Wholesome Green Moong Dal is a delicious creamy lentil soup, that is so easy and quick to make in a pressure cooker. Made with mung beans, onions, tomatoes and aromatic spices, this mung bean curry is protein-packed comforting meal with rice. Vegan & Gluten-free.
This is a North Indian style recipe for green moong dal. This dal is also known as sabut moong dal (sabot means whole) or chilka moong dal (chilka means with skin) or green gram dal or mung beans.
Growing up this dal 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.
This dal is also popular in other parts of India. In Gujarat, it is called mag, in Tamil Nadu, it is called pachai payaru curry.
If you don't have green moong dal in your pantry, check out other popular North Indian lentil soups - Chana Dal, Moong Dal Fry, Moth Bean Curry.
Don't forget to check out my post for 29 Best Instant Pot Vegetarian Recipes.
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Is Green Moong Dal healthy?
Green Moong Dal, also called Mung beans, are high in protein and fiber, making it easier to digest and keeping us full for longer. This is why this dal is considered to help with weight loss. Each cup serving of whole moong dal contains around 15g of fiber and 14g of protein.
They are also a good source of vitamins, minerals, potassium and magnesium. They are also high in antioxidants.
Whole Moong beans are a good source of folate, which makes them great to eat during pregnancy.
Moong beans are very versatile, and can be eaten as a soup, curry or salad. So do incorporate them in your diet.
Curious about pulses used in Indian cooking? Check out my detailed guide about Indian Pulses.
Ingredients
The main ingredient for this curried mung beans recipe is dry green mung beans. These can be easily found at Indian grocery stories. In some regions, you can also find these at mainstream stores such as Whole Foods and Costco. And they are also easily available on Amazon to ship.
Other than the dal, we are mostly using pantry ingredients such as - onions, tomatoes, ginger, garlic and spices.
How to make Green Moong Lentils in Instant Pot?
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.
Heat ghee (oil for vegan) in the instant pot in sauté mode and add the cumin seeds. Then add green chili, onions, ginger and garlic.
Saute for about 3 minutes until the onions soften. Then add the chopped tomato and spices.
Now add in the rinsed green moong dal and water.
Pressure cook for `15 minutes. Then let the pressure release naturally.
If you are in a hurry, it is okay to open the instant pot after 15 minutes of natural pressure release too.
Add the lime juice and mix the dal well.
Garnish with cilantro and enjoy.
How to cook in Stovetop 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.
How to serve?
This Green Moong Dal pair perfectly with basmati rice. You can also pair with quinoa or cauliflower rice.
Sometimes we also like to add a bit of tempering on the dal when serving. This is the red color oil (or ghee) along with sautéed garlic you see on the top of the bowl of dal in the pics.
To make the tempering, in a small pan, heat ghee or oil. Add some cumin seeds and finely diced or sliced garlic. Cook for about 30 seconds to a minute until the garlic becomes golden in color. Then take the pan off heat and add a pinch of red chili powder. I prefer Kashmiri red chili powder, as it is not spicy.
Drizzle this tempering over the dal when serving. It adds such a beautiful pop of color!
Tips for Perfect Mung Bean Curry
Make it Vegan: Replace ghee with your favorite plant based oil to make this recipe vegan.
Add veggies or greens: 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.
Double the quantity: 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.
Use my Onion Tomato Bhuna Masala: You can use ½ cup of this masala and skip onion, tomato, ginger and garlic in this recipe. Do adjust the spices to your taste.
Using split green moong dal in this recipe: You can follow the same recipe, but pressure cook for only 6 minutes.
Common Questions
It is not required to soak the dal. But if you prefer, soak it for 1 hour up to overnight. Reduce the pressure cooking time to 12 minutes for soaked dal.
Leftover cooked dal can be stored in the refrigerator for 2-3 days in an airtight container. You can also freeze the dal for up to 4 months.
Transfer to the refrigerator to defrost, and then reheat in the microwave for 1-3 minutes depending on the quantity of dal.
Enjoy this easy and delicious green lentil soup.
If you like this recipe, you might like the below Indian favorites made in a pressure cooker:
Green Moong Dal (Mung Bean Curry)
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup Green Gram Lentils (Green Moong Dal) whole, rinsed (1 cup = 250 ml)
- 1 tablespoon Ghee or Oil
- 1 teaspoon Cumin seeds (Jeera)
- 1 Green Chili Pepper chopped (optional)
- ½ tablespoon Ginger grated or paste
- ½ tablespoon Garlic minced or paste
- 1 cup Onion diced
- 1 cup Tomato chopped
- 3 cup Water
- 1 tablespoon Lime juice
- Cilantro to garnish
Spices
- ¼ teaspoon Ground Turmeric (Haldi powder)
- 1 teaspoon Coriander powder (Dhaniya powder)
- ½ teaspoon Red Chili powder (Mirchi powder) I used Kashmiri red chili powder
- ½ teaspoon Garam Masala
- 1 teaspoon Salt
Instructions
Instant Pot Method
- Add onions, ginger and garlic. Saute for 3 minutes.
- 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.
Mira Patel says
Hi Meeta!
is your 247 calories for 1 serving or 4 servings?
Meeta Arora says
Hi Mira - The calories are per serving. Hope you enjoy the dal!
Fara Kellogg says
Can I use frozen precooked moong sprouts for this recipe? If yes, do I cook the same way as instructed in this recipe?
Meeta Arora says
Hi Fara - Here is my sprouts curry recipe which you can use for moong sprouts. Hope you enjoy the curry!
Mezia says
This recipe works great every time for me..I love how it’s simple, quick and nutritious at the same time.
Piping Pot Curry says
Hi - Thank you! So good to hear that you enjoyed it 🙂
Savan Desai says
The protein carbs and fats numbers don't add up to the calories.
Meeta Arora says
Hi Savan - I have tried recalculating the nutrition, but I get same numbers. As mentioned in notes, these are my best estimates based on an automated calculator, please feel free to use you preferred nutrition calculator.
Sudha says
Can I use the split green mount dal since I don't have whole
Meeta Arora says
Hi Sudha - If you use split mung dal, reduce the cooking time will be 6 minutes on high pressure. Hope you enjoy the dal!
Shyam says
Jsyk, you mention needing spices but the recipe actually does not use the spices (Haldi, garam masala etc).
Shyam says
My apologies 🙂 - you mention spices (as in all of them)
Meeta Arora says
No worries. Hope you enjoy the dal!
abhishek says
I don't see the link to the Bhuna masala recipe you have mentioned in the notes. Could you share that too?
Piping Pot Curry says
Hi Abhishek - Sorry for the miss. Here is the link for the Bhuna Masala recipe : https://pipingpotcurry.com/indian-curry-sauce-bhuna-masala/. I have added the link to the recipe notes too.
Saba says
My fam loves this. New favorite daal!
Piping Pot Curry says
Hi Saba - So good to hear that. Thank you for sharing. 🙂
Greta says
I've made this recipe a number of times and really like it! I'm trying it in the 8 qt as a double recipe today. Is it lime or lemon juice you're supposed to add at the end? In the ingredient list its says lemon and in the directions it says lime.
Meeta Arora says
Hi Greta - Sorry for the confusion. I add lime juice in this recipe. I have updated the recipe details. Glad to hear you have enjoyed this dal.
Ash Kapila says
My dal could have cooked a bit longer than the recipe called for. When I was growing up my grand mother and my mum made the dal softer and more homogeneous. A softer dal would have rated a 5.
This dal was extremely delicious though.. Thanks,
Meeta Arora says
Hi Ash - Thank you for sharing your feedback. Sometimes the lentils or beans can be old which take a bit longer to soften completely. But there is really no way to find that out. Feel free to add 5 minutes to the cook time to get the right consistency. I am glad you still enjoyed the taste of the dal 🙂