A comforting bowl of yellow lentils! Toor dal is an everyday lentil dish that can be made quickly and easily in an Instant Pot.
Instant Pot Yellow Lentils
This dal is so flavorful and comforting! Spiced yellow lentils make for a quick and easy dal recipe, perfect for a weeknight or when you don’t have much time to prepare dinner. As long as you’ve got yellow lentils (toor dal) in the pantry and onion masala in the fridge (or freezer), then you can prepare this in an Instant Pot in around thirty minutes, with the majority of that time being hands-off.
What is Toor Dal?
The type of lentil used in this dal has many names, but it is most commonly known as toor dal. These lentils are known as split pigeon peas (yellow lentils) in English. This type of lentil is prevalent in Indian cooking, used in north and south India – but primarily south. It’s the lentil known for being in Sambar, a delicious south Indian tamarind vegetable stew.
Ingredients for Toor Dal (Spiced Yellow Lentil Recipe)
- Split Pigeon Peas (Toor Dal)
- Spices: cumin seeds, salt, garam masala
- Serrano or Green Chilli
- Onion Masala: make this masala in advance and use it to make many of my recipes quickly!
- Cilantro
How to Make Instant Pot Toor Dal
Heat up some oil, add cumin seeds and green chili and cook until the cumin is brown and fragrant. Then pour the rest of the ingredients into the pot and cook! That’s it! Thanks to Onion Masala, you can have this dal done in no time at all!
Do you need to soak yellow lentils?
Because they are a split legume, they cook quickly and call for a short soak time. You can get away without soaking these lentils, but if you’ve read my other dal posts, you know I typically suggest soaking lentils because I find it helps with digestion. To each their own 🙂
Serving Suggestions for Toor Dal Recipe (How to Eat Toor Dal? What to Eat with it?)
Serve this simple dal with a side of rice and achar, Indian pickle. Here are some ideas:
Toor Dal Recipe – Instant Pot Spiced Yellow Lentils
Toor Dal Recipe – Instant Pot Spiced Yellow Lentils
Ingredients
- 1 cup split pigeon peas toor dal, soaked 15-20 mins
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 serrano or green chilli slit in half but still intact
- ½ cup frozen or fresh/thawed onion masala (click here for recipe)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon garam masala
- 3 cups water
- Cilantro garnish
Instructions
- Soak the lentils in cold water for 15-20 minutes. Drain, rinse and set aside.
- Press the sauté button, add the oil and allow it to heat up for a minute. Add the cumin seeds and serrano pepper to the pot. Once the cumin seeds brown, add the remaining ingredients to the pot.
- Secure the lid, close the pressure valve and cook for 7 minutes at high pressure.
- Naturally release pressure (or wait 15 minutes, then release remaining pressure)
- Garnish with cilantro and serve.
Video
Notes
- This recipe is part of my onion masala series – be sure to check it out!
- If you have frozen cubes of onion masala, just toss those in – no need to thaw them first.
- This dal will thicken as it cools. When you warm up leftovers, you may need to add water or stock to thin it out on the stovetop.
Malcolm says
We made this today and we really enjoyed it
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
Malcom, I’m so glad to hear that! Thanks for letting me know how much you liked this 🙂
Sonya says
This is so good! I make it all the time and freeze it for lunches. Thanks!
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
Sonya, that’s so great to hear! Thanks for letting me know how much you like this 🙂
Anu says
Thank you for the recipe! I use instant pot without issues all the time but for some reason my lentils also turn out uncooked even after 30-40 mins, even after I soak for 5-10 mins. Any advice for me?
My Heart Beets says
Hi Anu, yeah something is definitely up – toor dal should be well cooked in that amount of time. My thoughts: perhaps the pot was not sealed well? Otherwise, it could be that the beans are very old – have you successfully been able to use them in other cases?
Debbie says
Thank you for this onion masala make ahead method and list of recipes. I’ve made several batches of masal Anschluss several recipes with much success. However, you’re site hasn’t become so littered with ads that using your site has become a major exercise in frustration. Ads and the instant video pop up make the site ver user unfriendly. I sure hope you’ll clean it up so I can get back to using it.
My Heart Beets says
Thanks, Debbie. I’ll email my ad company to see what’s going on, I appreciate you letting me know.
Janine says
Thank you for this recipe! We make it every few weeks, usually a double batch, and my daughter and I eat it throughout the week for lunch. The onion masla is made and I always keep extra in the freezer to make it easy. The only change I made was to use dried chili’s (I use two) cut in half instead of the fresh Serrano pepper.
My Heart Beets says
Janine, I’m so happy to hear that! Thanks for letting me know how much you like this dal 🙂
Jax says
Hi ashley love your recipes. However I tried to make this with toor dal and it turned out brown not yellow. What could I have done wrong please?
Nirva says
I made this last week for my family – it turned out fantastic. Thank you for an amazing recipe!
My Heart Beets says
Nirva, I’m so happy to hear that 🙂 Thanks for letting me know how this turned out for you and your fam!
Andie Early says
I don’t have whole cumin seeds. I’ve been putting off my trip to the store… Can I use ground cumin seeds or does it really have to be whole for this recipe?
My Heart Beets says
Andie, personally, I’d suggest waiting until you have whole cumin seeds – the flavor they add once browned is different than ground cumin imo.
Aly Khan Merali says
Hey Ashley,
I’ve made this twice in the last two weeks and it’s honestly delicious. I added 3 hot peppers cause I love spicy food. Are there any additional things that I could add to the dal to add even more flavor? Like how would adding extra garam masala or something else affect the recipe? I would do it myself but I’d rather not make 4 servings of dal for myself that tastes worse than what you’ve already prescribed and just ask if you have any suggestions.
By the way, this site saves my life being a student!
Thanks
Aly Khan
My Heart Beets says
Hi Aly! I’m so happy to hear that you like this dal so much! If you want to add even more flavor, try adding a tadka! Just heat up some ghee in a small pot, then add some aromatics to it (whole cumin seeds, sliced garlic, red chili powder, a pinch of hing/asofetida) and pour this ghee (along with the spices) right over the dal before serving. It’s a bit more work but a great way to spice up dal!
Kaur says
Would I be able to use Trader Joe’s red lentils for this recipe?
My Heart Beets says
I’m sure that would be fine – it’ll have a different flavor though.
veronica bellotti says
This was delishious!! I had made some Parathas to go with your Butter Chicken and so thought Id make the Dal too.Iv just had a bowl of it now with a couple of Parathas as I couldnt wait till tomorrow to eat with curry with my son daughter and son in law.
My Heart Beets says
Veronica, I’m so happy to hear that! Thanks for letting me know how it turned out for you 🙂
Kim says
I made this for a potluck and everyone loved it and some Indian friends even said it tasted authentic. I ended up adding 1/3 teaspoon of sherry vinegar which rounded the flavors out a bit. Thank you for the great recipe. It’s very easy to make and very satisfying to eat.
My Heart Beets says
Kim, that’s awesome to hear! Thank you for letting me know how it turned out for you 🙂
nic says
can i do on stove top as dont have an instant pot ? and can i do onion masala on stove too- appreciate
it will take longer !
My Heart Beets says
Yes you can definitely do it on the stovetop it will just take longer 🙂
Ritika S says
Does cooking time reduce if you span the lentil longer? I heard you should soak overnight?
Jessica S says
I made this recipe and love it! The peas just weren’t as soft as I think they are supposed to be. Perhaps o need to cook longer? Once cooked, I waited 15 min to release the pressure valve. Also, now that it’s cooked I’d like to make it a little more spicy. What can I add to the recipe to do that after it has already been made? I’m a total newbie to cooking. Thank you so much! I LOVE your site and your recipes have all be amazing!!!
My Heart Beets says
Jessica, so glad you love it! To make it spicier just add more cayenne – I almost always add cayenne to my hubby’s bowl because he likes his food much spicier than I like mine. That’ll do the trick 🙂 You can also always add chopped serrano pepper too!
Drew Peacock says
so easy, so good. I doubled up the spices cause that’s how i roll, my girlfriend went for a second serving and said she had to stop eating before she got sick from eating too much 😀
My Heart Beets says
Drew, happy to hear that you and your gf liked the dal 🙂 also, I like how you roll lol! glad y’all liked it!
Shalu says
Made this last week, along with the onion masala. It was a hit with the whole family! Going to try your other recipes!! Thank you!
My Heart Beets says
Shalu, so happy to hear that! I can’t wait to hear what you/your fam think of my other recipes!
Laura says
I made your onion masala yesterday and was eager to try this out. This dal came together so quickly and was mild but flavorful. We’ll definitely be adding this to our regular meal rotation!
My Heart Beets says
Laura, that’s so great to hear! I’m so glad you liked the dal 🙂 Can’t wait to hear what you think of any other onion masala recipes that you try!
Tp says
Hi! When do you throw in the onion masala? Before you pressure cook?
My Heart Beets says
Yes – in step 2 where I say to add all remaining ingredients – add it then. Let me know what you think of the dal! 🙂
Dalbir says
I substituted masoor dal since that’s what I had and OMG this turned out really well. I had a houseguest and they kept asking for seconds!! And so easy and quick to make – thank you!!
My Heart Beets says
Dalbir, that’s great to hear!! So glad you made this and thanks for letting me know how it turned out for you 🙂
jrh0 says
Delicious and quick to make with the onion masala. Only additional thing I did was use the stick blender in the dal after done. Will try another onion masala recipe soon!
My Heart Beets says
So happy to hear that! 🙂 Let me know what you think of any other recipes that you try!
Miss Conduct says
Years ago cans of ranch-style beans had a picture of a man smiling and licking his lips with the caption “husband-pleasin.” (Not sure when that went away–at least 25 years ago.) Michelle is right, very easy to make and tastes just like it does at an Indian restaurant. Husband is still at work, but I predict when he gets home this one will be Husband Pleasin’. Just found this blog searching for Instant Pot recipes. Thanks so much for the onion masala! I will be using it a lot.
My Heart Beets says
Haha, I am so glad to hear that you like it so much! And hope your hubby loved it too! Can’t wait to hear what you think of any other recipes that you try 🙂
Michelle says
This is very easy to make once you have the onion masala and it tastes just like yellow dal at the restaurant.
My Heart Beets says
Michelle, I just read your other comment – so glad you made the masala and then made this toor dal with it! Thank you for letting me know how it turned out for you 🙂