Daal tarka the way it’s meant to taste – bloomed spices, buttery tarka, and perfectly cooked moong lentils, all done in under 30 minutes thanks to the Instant Pot. Fewer dishes, less time, zero compromise on flavor.
Why You’ll Fall in Love with this Daal
This is my go-to thing to cook when I literally have no time on my hands (i feel like that’s 90% of the time and pretty much all my recipes, LOL). Serve this with boiled Basmati rice or flat bread (roti). Add additional protein on the side with a Chicken Tikka (leg quarter)
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Instant Pot Daal Tarka (Quick & Easy Dhol Daal)
Description
Daal tarka the way it's meant to taste — bloomed spices, buttery tarka, and perfectly cooked moong lentils, all done in under 30 minutes thanks to the Instant Pot. Fewer dishes, less time, zero compromise on flavor.
Ingredients
Daal Base
Tarka / Bhagaar
Minimum tarka if short on ingredients:
Instructions
Prepare the daal/ lentils
Rinse the daal/ lentils and add to the Instant Pot along with the bouillon cube, chicken powder, turmeric, coriander powder, cumin powder, Kashmiri chili powder, and diced tomatoes. Add enough water to cover the lentils by about an inch.
Instant Pot setting
Set the Instant Pot to “Beans” setting and pressure cook for 18 minutes.After Instant Pot runs the cycle
Once the cycle is done and pressure has released, open the lid and check the consistency. If you prefer a thinner daal, add 1 cup of water, switch to the Sauté setting, and cook for an additional 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Adjust to your preferred consistency.
Prepare your tarka
While the Instant Pot has about 5 minutes left on the timer (or once the daal is resting), start your tarka. Heat a small pan over low heat and add your butter, ghee, or oil.
Add cumin seeds, mustard seeds, and nigella seeds to the warm fat. Keep the heat low — you want a gentle sizzle, not a flash fry. This is what allows the spices to infuse properly into the oil.
Add the thinly sliced garlic and Serrano pepper. Continue cooking on low until the garlic turns light golden brown — watch it closely as it goes from golden to burnt quickly. Add the chili flakes, stir briefly.Pour Tarka over daal
Immediately pour the entire tarka over the cooked daal. Stir to combine and serve hot.
Nutrition Facts
Servings 3
- Amount Per Serving
- Calories 71.81kcal
- % Daily Value *
- Total Fat 4.15g7%
- Saturated Fat 1.36g7%
- Cholesterol 5.51mg2%
- Sodium 529.21mg23%
- Potassium 324.32mg10%
- Total Carbohydrate 7.51g3%
- Dietary Fiber 2.63g11%
- Sugars 3.42g
- Protein 2.91g6%
- Vitamin A 1246.08 IU
- Vitamin C 12.71 mg
- Calcium 69.8 mg
- Iron 2.31 mg
- Vitamin E 1.22 mg
- Vitamin K 8.69 mcg
- Thiamin 0.06 mg
- Riboflavin 0.08 mg
- Niacin 0.93 mg
- Vitamin B6 0.14 mg
- Folate 15.52 mcg
- Pantothenic Acid 0.16 mg
- Phosphorus 65.54 mg
- Magnesium 30.65 mg
- Zinc 0.51 mg
- Selenium 3.34 mcg
- Copper 0.13 mg
- Manganese 0.28 mg
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily value may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
Note
Hafsa's Tips
- Ghee gives the most flavor in the tarka and is my top pick — it's also surprisingly not as heavy as you'd think. Butter is a close second. Oil works too if that's what you have.
- Don't have mustard seeds, nigella seeds, or Serrano pepper? Don't stress — a simple tarka of butter + garlic + chili flakes is still incredibly flavorful and totally worth making.
- Keep the tarka heat LOW. Low heat lets the garlic and spices slowly infuse into the fat. High heat burns the garlic and turns the whole tarka bitter.
- If your daal finishes before your tarka is ready, just turn the Instant Pot off and let it sit — it stays warm. Finish the tarka and pour it on right before serving.
- Daal thickens as it sits. If reheating leftovers, add a splash of water and stir before serving.
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