Whole masoor dal recipe - a must make Indian lentil curry recipe in Instant pot! It makes healthy, flavorful, protein-packed vegetarian dinner (+vegan) that gets done in 30 minutes only.
Whole masoor dal is called brown lentils in English. So you may call this dish Indian lentil curry where gravy mixture is made from onion, tomato and spices.
❤️You’ll Love This Recipe Because
- It is so flavorful and light with a naturally slightly creamy texture.
- It makes such a comforting vegetarian dinner when served with a simple bowl of rice or quinoa.
- Perfect for weeknight dinners. Leftovers make next-day lunch. Such a timesaver!
- It’s easy and quick to make! 10 mins of prep time + 20 mins of cooking time = 30 minutes only.
- It’s a one-pot meal when made in the instant pot.
- The video of lentil curry recipe is made in Instant pot, which means it’s one step cooking, unlike stovetop method where we cook lentils and gravy separately, then combine both. Though I have shared a stovetop version in step-by-step photos.
So you choose which method suits you. - To make whole masoor dal, you will need basic ingredients that are easily available in Indian pantry as well as in those people’s pantries who cook Indian food often.
🧾Ingredients You’ll Need
Here is the pic of the ingredients required to make whole masoor dal. All of them are very easily available in your pantry if you cook Indian food often.
Ingredient Notes
Brown lentils (aka sabut masoor): There are two types of lentils available in the market. Brown and green. You can use either. But in Indian when we talk about masoor, it has to be brown lentils. You can see I have used brown in video and green in step-by-step photos. No change in the taste and flavor.
Ginger, Garlic: most of the time I prefer to grate the fresh ginger and garlic for my Indian cooking. But in a pinch, you can use store-bought or homemade ginger garlic paste.
🎥Instant Pot Lentil Curry Recipe Video
Detailed written instructions in the recipe card below.
🍳Step By Step Photo Instructions (StoveTop)
1) Wash the lentils under running cold water till water runs clear or rinse them 2-3 times till water is not cloudy anymore.
2) Take that into a pressure cooker and add 1 ½ cups of water. Cover with the lid, put the weight on and cook on medium heat for 5-6 whistles. Let the pressure go down by itself and open the lid.
3) Heat the oil in a pan on medium heat. Once hot add cumin seeds and let them sizzle.
4) Then add ginger garlic and green chili, saute for 40-45 seconds or till the raw smell of ginger garlic goes away.
5) Add chopped onions and sprinkle a little salt.
6) Cook till onions are soft and light pink in color.
7) Now mix in chopped tomatoes.
8) Cook till tomatoes are soft and almost mushy.
9) Add remaining salt and spice powders (turmeric powder, red chili powder, coriander powder, cumin powder and garam masala).
10) Mix and saute for a minute.
11) Then add cooked masoor dal and another ½-1 cup of water depending on the consistency you prefer. Mix and simmer for 5-6 minutes.
12) Squeeze fresh lemon juice.
13) Garnish with fresh coriander leaves and turn off the stove.
14) Remove it to a serving bowl.
🍽Serving Ideas:
- It tastes best when served with basmati rice or quinoa or any other grains like couscous, millets.
- It can be served with paratha or roti or any store-bought flatbread.
- To make complete Indian meal: serve papad, Indian onion salad and chaas on the side. You can serve mango pickle or green chutney as well.
💭Expert Tips:
- Adjust the consistency of the curry by increasing or reducing the amount of water. If it is too runny after cooking, then you can turn on the saute mode and simmer till you get a desired consistency.
- When cooking into Instant pot, always add garam masala after pressure cooking. Otherwise, it loses its aroma and flavor.
📖Variations:
- You can add a teaspoon of crushed kasoori methi at the end.
- You can add 2-3 tablespoons of heavy cream to get a rich, creamy flavor. I prefer this homestyle, light version, so I do not add.
- You can make creamy yet keep it light by adding ½ cup of coconut milk.
🥣Storage Instructions:
Refrigerator: It stays good for 4-5 days when stored in an airtight container. At the time of re-heating, you may want to add a little splash of water. Because this lentil curry will thicken after cooling and storing.
Freeze: Store in a freezer-safe container and freeze up to 3 months. Thaw into refrigerator or countertop and reheat on the stovetop (don’t forget to add little water to get the right consistency).
Check out more protein-packed Indian lentil dishes
- Whole green moong dal
- Instant pot chana dal
- Instant pot black eyed peas curry
- Rajma recipe (red kidney beans curry)
- Chole (chickpea curry)
PS Tried this recipe? Please leave a star rating in the recipe card below and/or a review in the comment section. I always appreciate your feedback!
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📋 Recipe Card
Whole Masoor Dal (Instant Pot Lentil Curry)
Ingredients
- 1 cup Whole masoor dal (Brown lentils)
- 1 tablespoon Oil
- 1 teaspoon Cumin seeds
- ¾ cup Red onion finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon Ginger
- 1 teaspoon Garlic
- 1 Green chili finely chopped or crushed
- ¾ cup Tomatoes finely chopped
- ½ teaspoon Turmeric powder
- 1 ½ teaspoon Red chili powder
- 1 ½ teaspoon Coriander powder
- 1 teaspoon Cumin powder
- Salt to taste
- 2 ½ cup Water
- 1 teaspoon Garam masala
- 2 teaspoon Lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons Cilantro or coriander leaves
Instructions
- Wash the whole masoor dal under running cold water till water runs clear. Or rinse in a bowl 2-3 times till water is not cloudy anymore.
- Soaking lentils is an optional step. If you want and have time, you can soak for 30 minutes.
Instant Pot Lentil Curry:
- Turn on the electric pressure cooker with saute mode. Once hot add oil. Then add cumin seeds and let them sizzle.
- Then add onion and sprinkle a pinch of salt to speed the onion cooking process. Cook for 2-3 minutes or till onions are soft and light pink.
- Add ginger, garlic and green chili. Mix and cook for 30 seconds.
- Add tomatoes and cook for 2-3 minutes.
- Mix in all the spice powders except garam masala (turmeric, red chili powder, coriander, cumin powder). Also, add remaining salt.
- Add washed lentils, water and stir.
- Cover with the lid, keep the position of the vent to sealing. Cook on manual (high pressure) for 15 minutes. {it takes around 8 mins to come to pressue}. Then you can NPR or QPR after 10 mins.
- Add lemon juice, garam masala and cilantro. Stir well and serve.
StoveTop Method (Whole Masoor Dal Recipe):
- Take washed masoor dal into a pressure cooker and add 1 ½ cups of water. Cover with the lid, put the weight on and cook on medium heat for 5-6 whistles. Let the pressure go down by itself and open the lid.
- Heat the oil in a pan on medium heat. Once hot add cumin seeds and let them sizzle.
- Then add ginger garlic and green chili, saute for 40-45 seconds.
- Add chopped onions and sprinkle a little salt. Cook till onions are soft and light pink in color.
- Now mix in chopped tomatoes. Cook till tomatoes are soft and almost mushy.
- Add remaining salt and spice powders (turmeric powder, red chili powder, coriander powder, cumin powder and garam masala).
- Then add cooked masoor dal and another ½-1 cup of water depending on the consistency you prefer. Mix and simmer for 5-6 minutes.
- Squeeze fresh lemon juice. Garnish with fresh coriander leaves.
Notes
- Add a teaspoon of crushed kasoori methi at the end.
- Add 2-3 tablespoons of heavy cream to get a rich, creamy flavor.
- Make creamy yet keep it light by adding ½ cup of coconut milk. Recipe Tips:
- Adjust the consistency of the curry by increasing or reducing the amount of water. If it is too runny after cooking, then you can turn on the saute mode and simmer till you get the desired consistency.
- When cooking into Instant pot, always add garam masala after pressure cooking. Otherwise, it loses its aroma and flavor.
- Refrigerator: It stays good for 4-5 days when stored in an airtight container. At the time of re-heating, you may want to add a little splash of water. Because it will thicken after cooling and storing.
- Freezer: Store in a freezer-safe container and freeze up to 3 months. Thaw and reheat on the stovetop (don’t forget to add little water to get the right consistency).
Neelesh
Love this recipe! I tried it and adding lemon juice at the end gave it a bit more flavor. Can these dals and curries that can be served with rice go with brown rice instead of white basmati rice. I'm looking to cut weight so it would be quite a help.
Kanan Patel
Very glad that you liked.
Yes, all the dal and curries will go well with brown rice or millets (healthy alternative to rice)
Nikhita
This came out so delicious. My toddler and the entire family loves to eat all the recipes I have tried here.
Kanan Patel
very glad to know that everyone liked the recipes.
Winnie
A simple and tasty dish. Loved it.
Kanan Patel
Glad that you liked