Instant Pot Three Chile Dal Recipe (2024)

Instant Pot Three Chile Dal takes just 15 minutes to cook, including the fragrant and flavorful tempering oil or tadka that infuses the cooked lentils. I learned to cook my first Indian dishes from a local woman about 7 years ago. Before that, I was completely ignorant about Indian cooking and quite intimidated by all the spices. There are many spices and aromatics used in Indian cooking, but there are several that are commonly and often used, including onion, garlic, ginger, turmeric, cumin seeds, black mustard seeds, cardamon seeds, cayenne pepper, dried and fresh chilies, curry leaves and cilantro. I am fortunate to have a large Indian grocery store nearby, so I have access to fresh curry leaves and other Indian spices/ingredients.

When I first tasted dal at an Indian restaurant many years ago, I was intrigued. I did not realize that dal simply means a dish made with dried, split pulses. Often this means lentils, but it can also include peas and beans. For this particular recipe, I used moong dal, which are pink lentils that cook relatively fast compared to other lentils.

There are many different dals, made with a variety of pulses. Some lentils take longer to cook. Beans generally take longer to cook than lentils and are often soaked overnight before cooking. Dals also vary in the use of aromatics. A simple dal might only use just a few aromatics. I prefer more flavorful dals like this Instant Pot Three Chile Dal.

First, the lentils are cooked with water, salt and turmeric. It takes just 7 minutes of cooking time in an Instant Pot, or 20-25 minutes on the stovetop.

Tempering Oil/Tadka For Three Chile Dal

Meanwhile, the aromatics are cooked separately to make a tempering oil or tadka. The tempering oil or tadka is typically scented with a combination of whole spices (e.g., cumin, mustard seeds), aromatics (e.g., onion, garlic, ginger, curry leaves) and chilies. This tempering oil infuses the dal with extra layers of flavors and aromas, which is what really makes the dal really delicious. This method of finishing a dish similar to the way Chinese steamed fish is finished with hot oil poured over aromatics on top of the cooked fish.

Before making the tadka, be sure to have all the ingredients pre-measured and ready to go as the cooking process is very quick.This Three Chile Dale uses garlic, cumin seeds, black mustard seeds, dried red chile, cayenne, fresh green chile and curry leaves as flavor agents.

Half the tempering oil is stirred into the cooked dal, with the rest poured on top just before serving.

What results is a fragrant, flavorful lentil stew with a bit of heat. I toned down the heat in this recipe, but feel free to increase the amount of cayenne if you like your dal spicy.

I made thisInstant Pot Three Chile Dal while my son was home from college this winter and he loved it. In fact, he asked for the recipe, so I packaged the ingredients for this dal for him to bring back to school so he can make it.

This Instant Pot Three Chile Dal can be prepared on the stove top easily (instructions included below), and is delicious served with steamed rice or Indian flatbread. If you can’t find black mustard seeds or curry leaves, just leave them out. The flavor will be different, but you will still have a delicious vegetarian/vegan meal.