green Moong Dal) whole, rinsed (1 cup = 250 ml)
- 1 tbsp Ghee or Oil
- 1 tsp Cumin seeds (Jeera)
- 1 Green Chili Pepper chopped (optional)
- ½ tbsp Ginger minced or paste
- ½ tbsp Garlic minced or paste
- 1 Onion medium, diced
- 2 Tomato medium, chopped
- 3 cup Water
- 1 tbsp Lime juice
- Cilantro to garnish
Spices
- ¼ tsp Ground Turmeric (Haldi powder)
- 1 tsp Coriander powder (Dhaniya powder)
- ½ tsp Cayenne or Red chili powder
- 1 tsp Garam Masala
- 1 tsp Salt
Instructions
Instant Pot Method
- Start the instant pot in SAUTE mode and heat oil in it. Add cumin seeds, green chili and saute for 30 seconds.
- Add onions, ginger and garlic. Saute for 1 minute.
- Add chopped tomato, spices and stir.
- Add lentils and water. Stir well. Press CANCEL and close the instant pot lid with vent in sealing position.
- Press MANUAL or Pressure Cook mode for 15 minutes. When the instant pot beeps, let the pressure release naturally (NPR).
- Open the lid and add lime juice and cilantro. Stir and green moong dal is ready to be served.
Stovetop Pressure Cooker Method
- Heat oil in the pressure cooker on medium-high flame. Add cumin seeds, green chili and saute for 30 seconds.
- Add onions, ginger and garlic. Saute for 3 minute.
- Add chopped tomato, spices and stir.
- Add lentils and water. Stir well.
- Cover the lid, turn the heat on high flame and pressure cook it until your hear two whistles. Now reduce the flame to medium and pressure cook it for another 8 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally.
- Open the lid and add lime juice and cilantro. Stir and green moong dal is ready to be served.
Video
Notes
Note: Nutrition values are my best estimates. If you rely on them for your diet, use your preferred nutrition calculator.
How long does the natural pressure release take? Thanks!
Hi - Sometimes the natural pressure release can take up to 20 minutes. However it would be okay to release pressure 10 minutes after the pressure cooking is done, if you are in a hurry.
So nice, even my picky eater ate it! Nice and saucy too which is great over rice.
Hi- So happy to hear that. Thank you for sharing it 🙂
This was so incredibly delicious. I will definitely be making it again. Thank you si much!
Hi - So happy to hear that. Thank you for sharing it back 🙂
I just made it and Mmm mmm mmmmmmmmmmm!!! I can't stop taste testing it 😉 Only thing I did a bit different was added some black mustard seeds with the cumin seeds. No idea what I'm doing since I'm not usually making Indian food from scratch but it works well. We'll have it tonight with some tandoori chicken cooked on the BBQ, cucumber, homemade yogurt with mint, rice and poppadums.
Hello - So good to hear that. Thanks for sharing your experience 🙂
Delicious, will scale up to make more next time.
Hi - So happy to hear that 🙂
What about mustard seeds, hing?
Hi Bob - This is the North Indian variation of the dal, so we typically only add cumin seeds when making it. But feel free to add mustard seeds too along with cumin seeds. Asafoetida can be added right after adding cumin seeds too. Hope you enjoy the dal!
Hi Meeta. I made this recipe today and it came out perfect. So delicious, thank you. I made the vegan variation, used half the red chili powder (personal preference) and double the recipe. I am so happy to have leftovers. Can't wait to try other recipes. All the best.
Hi Jannice - So happy to hear that. Thank you for sharing your experience 🙂
Absolutely perfect and tasty
Hi - So good to hear that 😊
Could you replace with Urad dal if that's what you have?
Hello - If you have black Urad Dal, try this recipe - https://pipingpotcurry.com/dal-makhani-instant-pot/
I loved this!!! Made it quickly and doubled the recipe. So yummy! Thank you!
Hi Amy - So happy to hear that. Thank you for sharing it back 🙂