Rupa's Easy + Delicious + Healthy Multi-Daal - in the Instant Pot (or any other pressure cooker)

 



This is my go-to daal which has almost no oil (ghee is optional).  It's a very forgiving recipe so you can't go wrong.  And it tastes great.  You need a pressure cooker for this daal.  I use the Instant Pot.

Note that the daal is quite thick.  You might need to water it down after it's cooked.  Just adjust the salt if needed.

Also note, in this recipe ADD THE SALT AFTER COOKING.

The greater the number of daals, the better.  If you are using Horsegram (I forgot the Hindi name), it requires extra time to cook.  So increase the time by about 10 min.

Equal portions of all daals.  I do about 1/4 cup of each or 1/2 cup of each depending on the size of the IP container.  

Daals I use

  • Masoor (broken red lentils)
  • Whole Masoor (dark brown whole red lentils)
  • Chana daal - broken
  • Whole Urad
  • Broken Urad
  • Toor Daal
  • Whole Moong
  • Broken Moong
  • Horsegram (Kulthi daal) - if you add this, increase cooking time by 10 min
Masala
  • Turmeric - 1 tsp
  • Coriander powder - 1.5 tsp
  • Cumin powder - 1.5 tsp
  • 2-3 bay leaves
  • Hing (Asafoetida) - 2-3 tbsp
  • Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
  • Fresh green chillies - 2-3 par-sliced down the center but kept whole
  • Ginger - 2-3 tbsp
  • Garlic - 4-5 tbsp
  • 1-2 cans of dices tomatoes (organic is best.  Make sure it's only tomatoes without any herbs etc.)
  • Ghee - 2-3 tsp (Optional at the end)
  • 1/4 tsp sugar or agave syrup

Cooking process

Add all daals into the pot.  Wash with cold water and drain twice.  Put the pot with the daals into the instant pot.  Add water (ratio is 1:2 - if you have 2-3 cups of daal, then 4-6 cups of water).
Add all the masala into the pot.  There is no sequence - just dump everything in and give it a stir.   

DO NOT ADD SALT at this stage.

Pressure cook on high for 45 min.  If you have added Horsegram, then pressure cook for 55 min.  For high altitude you might need to add about 10 min to the cooking times.

You can either do a natural cooldown or if you are like me, I do a manual release.

After it's all cooked, add salt to taste.  Add the Ghee and stir.

If the daal is very thick, add water to make it liquidy to the consistency you prefer.   It's supposed to be on the thicker side since the daal is typically eaten with phulka/roti but it tastes great with rice or millet as well.





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