Instant Pot Spinach Dal + Video
Apr 13, 2017, Updated Jan 02, 2018
Vegan Spinach Dal made in the instant pot. Enjoy with comforting dal with boiled rice!
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Instant Pot Spinach Dal – comforting spinach dal made in the instant pot. Enjoy it with boiled rice! Vegan & gluten-free.
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It finally feels like spring here. No it’s not been warm or super sunny but it’s been raining a little less and the sun has been shining a little more so I will take that as spring! At least it’s so much better than constant rain and grey skies. I have been working so much lately, actually the work load is the same it’s just that I am mentally exhausted these days (because of mom’s health) and you combine that with all the blog and house work? yep I am not even in a position to make dinner. So thank god for the instant pot, seriously it has made my life so easy and I am able to cook something for dinner even on days when I literally have no energy.
So the next recipe in the instant pot series is the Instant Pot Spinach Dal. I already have a spinach dal recipe on the blog and it’s actually quite a popular recipe so I thought I should share an instant pot version of it. And because you guys requested, I have also included a short video for this recipe. This spinach dal almost has a soup like consistency, that’s how we eat at our home. But if you don’t like it this cooked, simply reduce the cooking time by few minutes. I like this consistency best with plain rice, it’s so good!
This instant pot spinach dal is a simple recipe which comes together rather quickly. I have not used many ingredients or spices here and kept it simple. I really like simple dals without too much seasoning. Usually I always do a tadka (Indian word for adding tempering to food at the end) for most of my dal recipes before serving but since I was making this in the instant pot, I thought of skipping the tadka and actually make the entire thing in the instant pot. You may still do the tadka in the end, it will obviously make it more delicious but it’s completely optional.
For this spinach dal recipe, I used 2 kinds of lentils
– toor/arhar dal, also known as yellow pigeon peas lentils. These lentils are smaller in size than chana dal and are one of the most commonly used lentils in India. It’s made in my house 365 days a year, I kid you not!
– masoor dal, also know as red lentils.
You may also use a mix of toor and chana or use toor dal only. I personally feel using a mix of lentils results in a better taste. The dal is garnished with cilantro, garam masala and little lemon juice. Yes don’t forget the lemon juice, it really pops up the flavor. Here’s a quick video to show it’s all done in the instant pot. Hope you guys like it.
Method
Wash and rinse the dals. Set aside. Press saute mode on Instant Pot. Add oil and once it’s hot add cumin seeds and mustard seeds. Let them crackle.
Add chopped garlic, green chili and saute till the garlic starts turning golden brown in color.
Add chopped tomato and mix. Cook for a minute.
Then add chopped spinach and mix.
Add salt, turmeric powder and cook the spinach-tomato mixture for 1-2 minutes.
Now add the rinsed dal and give a stir.
Add water, mix and close the lid of the Instant Pot.
Cancel saute mode. Select manual and cook on high pressure for 10 minutes. Once 10 minutes are up, wait few minutes (6-7 minutes) and then release the pressure.
Adjust salt and add garam masala, cilantro and lemon juice. Also adjust consistency of the dal at this point.
Serve spinach dal hot with boiled rice!
* Adjust spice levels to taste. You may add more green chilies or red chili powder (cayenne) to spice it up.
Instant Pot Spinach Dal
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup toor dal also known split pigeon peas lentil
- 1/4 cup masoor dal also known as red lentil
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 3 garlic cloves chopped
- 1 green chili chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1/4 teaspoon mustard seeds
- 1 large tomato chopped
- 5 oz spinach chopped [ around 1.5 cups finely chopped spinach]
- 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1.5 cups water
- 1/4 teaspoon garam masala
- juice of 1/2 lemon
- salt to taste
- cilantro to garnish
Instructions
- Wash and rinse the dals. Set aside. Press saute mode on Instant Pot. Add oil and once it's hot add cumin seeds and mustard seeds. Let them crackle.
- Add chopped garlic, green chili and saute till the garlic starts turning golden brown in color.
- Add chopped tomato and mix. Cook for a minute.
- Then add chopped spinach and mix.
- Add salt, turmeric powder and cook the spinach-tomato mixture for 1-2 minutes.
- Now add the rinsed dal and give a stir.
- Add water, mix and close the lid of the Instant Pot.
- Cancel saute mode. Select manual and cook on high pressure for 10 minutes. Once 10 minutes are up, wait few minutes (6-7 minutes) and then release the pressure.
- Adjust salt and add garam masala, cilantro and lemon juice. Also adjust consistency of the dal at this point.
- Serve spinach dal hot with boiled rice!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Instant Pot Spinach Dal
I would love to make this! However, I do not have an instant pot. How can I make it conventionally?
https://www.cookwithmanali.com/spinach-dal/ cook the dal on stove-top until it’s completely cooked.
I just made this for the first time and am so happy. Is it okay to double this recipe, and if so, are there any special adjustments that should be made? I’ve never doubled anything in the Instant Pot before. Thanks for the recipe and for your help!
you can double it, I would cut down little on the water and use 1 & 1/2 times, you can always add more later. cooking time will remain same.
I love this so much. I’ve made it twice now with chard instead of spinach because it happens to be that time of year. I chopped up the stalks and added them at the same time as the tomatoes. Next time I’ll be making a double batch.
glad to hear!
Delicious! Came out with such a creamy texture, and the lemon really made a difference. Thank you so much, I will definitely make this again!
What a great recipe. Easy for weeknights and so delicious! Thank you for sharing this!
Have you tried making this daal when you add the spinach after the daal is pressure cooked? I feel that’s that it doesn’t overcook the spinach and retains most of it’s texture. I also add onions and skip tomatoes.
yes I do that often too
I like this so much I’ve made it twice in two days! I’ve doubled the recipe this second time and I did follow the recommendations of one of the previous commenters and added coriander.
This dal is simple, quick, delicious and is my new favourite.
I am a huge fan of Manali’s recipes! They are simple, fuss free, quick and healthy. This turned out to be soo good. Manali, please keep posting such easy and quick recipes.
Thanks so much DV! 🙂
This is one of my favorite recipes, I’ve made it several times & it never disappoints. Thank you for sharing your talents with/us Manali!!
Hi Manali,
I don’t have masoor dal, do I need to adjust anything if just using toor dal?
Thanks!
no follow the same recipe
I found some red lentils in the cupboard after all. Excellent recipe, thanks for sharing!
Omg loved this…made it for a second time…so delish
awesome!
Hi Manali. I cooked this recipe – it was delicious! Just one problem – the dal stuck to the bottom of the instant pot, like the temperature was too high? I’m new to the instant pot, perhaps you can tell me what I’m doing wrong?! Thank you!
maybe there’s some sensor issue with your Instant Pot. This dal has a lot of liquid and even if the bottom burnt with this recipe, then I am afraid all pasta, rice recipes will burn too. I make dal every week in IP and have never had anything stuck. I don’t think you did anything wrong if you followed the recipe, perhaps it’s just your IP.
Just made this and it was perfect!! I have tried to make multiple Indian dishes in the past and they never live up to the food I eat at Indian restaurants. This is an exception!! ??
yay 🙂
Love this simple spinach Dahl recipe. It’s delicious and is my go to recipe. Thanks minali
Absolutely amazing recipe!! I doubled the cumin seed and mustard seed since hubby likes the extra flavor. It was amazing with some rice! I’ll make it again for sure!
Can we use yellow split mung dal?
yes! cook for 5-6 minutes on high pressure with natural pressure release.
Thanks!
Hello! Found you on Pinterest. This looks yummy but I’d love to cook the dal on the stovetop. Can you give a timeline for that? Thanks and looking forward to making it this weekend!
I would follow the same recipe, except add spinach at the end. After adding the dal cook for 30-35 minutes on stove-top until the dal is cooked and soft. Then add the spinach and simmer 5 more minutes and then add the final garam masala, salt and cilantro.
What is the reason for adding garam masala after cooking the dal? Usually the spices are added during cooking.
Thank you.
there’s no rule in cooking 🙂 and spices like garam masala, kasuri methi, cardamom powder etc. are often added at the end..so that they can infuse maximum flavor before serving the dish. If you want, do add it while cooking the dal.
A new favorite! I didn’t have any green peppers, so I used verde salsa and it was perfect!
good to know!
Hi! I just stumbled across your blog and I am thankful I did. I made this recipe and it was so phenomenal, I ate the whole thing!! I was just missing the naan to go with it. It is a perfect recipe and I will be doubling it next time…tomorrow!!! Thank you!
I also bought your cookbook….I cannot wait!
I am so glad you enjoyed it and thanks for buying my cookbook! hope you enjoy that too!
Thank you for this recipe. It is so easy, delicious, and healthy. It is one of my favorite instant pot recipe ever!
Welcome Lynne! So glad to hear that 🙂
Today is the day. Cooking the rice now but I snuck a taste!! This is the best vegan restaurant in town.
Hope you enjoyed it!
This was awesome and super easy! And I’m usually no good at making daal, so really glad I found this recipe. Will try your other stuff too! Thanks so much.
glad to know! 🙂
This was so delicious I ate the whole lot!! Oops… :D. Thanks for a great and really easy recipe.
Welcome Chris! Glad you enjoyed it!
Trying this right now. Used kale because I had some that needed to be used. I’ll let you know.
hope you like it!
My grocery store only had green jalapenos. Should I usethese or wait to find thai green chilis?
its okay..you can use the jalapenos 🙂
how long should i rinse the daal for?
rinse like we usually do? couple of times to remove any particles/impurity.
Oh ok, so I don’t have to let it sit in water for a couple of hrs?
Oh ok, so I don’t have to let it sit in water for a couple of hrs?
Because usually when I make daal, I let the daal sit in water overnight
no, u have to rinse the dal (wash it) and not soak it… and every lentil is different..the lentils that I have used here do not require soaking..some lentils do…it depends on what you are cooking with…
oh ok. i tried making it and it came out delicious !! thanks for the recipe!
good to know Aisha!
What kind of chili pepper are you using?
thai green chilies..we get these at Indian grocery stores! regular grocery stores have it too sometimes..
Thanks. Very helpful. Going to try recipe today!
Wow this dish is delicious x made it on sat then on mon made it again but doubled the ingredients up added a touch more of the spices than recommended it was a real hit x thanks
Glad you liked!
Would using the oily toor daal work for this recipe?
what is oily toor dal Rupal? Yes toor dal will work, I am not sure about the oily part..
The producers add oil to the grain as some people add some oil while cooking dhal in a traditional stove top cooking, specially South Indians . It should not make any difference to the time or quality of instant pot cooking. Good luck
This daal came out so yummy! I adjusted a little by doubling each of the daals, using 2.5 cups of water, adding onions, 1 tsp of red chilli powder and 1 tsp of coriander powder. Even without doing a tadka it tasted so good! My husband and son loved it.
glad to hear Humera! 🙂
I love this one! So yummy and healthy and instant pot makes it easy!
one of my favorites too!
Yummy! I am not a huge spinach fan but I had a container that I needed to get rid of so I tried this recipe. It is was so good. I accidentally added onions but otherwise I followed the recipe as is. The lemon juice at the end is a must and next time I will probably add two hot peppers for an additional kick but this is definitely a keeper. Thank you!
Onions work very well in dal Sara, glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
Can just double the recipe or does it then require longer cooking time?
you can double the recipe, cooking time will remain same!
Can I use frozen spinach?
yes you may!
Made this tonight with frozen spinach and it was delicious! I added some coriander/cumin powder and Indian chili powder to enhance the flavors and it turned out wonderful. Thanks for the recipe!
great! 🙂
Yes, i will definitely get one.
This was very easy to make and so tasty. We’ll be making this again.
glad to know!
This was excellent – I added a little bit of tamarind concentrate to it to give a little sour taste (which I like), but otherwise followed the recipe and turned out great. Thank you for sharing!
welcome! Glad you enjoyed it Aparajit!
Hi Manali
My second time using my new instant pot and I made this…..it was utterly delicious! Thank you for sharing! I added fresh curry leaves together with the garlic etc, which add a lovely smokey flavor. The consistency and flavor were perfect! Very happy to have your wonderful recipe after my initial disappointing effort with my instant pot!! Great recipe ??
Wonderful! Glad you enjoyed it Justine!
Yes, my mouth is totally watering! This… is incredible! So pretty and festive.
Very nice and simple recipe Instant Pot Spinach Dal I tried it and it came out superb…thanx
http://www.rakhiinindia.in/
Welcome, glad you liked.
I am trying this today. I am not much of a cook so I am thankful for people like you who take the time to develop wonderful recipes. I have mostly used my Instant Pot for just rice and potatoes so I am excited to try this today. Just happened to have a bag of spinach in the frig so it was perfect timing to come across this recipe. Hoping it turns out as wonderful as it sounds so I can make it once a week. I have a feeling it is going to be a favorite.
Hope you enjoyed it Cheri 🙂
Thank you for the recipe! This was good but the spinach got pretty overcooked & slimy – Next time I will stir it in at the end so that it stays fresh and green and only lightly cooked. Otherwise the recipe was great!
Glad you liked!
This look so delish. I LOVE daal and can’t wait to try it with the spinach. Thanks for sharing!
Looking forward to trying this recipe, I never thought of mixing different type of lentils… sounds like a good tip!
Very delicious! Even the kids liked it!
Thanks for the recipe!
You are welcome! 🙂 Happy to hear you guys enjoyed it!
Can this be done in a slow cooker with the same results?
I think it should work Sarah! but maybe put spinach towards the end and not in the beginning while using the slow cooker.