Heat a tablespoon of oil in a pressure cooker. Add cumin seeds and as they begin to sizzle add asafoetida.
After 10 seconds or so add onions along with garlic, ginger, and green chilies. Fry until the onions turn soft and translucent.
Add cut tomatoes along with turmeric powder, coriander powder, cumin powder, and salt. Fry it for a few minutes till tomatoes soften.
Wash the dal well and add it to the cooker and add 2.5 cups of water. Close cooker and wait till the vent goes off 4 times [ Note: Every cooker works differently and mine takes that long to get the dal nicely cooked]
Shut the gas off and allow to cool naturally.
Open cooker and mix well and then garnish it with lime juice and coriander leaves.
Instant Pot method
Add oil to the steel insert of the Instant Pot and press the Saute function and set it to “medium” and wait till the display reads “Hot.” Add cumin seeds and as they begin to sizzle add asafoetida.
After 10 seconds or so add onions along with garlic, ginger, and green chilies. Fry until the onions turn soft and translucent.
Add cut tomatoes along with turmeric powder, coriander powder, cumin powder, and salt. Fry it for a few minutes till the tomatoes soften.
Wash the dal and add it to the steel insert along with 2.5 cups of water.
[Optional Step] - You can cook Basmati rice along with dal. Place a trivet over the dal.
Place the bowl with rice and water over the trivet. For 1 cup of rice, add 1.25 cups of water.
Press the “Warm / Cancel” button and then select “Pressure Cook.” Adjust the time to 10 minutes and set the pressure selection to high.
Cover the Instant Pot lid and lock it. Make sure the vent is at sealing position.
Once the cooking cycle is complete allow the pressure to release naturally.
Carefully remove the rice using tongs.
Dilute the dal if required. Add lime juice and cilantro. Mix well.
Serve it hot with rice and a veggie side dish.
Notes
Variations to try
Green Moong Dal (mung bean dal) - Use green moong dal (chilka moong dal) instead of split yellow moong beans. Follow all the instructions as outlined in the recipe, and use the pot-in-pot method to cook rice at the same time if desired.Alternative dals - You can substitute the yellow moong dal for equal amounts of tuvar dal (pigeon peas), moong dal with skins, masoor dal, OR green moong beans. You could also do a mixture of lentils if you prefer.Easy prep variation - Alternatively, you can temper the dal after it is cooked.Recipe Notes
Dal will thicken as it cools down, so dilute it as needed.
In this recipe, you can substitute moong dal with other dals such as tuvar dal (pigeon peas), moong dal with skin, or masoor dal. Since the cooking time is the same for the lentils mentioned above, you could even mix two or three different lentils to make this dish.
To make gluten-free moong dahl, use gluten-free asafoetida.