Moong dal recipe (Stovetop & instant pot)

Moong dal is one of the most widely used lentils in Indian cuisine. Also known as yellow moong lentils, these are usually cooked with onion, tomatoes, herbs & spices to make a side dish. This simple moong dal recipe will give you a delicious, healthy & protein packed side that you can enjoy with plain rice, Paratha, roti & naan. In this post I have shared the instructions to cook in a pot, cooker or instant pot.

It also goes well with any flavored rice like Jeera rice, plain basmati rice or Ghee rice. We usually serve it with plain rice, pickle, papad & raita for a complete meal. If you have kids at home who do not like moong dal then this recipe is a must try as this tastes unique and delicious.

This healthy lentil dish can also be served to toddlers & babies after 10 months, just skip the chilies.

What is moong dal?

Moong dal is the split version of whole mung beans (green gram) either with or without skin. The skinned version is known as yellow moong dal, yellow dal or yellow petite lentils. Split version with the skin is known as chilka moong dal, chilka mung or split green mung. These have the green skin intact and only the mung beans are split.

Both kinds of split moong dal (with & without skin) can be used in most preparations. They can also be used interchangeably if you are okay with the color of the dish. So using split moong dal with skin is the same as using the whole green gram except for the cooking time.

Moong dal is one of the most favored dal or lentils in Indian cuisine as it is easily digestible. According to Ayurveda, mung lentils are said to be tridoshic & can balance any disturbances in the body.

Hence it is used widely to make various dishes like Dal khichdi, dal soup, and Moong dosa. If you are new to lentils then do note that yellow moong dal is split & dehusked green gram or mung beans. These are fairly quick to cook and gentle on the stomach.

Preparation for stovetop method

1. Add ½ cup moong dal to a pot or cooker. Rinse it well a few times until the water runs clear. Pour 1½ cups water.

2. Pressure cook for 2 whistles on a medium flame. If cooking in a pot, cook it on a medium heat adding more water as needed. Moong dal should be soft cooked. When the pressure releases naturally, open the cooker and mash it to your liking.

3. While the moong dal cooks,

• fine chop 1 small onion
• fine chop or puree 1 large tomato
• chop or slit 1 to 2 green chilies
• Grate or fine chop 1 teaspoon ginger garlic (half inch ginger, 2 garlic cloves)

Tempering

4. Heat 1 tablespoon ghee or oil in a pan. Add ¼ teaspoon mustard seeds, ½ teaspoon cumin seeds and 1 broken red chili.

5. When the mustard seeds begin to splutter, add 1 teaspoon fine chopped or grated ginger garlic and 1 to 2 chopped green chilies. Add 1 sprig curry leaves or bay leaf. Curry leaves lend a good aroma and is healthy too so I add them.

6. When ginger garlic smells good, add a pinch of hing (asafoetida). Then add chopped onions.

7. Saute until the onions turn lightly pink or golden, add chopped tomatoes.

8. Add ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon turmeric. Saute until tomatoes turn completely soft and mushy. You can also add ¼ teaspoon chili powder and ¼ teaspoon garam masala for extra heat and flavor. Saute well for a minute.

How to make moong dal

9. Pour ¾ cup water & bring it to a boil. Add mashed moong dal. Stir and bring everything to a boil.

10. Optional – Add ½ teaspoon crushed kasuri methi and ½ teaspoon amchur powder. If you do not have amchur powder, add lemon juice just before serving.

Taste test and add more salt if needed. If the consistency is too thick, add some hot water.

Serve moong dal fry with plain rice, jeera rice or paratha.

Instant pot moong dal tadka (PIP)

I make both moong dal fry and moong dal tadka in my instant pot. Most often I prefer to cook dal & rice in 2 separate bowls (PIP) at one time in the instant pot. Then I just do a tadka to the cooked dal. I have shared the moond dal tadka below and moong dal fry in the recipe card.

1. To make the moong dal tadka, rinse half cup moong dal in a bowl. Drain and pour 1½ cups water. Add chopped green chilies and tomatoes. I don’t use onions for this method. Cover the bowl and place it over the rice bowl in the instant pot.

2. Secure the Instant pot with lid, with the steam release handle set to sealing position. Pressure cook for 9 to 10 mins and wait for natural release. Allow the pressure to release naturally. Later remove the dal, add salt and mash it. If it is too thick then, pour some hot water.

3. For the tempering, heat ghee in a small tadka pan. Add mustard & cumin. When they splutter, add red chilli, green chilies & ginger garlic. Optionally add curry leaves too and hing.

4. Turn off the heat and add red chilli powder, garam masala and turmeric. Add this to the cooked moong dal. Stir and serve. Cool down slightly and then squeeze lemon juice.

Tips to make moong dal

1. Most Indian homes do own a pressure cooker so I have shown this recipe making in the same. If you do not own one, then you can just cook the dal in a pot or instant pot. I have given the instructions for instant pot as well below.
2. You can also make this as a one pot dish. Again it can be made in a cooker or pot. All you need to do is, do the tempering first & then just add the dal and water. Cover & pressure cook.
3. We usually do not make very hot & spicy lentils as the original flavor of lentils is lost. However if you love spicy foods, then feel free to double the amount of spices like red chilli powder & garam masala.
4. If you are not accessible to curry leaves just replace with bay leaf.
5. To make the dish healthier, I usually add some spinach and carrots. I pressure cook the carrots with the moong dal. Then I saute the spinach in the tempering pan until it wilts. Then add the cooked dal.

More Dal recipes
Chana dal
Masoor dal
Dal makhani
Dal fry recipe
Instant pot dal & rice

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Recipe card