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Home » Recipes » Lentils & Beans

Green Moong Dal / Green Lentils - Instant Pot & Stovetop

Published September 23, 2021 Updated April 11, 2022 By Meeta Arora 131 Comments | This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

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Wholesome Green Moong Dal
Wholesome Green Moong Dal

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.

Green moong beans dal with basmati rice

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. 

Jump to:
  • Is Green Moong Dal healthy?
  • Ingredients
  • How to make Green Moong Lentils in Instant Pot? 
  • How to cook in Stovetop Pressure Cooker?
  • How to serve?
  • Tips for Perfect Mung Bean Curry
  • Common Questions
  • Green Moong Dal (Green Lentil Soup)

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.

Green Moong Dal curry in a bowl garnished with cilantro

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.

ingredients to make green moong dal

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.

instant pot green moong dal steps

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.

mung bean curry in the instant pot

Garnish with cilantro and enjoy.

Creamy delicious Green Moong lentils soup in a bowl garnished with cilantro leaves

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.

Green Moong Dal in a ladle on top of the instant pot

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.

Green Moong Dal with rice topped with a tempering of ghee and cumin seeds

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

Do we need to soak the sabut moong dal before cooking?

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.

How to store leftover 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.

Green Moong Dal Instant Pot Pressure Cooker

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:

  • Spinach Dal
  • Dal Tadka
  • Dal Makhani
  • Aloo Gobi
  • Panchmel Dal
Tried this recipe?Give a rating by clicking the ★ below
Green Moong Dal with rice topped with onions and lime

Green Moong Dal (Green Lentil Soup)

Meeta Arora
Wholesome Green Moong lentils simmered in onion-tomato gravy made in Instant Pot (Pressure Cooker). A protein rich mung bean curry, enjoy as a lentil soup along with a side of rice. 
4.89 from 138 votes
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Servings: 4
Calories: 245
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Indian, North Indian
Diet: Dairy-free, Gluten-free, Nut-free, Vegan, Vegetarian
Method: Instant Pot/Pressure Cooker, Stovetop
Prep Time: 5 mins
Cook Time: 25 mins
Total Time: 30 mins

Equipment

  • Instant Pot/Pressure Cooker

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

  • 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 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

Spice level: To reduce spice, skip the green chili and red chili powder.  
Soaking: I did not soak the dal in this recipe. If you soak for 3-4 hours, reduce cooking time to 12 minutes.
Double recipe: This recipe can be doubled with no change in cooking time. 
Vegan variation:  Use oil when tempering in step 1. 
Using a prepared curry sauce: Here is my Bhuna Masala (curry sauce) recipe. 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.  
Green Chili Pepper: I typically use Thai, Birdeye or Serrano Chili Pepper in my recipes. Don't forget to adjust to your taste. 
Created: This recipe was created in a 6qt Instant Pot DUO60 Multi-use Pressure Cooker. 

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

Nutrition

Serving: 339gCalories: 245kcalCarbohydrates: 40gProtein: 13gFat: 5gSaturated Fat: 3gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 10mgSodium: 644mgPotassium: 822mgFiber: 10gSugar: 7gVitamin A: 454IUVitamin C: 14mgCalcium: 95mgIron: 4mg
Keyword green lentils, lentil soup
Tried this recipe?Share your photo and tag @PipingPotCurry or #pipingpotcurry

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Ss says

    August 16, 2021 at 9:02 pm

    How long does the natural pressure release take? Thanks!

    Reply
    • Meeta Arora says

      September 12, 2021 at 8:35 am

      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.

      Reply
  2. Mary Kay B. says

    August 04, 2021 at 10:14 am

    So nice, even my picky eater ate it! Nice and saucy too which is great over rice.

    Reply
    • Piping Pot Curry says

      August 06, 2021 at 3:53 pm

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

      Reply
  3. TS says

    July 25, 2021 at 11:16 am

    This was so incredibly delicious. I will definitely be making it again. Thank you si much!

    Reply
    • Piping Pot Curry says

      July 26, 2021 at 10:55 am

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

      Reply
  4. Sue R says

    July 20, 2021 at 11:50 pm

    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.

    Reply
    • Piping Pot Curry says

      July 22, 2021 at 10:56 am

      Hello - So good to hear that. Thanks for sharing your experience 🙂

      Reply
  5. Julie says

    July 13, 2021 at 8:44 am

    Delicious, will scale up to make more next time.

    Reply
    • Piping Pot Curry says

      July 13, 2021 at 9:37 am

      Hi - So happy to hear that 🙂

      Reply
  6. Bob says

    May 25, 2021 at 4:27 pm

    What about mustard seeds, hing?

    Reply
    • Meeta Arora says

      June 10, 2021 at 2:13 pm

      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!

      Reply
  7. Jannice says

    May 08, 2021 at 6:08 pm

    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.

    Reply
    • Piping Pot Curry says

      May 10, 2021 at 10:55 am

      Hi Jannice - So happy to hear that. Thank you for sharing your experience 🙂

      Reply
  8. Andre Heunis says

    May 08, 2021 at 11:58 am

    Absolutely perfect and tasty

    Reply
    • Piping Pot Curry says

      May 10, 2021 at 10:54 am

      Hi - So good to hear that 😊

      Reply
  9. SC says

    April 05, 2021 at 6:23 pm

    Could you replace with Urad dal if that's what you have?

    Reply
    • Meeta Arora says

      April 08, 2021 at 4:03 pm

      Hello - If you have black Urad Dal, try this recipe - https://pipingpotcurry.com/dal-makhani-instant-pot/

      Reply
  10. Amy Ciraolo says

    March 04, 2021 at 12:34 am

    I loved this!!! Made it quickly and doubled the recipe. So yummy! Thank you!

    Reply
    • Piping Pot Curry says

      March 04, 2021 at 9:27 am

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

      Reply
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I strongly believe that each one of us has a chef inside us, we just need to explore the ingredients and create great food. Here you will find easy & delicious recipes using Instant Pot & Air Fryer.

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