Whenever my dad was not going to have lunch at home, my mom would whip this easy meal. My dad loves his phulkas, while my mom loves her rice. Perhaps, we would enjoy this hearty delicious meal, with a gleam in our eyes. I at least make this dal once every week. It is so simple, and my daughter Inaaya loves it too.

What is Dal Fry?

Dal fry is a delicious Indian lentil recipe that is most popularly made with tur dal (pigeon pea lentils), onions, tomatoes, aromatics, and spices. If you are new to Indian cuisine, you might be wondering how this dal is fried. Well, I assure you. it isn’t. Dal or Dahl in Hindi means lentils. The dals in Indian cuisine are mostly vegan. While some families you ghee to make, my dal recipe is vegan. To make a delicious dal fry, you start with pressure cooking your lentils until soft and mushy. Then this dal is cooked with onions, tomatoes, ginger, green chilies, garlic, and spices. Finally finishes with a tadka of garlic, it is served with jeera rice, rotis, or naan.

Ingredients to Make Instant Pot Dal Fry Recipe

Vegetables - We will use finely chopped onions and tomatoes for this recipe. Aromatics and Herbs - I love to use minced garlic, ginger and green chili paste, cilantro, and kasoori methi for this dal, and it tastes absolutely delicious.

Whole Spices - You will need whole dried red chilies, cumin seeds, and bay leaf for this recipe Spices - I use red chili powder, cumin powder, turmeric, and garam masala for this recipe Oil - I like to use avocado oil or peanut oil. But you can use ghee or any other neutral-flavored oil for this recipe.

How to Serve Dal Fry?

Serve dal fry either with your favorite Indian Flatbread, or steamed rice. I like to serve dal fry with either garlic naans, phulka rotis, parathas, steamed rice, or jeera rice.

How to Make Instant Pot Dal Fry?

This Instant Pot Dal Fry Recipe is so easy and quick. It is absolutely delicious and gets ready in under 15 minutes. I start with washing and soaking the tur dal (pigeon pea lentils). Start the Instant Pot on Sauté Mode, and add oil, and cumin seeds. Once the cumin seeds start to splutter add a pinch of asafetida, curry leaves, bay leaf, dried red chilies, and whole green chilies. We add minced onions, garlic, ginger, and sauté until onions are mushy. Next goes in the tomatoes, along with ground spices and salt. We cook them until they are jammy. Add the washed and drained tur dal, and water to close the instant pot. Pressure cook it for 7 mins. Wait for 10 minutes, do a quick pressure release. Garnish it with cilantro. Add more water if you feel your dal fry is very thick. Serve it hot with steamed or jeera rice, naans or rotis.

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Soft Phulka Rotis Gujarati Dal Sambar Recipe Creamy Dal Makhni Instant Pot Dal Fry Dal fry is a delicious Indian lentil recipe that is most popularly made with tur dal (pigeon pea lentils), onions, tomatoes, aromatics, and spices. If you are new to the Indian cuisine, you might be wondering how this dal is fried. No ratings yet Print Pin Rate Course: Main CourseCuisine: Indian Prep Time: 10 minutes minutesCook Time: 15 minutes minutesTotal Time: 25 minutes minutes Servings: 3 These nutrional values are automatically generated. Use them for estimation only. Author: Aayushi Patel EquipmentInstant Pot Ingredients2 Tbsp Oil/ Butter/ Ghee1 Tsp Cumin Seeds 2 Whole Dried Red Chilies2 Green Chilies, prefrebaly Thai green chilies, but serrano works fine too. 4-5 Curry Leaves¼ tsp Asafetida1 Bay Leaf1 Cup Minced Onions1 Tbsp Minced garlic1.5 Tsp Ginger and Green Chili Paste½ Cup Finely Chopped Tomatoes1 teaspoon Red Chili Powder1 Tsp Cumin Coriander Powder½ Tsp Turmeric1 Tsp Garam Masala1 Tsp Salt1 Tbsp Kasoori Methi1 Cup Tur Dal (Pigeon Peas Lentils)2 Cups Water InstructionsTo Make the Dal Fry In Instant PotWash 1 cup of Dal and soak it for 10 minutes while you prep the veggies. Drain the water after 10 minutes.Press sauté mode on your instant pot for 20 minutes. Add oil/ butter / ghee, anything you prefer. Dal Fry tastes the best with ghee, but I use oil usually.Once hot, add cumin seeds, red chilies, green chilies, asafetida, curry leaves and bay leaf. Add minced onions, ginger and garlic with a pinch of salt. Cook the onions until they soften. Next add in the chopped tomatoes, and ground spices along with salt. Cook the tomatoes until jammy. Add the washed and drained tur dal (pigeon peas). Add water and crush the kasoori methi between your palms and add. If you want to cook Pot in pot riceUse an oven safe round pan, that fits in your instant pot, leaving 1 inch gap from all sides. Wash and rinse 1 Cup of Rice. Add 2 Cups of Water, 1 teaspoon Salt and 1 teaspoon Cumin Seeds. Place the trivet in the Instant Pot. Place the Pot in the Trivet and cover it with a stainless steel lid. Turn off the Sauté Mode. Press on Pressure Cook. Pressure cook on high pressure Manually for 7 minutes.Wait for 10 minutes after the buzzing sound. Do a quick pressure release.If you made the rice, take the rice out with the help of tongs, and then stir the dal. See if you want to adjust the consistency by adding water. Simmer for 5 minutes and serve hot. To Make Dal Fry On Stove TopWash 1 cup of Dal and soak it for 10 minutes while you prep the veggies. Drain the water after 10 minutes.Add the dal to pressure cooker. Add ¼ teaspoon Turmeric and ½ teaspoon Salt. Add 2 Cups of Water and cook on high for 1 whistle. Then reduce the heat to medium flame, and cook it for 4 whistles or another 5 minutes. Let the pressure cooker cool down naturally. After the pressure cooker cools down, carefully open the pressure cooker. With a whisk or hand blender, mash the dal.In a heavy bottom Pot, Add oil/ butter / ghee, anything you prefer. Dal Fry tastes the best with ghee, but I use oil usually.Once hot, add cumin seeds, red chilies, green chilies, asafetida, curry leaves, and bay leaves. Add minced onions, ginger, and garlic with a pinch of salt. Cook the onions until they soften. Next add in the chopped tomatoes, and ground spices along with salt. Cook the tomatoes until jammy. Add cooked, mashed dal to the pot. Add 1 Cup of water and crush the kasoori methi between your palms and add to the dalLet the dal simmer on medium heat. Finish it off with cilantro. Serve Hot with Rotis, Naan, Steamed Rice or Jeera Rice. Notes You can adjust the consistency by adding more or less water to the dal as per your liking.  The Dal Fry Tastes better with the tempering of ghee.  If you want to make it vegan use oil or vegan butter.  For making this dal gluten-free skip adding asafetida. You can also use other lentils of your choice, like yellow moong dal, pink masoor dal, or combination of these dals.  If you are making this dal with Masoor and Yellow Moong Dal, reduce the pressure cooking time on the Instant Pot to 4 minutes.  Tried this recipe?We Love to Hear Your Feedback! DM us at @thewhiskaddict or tag #thewhiskaddict! Dal Palak - Red Lentils with Spinach(Opens in a new browser tab) Jeera Rice | Indian Cumin Rice(Opens in a new browser tab) Restaurant Style Matar Paneer(Opens in a new browser tab)

Jeera Rice | Indian Cumin Rice(Opens in a new browser tab) Restaurant Style Matar Paneer(Opens in a new browser tab)

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