Gujarati Dal is a sweet, spicy and tangy lentil soup, made with pigeon peas (tuvar dal), lots of warming spices and the sweetness of jaggery. This staple dal from the Gujarat region of India can be enjoyed with rice, roti or as a soup!
Prep Time10 minutesmins
Cook Time20 minutesmins
Total Time30 minutesmins
Course: Main Course, Soup
Cuisine: Indian
Keyword: gujarati dal bhat, gujarati dal recipe, instant pot gujarati recipes
Start the instant pot in sauté mode and heat the ghee/oil in it. Add all the tempering ingredients and green chili. Let them cook for 30 seconds.
Then add the ginger and tomato. Saute for a minute.
Then add the spices and stir.
Add the dal, water and peanuts. Stir well.
(Optional) 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 8 mins. After the instant pot beeps, let the pressure release naturally.
(Optional) Using tongs, carefully take out the bowl of basmati rice. Then take out the trivet.
Add the jaggery. Using a whisk mash the dal. (Hand blender is not required)
Sprinkle the lime juice. Garnish with cilantro and serve over rice or with roti.
Stovetop Pressure Cooker Method
Follow the same steps as above on the stovetop. Cook for 3 whistles on medium-high flame. Then let the pressure release naturally. Whisk the dal and follow the steps to add the jaggery, lime juice and cilantro.
Notes
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. Jaggery: You can use sugar in place of jaggery. Start with half the quantity and adjust to taste. Note: Nutrition facts do not include calories from rice ingredients.