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Spoonful of dal tadka tempered with mustard leaves and cumin
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Instant Pot Toor Dal | Dal Tadka Recipe

Instant Pot Toor Dal or Dal Tadka is a popular Indian lentil dish made with split pigeon peas or arhar dal cooked with spices in an onion-tomato-ginger-garlic base. Serve with Rice, a side of vegetables, papad and pickles.
Course Main Course
Cuisine Indian, north indian
Keyword arhar dal, dal fry, dal tadka recipe, instant pot toor dal, toor dal recipe, tuvar dal
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Natural pressure release 15 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Servings 5 people
Author Vidya Narayan

Equipment

  • Instant Pot

Ingredients

  • 2 Onions medium or 3/4 cup finely chopped
  • 1 Tomato or 1/2 cup finely chopped
  • 1 teaspoon Ginger Garlic Paste
  • ½ cup Toor Dal (Split Pigeon Peas, Arhar Dal)
  • 1 ½ cups Water Read Notes below
  • ½ teaspoon Turmeric powder
  • 1 teaspoon Kashmiri Red chili powder
  • ½ teaspoon Ground Coriander
  • 1 teaspoon Garam Masala
  • 1 tablespoon Oil
  • ½ teaspoon Cumin Seeds
  • finely chopped coriander or cilantro
  • Salt to taste

For Tadka or Tempering

  • 2 teaspoon Ghee or Clarified Butter
  • ¼ teaspoon Mustard Seeds
  • ¼ teaspoon Cumin Seeds
  • 1/8 teaspoon Hing or Asafoetida Read notes below
  • a pinch of kashmiri red chili powder optional

Instructions

  • Wash / Rinse the toor dal under running tap water for 2-3 times.
  • Soak the toor dal for 15-20 mins. After 20 mins, drain the water used for soaking.
  • Switch on the Instant Pot, Press Saute Mode. Once it displays On or Hot, add oil and cumin seeds.
  • Once the cumin appears roasted, add the finely chopped onions and ginger garlic paste. Saute until the onions are translucent.
  • To this, add finely chopped tomatoes. Sauté until the tomatoes are slightly mushy.
  • Now add the soaked and drained toor dal, spices and salt to taste. Add Water, mix and Cancel Saute Mode.
  • Cover the instant pot with lid and pressure cook on High for 8 minutes. Allow Natural Pressure release (approximately 15-18 mins). Release any leftover pressure manually and wait for the pin to drop before opening the lid.
  • Open the instant pot lid, use a ladle to mix the lentils. Prepare for tempering.
  • Heat a small tempering pan, add ghee, cumin and mustard. Once mustard crackles, add hing, red chili powder and switch off flame.
  • Add the tempering to the dal, garnish with finely chopped coriander leaves or cilantro. Mix and serve with rice or roti.

Notes

Ingredients & Substitutes
  1. Spices - Feel free to modify the quantity based on personal preference. Kashmiri red chili powder can be substituted with paprika or skipped entirely. You can use fresh green chilies too. 
  2. Instant Pot Toor Dal recipe is Gluten Free. It can be easily made Vegan by skipping the tempering or using oil instead of ghee. 
  3. Don't let the chili powder sit in the hot oil (for tempering) as it will burn and spoil the taste of the dal. Add it towards the end, just when you are ready to mix the tempering with the dal. 
  4. I would also advise you to check for 100% additives free hing or asafoetida if you are gluten sensitive. This ingredient is added in the tempering to enhance taste and ease digestion. 
  5. While serving, you can squeeze fresh lime juice over the dal. 
 
Toor Dal to Water Ratio for Instant Pot 
  • Unsoaked Toor Dal - 1/2 cup Dal : 2 cups water, HP for 12 mins followed by Natural Pressure Release.
  • Soaked Dal - 1/2 cup toor dal : 1 & 1/2 cups water, HP for 8 mins followed by Natural Pressure Release.
 
Consistency of Dal -
Toor Dal thickens as it cools down. If you like thin consistency, add 1/2 cup extra water while pressure cooking OR you can also adjust consistency after pressure cooking by pressing sauté mode and adding some hot water. 
Consistency is a personal preference and also depends on what you are pairing the dal with. For roti, creamy consistency is perfect whereas with rice, the consistency can be more liquid. 
 
Pressure Cooker Instructions - 
In a 3 litre pressure cooker, sauté cumin seeds in oil with finely chopped onions, ginger garlic paste and tomatoes. Add spices, salt and the lentils (toor dal). Add water and pressure cook for 2-3 whistles on high. Let the pressure release naturally and remove the whistle. Mix, add tempering and serve. 
If you have not soaked the lentils, additional 2 whistles are required for the dal to cook perfectly. PS - check the water to lentil ratio above. 
 
Stove Top Instructions - 
This method of cooking can be adopted ONLY if you don't have pressure cooker or instant pot. It requires your presence in the kitchen as you cannot leave the stove unattended. 
A thick bottom pan or dutch oven (for best results) can be used. However, keep stirring the dal at regular intervals and adjust consistency by adding hot water. 
 
Storage / Freezing / Leftovers 
  • 1/2 cup Toor Dal can easily serve 4-5 adults. The dal stays fresh in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. It will thicken with time so adjust consistency by re-heating on stove-top or microwave by adding hot water. 
  • You can freeze the dal as well for over a month. I recommend freezing the cooked Toor dal (without the spices and onion-tomato mix).
  • The water to lentil ratio remains unchanged.
  • Also, freeze in small portions which can be easily thawed and used (Check Variations / Ideas in the main post).