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 calories to make an authentic Indian recipe. 

Yes, you can make this 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 calories 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
• SPICY SWEET POTATO AND LENTILS
• SPICY LENTILS AND SPINACH
• LENTIL BOLOGNESE
• BACON AND LENTIL SOUP
• EASY RED LENTIL DHAL
• LENTIL CHEDDAR BAKE
• SPICY CARROT AND LENTIL SOUP

or head on over to my Full Recipe Index with over 850 delicious Slimming and Weight Watchers recipes all fully searchable by meal type, ingredients 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 vegetables 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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Recipe Card

Instant Pot Tarka Dhal (Tadka Dal)

Yield: 8 servings

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

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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 teaspoon of turmeric
• 7 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 2 tbs of fresh ginger, grated
• 1 teaspoon of garam masala
• 1 tbs of deggi mirch (red chilli powder)
• ½ cup (120ml) of crushed tomatoes (or passata)
• 6 cups (1.42 litres) of water
• 2 teaspoon 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

Please see below for full nutritional info and additional details about recipe:

• Calories - scroll down to nutritional info box
• WW Points and other Slimming or Weight Loss programs -   due to plans regularly changing and updating, we recommend calculating with the official tools you get as a member to those plans to ensure accuracy of values. 

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Recommended Products

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

• 
  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

Nutrition Information

Yield 8 Serving Size 1
Amount Per Serving Calories 227Total Fat 3gSaturated Fat 1gCholesterol 4mgSodium 614mgCarbohydrates 41gFiber 10gSugar 4gProtein 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.

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