Instant Pot Tarka Dhal – a simple, delicious vegetarian curry dish using split pigeon peas and ready in minutes.

Indian food has got to be high up there on my list. I just love the amazing combination of spices that are used in the dishes, never lacking in flavour or boring.

Sometimes it can take a while to build up a collection of all the right spices that go in many Indian dishes, but once you have them, you can create such a wide variety of recipes.

Tarka Dhal (or otherwise called Tadka Dal) is one of my all time favourites. A popular Indian dish of lentils with onions, garlic and tomatoes.

But not just any old lentils. The most common type of lentils used in this dish are Split Pigeon Peas (Toor Dal). They can sometimes be hard to source or slightly more expensive than regular lentils, but well worth seeking out if you can, as they really do make this dish.

Obviously, if you can’t get hold of split pigeon peas, then yellow split peas will work well in this recipe also. 

Another ingredient that not everyone will have in the store cupboard that I always like to use in my Tarka Dhal recipe, is ghee. A popular cooking fat in Indian cooking.

You can use a regular chilli powder, whatever you have on hand, but I like to use Deggi Mirch in my curries, which is a great chilli powder for Indian dishes.

I always have a jar of this on hand and will happily use a few syns to make an authentic Indian recipe. 

Yes, you can make this syn free by using a cooking oil spray, but really to get those amazing flavours, it’s always best to cook the spices, onion and garlic etc using the real deal and it’s not a huge amount of syns when divided up. 

When I fancy a meat-free dish, it is pretty much always a lentil curry like this Tarka Dhal that goes on my menu as it is just so quick and easy to make in the Instant Pot.

Wait!! What’s an Instant Pot?,  I hear you say. 

Instant Pot is a brand of multi-function pressure cooker. It’s one of my favourite cooking appliances. I love this thing so much, that I almost use it EVERY.SINGLE.DAY.

It is basically a 7in1 cooker, and it slow cooks, pressure cooks, saute’s, has settings for soup, chilli, rice, porridge and even makes yoghurt (I haven’t tried that yet).

Love lentils and want some other recipes to try? Check out these:

• VEGAN CREAMY COCONUT MUSHROOM LENTILS
• SYN FREE SPICY SWEET POTATO AND LENTILS
• SPICY LENTILS AND SPINACH
• SYN FREE LENTIL BOLOGNESE
• SYN FREE BACON AND LENTIL SOUP
• EASY LOW SYN RED LENTIL DHAL
• SYN FREE LENTIL CHEDDAR BAKE
• SYN FREE SPICY CARROT AND LENTIL SOUP

or head on over to my Full Recipe Index with over 850 delicious Slimming World and Weight Watchers recipes all fully searchable by meal type, ingredients, syn value and smart points etc.

What can I serve with this Instant Pot Tarka Dhal?

It’s just gotta be some basmati rice for me, but if you want to get some speed foods to this dish, why not serve it with this delicious Roasted Cauliflower Rice.

Along with rice, I also like to top with some caramelized onion and the easiest way to do those is in the Actifry. I just slice an onion or two very thinly and add to the actifry with a pinch of sea salt and some cooking oil spray, letting it do the work until they are lovely and golden and almost crispy.

If you don’t have an actifry, spread them out on a parchment lined baking tray, spray with cooking oil spray, add a pinch of sea salt and bake in the oven until really golden. Delicious!!

Kitchen items used in this Instant Pot Tarka Dhal:

• Kitchen Scales
• Measuring Spoons
• Wooden Spoon
• Instant Pot or Pressure Cooker
• Chopping Board
• Measuring Jug or cups
• Santoku Knife

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Yield: 8 servings

Low Syn Instant Pot Tarka Dhal (Tadka Dal)

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Instant Pot Tarka Dhal - a simple, delicious dish vegetarian curry dish using split pigeon peas and ready in minutes.

Ingredients

• 455g/1lb of dry split pigeon peas, rinsed well
• 2 large onions, diced
• 1 tbs of cumin seeds
• 1 tbs of ghee or vegetable oil
• 1 tsp of turmeric
• 7 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 2 tbs of fresh ginger, grated
• 1 tsp of garam masala
• 1 tbs of deggi mirch (red chilli powder)
• 1/2 cup (120ml) of crushed tomatoes (or passata)
• 6 cups (1.42 litres) of water
• 2 tsp salt
• fresh coriander, chopped

Instructions

Instant Pot:

1. Set instant pot to saute mode
2. Add the ghee
3. Once it displays hot, add onion and cumin seeds and fry for about 5 minutes until softened.
4. Add in the garlic, ginger and turmeric and fry for a further minute or so.
5. Add the garam masala, chilli powder, salt, and crushed tomatoes and mix to a paste, adding in a little water to ensure nothing is stuck to the pan.
6. Add in the rinsed split pigeon peas and water and stir well to combine.
7. Add lid, close valve (if not self sealing).
8. Set to manual (high pressure) for 10 minutes.
9. Once cooking time is complete, quick release the pressure.
10. Serve sprinkled with chopped coriander and your choice of sides.
11. Enjoy!!

Stove Top:

1. Cover lentils with the water, bring to a boil and simmer for 30 minutes until soft. Drain and set aside
2. Add the ghee to a deep saucepan over a medium high heat.
3. Add onion and cumin seeds and fry for about 5 minutes until softened.
4. Add in the garlic, ginger and turmeric and fry for a further minute or so.
5. Add the garam masala, chilli powder, salt, and crushed tomatoes and mix to a paste, adding in a little water to ensure nothing is stuck to the pan.
6. Add in the cooked split pigeon peas and a little more water to desired consistency.
7. Simmer for 10-15 minutes.
8. Season as needed, sprinkle with chopped coriander and serve with your choice of sides.
9. Enjoy!!

Notes

This recipe is gluten free, dairy free vegetarian, Slimming World and Weight Watchers Friendly

• Extra Easy/SP - 1 per serving
• WW Smart Points - 1 per serving
• Vegan/Dairy Free - use vegetable oil

NOTE: when reheating you may want too add in some more water as dhal will thicken as it cools.

Optional: For a creamier dhal, this is great with a little coconut milk stirred through (remember to adjust Syns)

*Suitable for freezing

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Nutritional information is an estimate and is to be used for informational purposes only. Ingredients can vary greatly from brand to brand and therefore it would be impossible to give accurate information. 

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Recommended Products

• 
  Instant Pot Duo V2 7-in-1 Electric Pressure Cooker, 6 Qt, 5.5L 1000 W, Brushed Stainless Steel/Black, 220-240v, Stainless Steel Inner Pot
• 
  Na'vi Organics Organic Certified - Grass Fed - English Ghee (350 ml)
• 
  Mdh Deggi Mirch - 100g
• 
  Natco Toor Dal Plain Indian Yellow Beans for Soups, Stews, Casseroles and Vegetable Dishes - 2kg Bag

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Nutrition Information

Yield

8

Serving Size

1
Amount Per ServingCalories 227 Total Fat 3g Saturated Fat 1g Cholesterol 4mg Sodium 614mg Carbohydrates 41g Fiber 10g Sugar 4g Protein 13g

Nutritional information is an estimate and is to be used for informational purposes only. Ingredients can vary greatly from brand to brand and therefore it would be impossible to give accurate information.