Instant Pot Chana Dal is a simple, easy Weeknight one-pot vegetarian meal made in an Electric Pressure Cooker. Creamy split chickpeas or bengal gram lentils paired with Brown Rice makes it a filling and delicious meal for the family.
Instant Pot Chana Dal recipe is a wholesome one pot dal (dahl) or lentil dish made with split chickpeas and spices. A popular Indian main course served with rice or roti. Makes an easy and filling weeknight dinner recipe for the family.
Instant Pot is perfect for cooking lentils. Dal is comfort food for Indians. It is creamy, hearty and filling.
Dal-Rice makes an ideal weeknight meal after a long day at work. You can make extra portions, refrigerate, re-heat and consume for next couple of days. Can be frozen, making it perfect for meal prep.
Chana Dal is great for vegetarians and vegans. It is also gluten-free. Serve as soup or with rice, paratha and / or bread.
If you stock Chana Dal in your pantry, do try South Indian Style Chana Dal Sundal and Lauki Chana Dal (Bottlegourd).
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Why you'll love Instant Pot Chana Dal recipe
- Healthy, Low Oil, Filling Vegetarian Side Dish
- Plant-based protein + Vegan Recipe
- Can be made ahead (Ideal for meal-preps)
- Freezer-friendly
- Budget Friendly
Ingredients
Chana dal (Split Chickpeas or Bengal Gram Dal) - It is nuttier in taste and fairly thicker as compared to split pigeon peas or Toor Dal.
Besan or Chickpea flour is obtained by grinding or milling Split Chickpeas or Chana Dal.
How to Soak Chana Dal?
I prefer soaking lentils before cooking. It has health benefits plus fastens the cooking process. Every Indian household follows this process of rinsing and soaking lentils before cooking.
If you are in a hurry or have forgotten to soak, increase the pressure cook time by 3 minutes and allow natural pressure release.
Another technique is Quick Soak. This is extremely helpful if you have either forgotten to soak the lentils or are expecting guests at home and need dal to cook quickly.
Just 10 minutes of soaking chana dal in boiling Hot Water helps speed up the process. However, allow NPR (natural pressure release) approximately 20 to 25 minutes before opening the Instant Pot.
How to Check whether lentils have cooked? - Hold the lentils between your thumb and index finger and press gently. If it appears hard in the center, it needs extra cook time.
If you soak the dal for longer (max 1 hour), you can opt for quick pressure release.
Note - Always discard the water used for soaking the lentils.
Onion, Tomato, Ginger Garlic Paste - Base for most Indian lentil and bean recipes. Adds flavor and taste.
Spices - Turmeric, Red Chili and Garam Masala. I have included fresh green chilies too so feel free to adjust quantity of red chili powder. You can substitute with paprika or cayenne.
Since this is a Vegan recipe, I have used Oil. Feel free to use ghee.
How to Make Instant Pot Chana Dal recipe
Switch on Sauté Mode, add oil, Cumin seeds. STEP 1
Once cumin has toasted a bit, add chopped onions and ginger garlic paste. STEP 2
Then, add finely chopped tomatoes, green chilli (optional), soaked and drained chana dal along with spices (turmeric, chilli and garam masala) STEP 3 and 4
Mix well. Add salt to taste and water. Cancel Sauté Mode. STEP 5 and 6
Pressure Cook on High for 12 minutes. Allow Natural Pressure release (approximately 20 minutes) STEP 7
Using a potato masher, gently mash the lentils to thicken the dal. STEP 8
This is an optional step.
Substitutions
No Onion No Garlic - Sauté tomatoes with finely chopped ginger. You can skip lemon juice or dal will taste too tangy. Adding a pinch of sugar or jaggery helps in balancing the tartness from tomatoes.
Spices - Add ground coriander and cumin. Use whole spices like bay leaf, cinnamon and star anise instead of garam masala powder.
Variations
Substitute regular onions with scallion or spring onion. Use Scallion greens for garnishing the dal.
Chana Dal with Coconut Milk - Reduce the quantity of water by half and replace it with coconut milk for a creamier dal texture.
Spinach Chana Dal - Once pressure cooking is complete, open the lid and add handful of chopped Baby Spinach to the cooked lentils. Press Sauté mode and mix until the spinach wilts. It will take 1-2 mins.
Substitute Spinach with Kale or Swiss Chard.
Serving Suggestions
Serve Chana Dal with Quinoa, Basmati Rice, Jeera Rice (Indian Cumin Rice), Brown Rice Green Peas Pulao or Veg Pulao.
You can also enjoy Chana Dal with Palak Paratha, Methi Thepla (Fenugreek Flatbreads) or Gluten Free Finger Millet Roti (Ragi Roti).
FAQ's
Soak chana dal for an hour or a quick soak in hot water helps in softening chana dal quickly.
Rinse and add lentils to Instant Pot. Pressure cook for 15 mins. Allow Natural Pressure release. I would recommend quick soak in boiling hot water for 5-10 mins before pressure cooking for perfectly mushy lentils.
No. Toor dal is known as yellow Split Peas or Pigeon Peas. It is different from Chana Dal both in terms of texture and flavor profile. Toor dal is a staple Indian dal variety and made on an average 3-4 times a week.
Chana Dal is split chickpeas. Also known as Bengal gram lentils.
Yes, it is naturally Gluten-free and Vegan. Also, one of the best sources of plant-based protein.
No. Sambar uses split pigeon peas or Toor Dal. Although, chana dal is a key ingredient in making sambar powder.
There could be 2 reasons why chana dal is not softening or remains uncooked in center. (1) Quality of lentils - Old lentils take time to cook. (2) Not enough cook time.
Cooking chana dal in an open pot on stove-top is time consuming. For this process, rinse and soak the chana dal for 20 mins. Cook chana dal in a heavy bottom vessel, dutch oven or pan. It will take 30-40 minutes on medium heat for 1 cup of chana dal to cook.
More Instant Pot Dal / Lentil recipes
Brown Lentils (Whole Masoor)
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Chana Dal Recipe in Instant Pot
Equipment
- Instant Pot
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp Olive Oil
- ½ tsp Cumin Seeds or Jeera
- 1 Onion medium size, finely chopped
- 1 tbsp Ginger Garlic Paste
- 2 Tomatoes medium size, finely chopped
- 1 Green Chilli roughly chopped (optional)
- ¾ cup Chana Dal
- ½ tsp Turmeric Powder
- ½ tsp Kashmiri Red chilli powder or substitute with paprika
- ½ tsp Garam Masala Powder
- 2 cups Water
- Finely chopped coriander leaves as required
- lemon wedges optional
Instructions
- Wash and Soak Chana Dal for 20 minutes. After 20 mins, drain and keep aside.
- Switch on Sauté Mode, add oil, Cumin seeds. Once it toasts, add finely chopped onions and ginger garlic paste.
- Now add finely chopped tomatoes and green chilli (optional).
- Then, add the soaked and drained chana dal along with spices (turmeric, chilli and garam masala).
- Mix well. Add salt to taste and water. Cancel Sauté Mode.
- Close the Instant Pot Lid, Pressure Cook on HIGH for 12 minutes. Allow Natural Pressure release (approximately 20 minutes).
- Open the lid. Using a potato masher, gently mash the lentils. This is an optional step but recommended for a creamy dal texture. Serve hot with Rice or Indian Breads.
Notes
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We will be back again with yet another exciting recipe .. Until then, stay healthy and happy!
Vidya Narayan
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