Bengali Style Masoor Dal with Mixed Vegetables | Instant Pot Recipe

Bengali Style Masoor Dal with Mixed Vegetables | Instant Pot Recipe

Author: Rumki Paul
Course: Main
Cuisine: Bengali
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes
Total time: 25 minutes
Servings: 4-5 Persons

Bengali Style Masoor Dal with Mixed Vegetables is a popular and reliable Dal recipes of Bengal. It is an instant pot recipe and super easy to cook. In this Dal recipe, Masoor dal is cooked with different ranges of vegetables and greens in minimal spice and mustard oil. It is a very healthy recipe which has the nutrients of lentils with the goodness of vegetables.

Though it is a no onion no garlic recipes but still it tastes marvellous and reduces the effort of preparation too. You would not need to drop your tears in cutting the Onions to prepare this dal. It is a pure comfort dish which is prepared in most of the houses all throughout the year.

This Masoor dal recipe is one of those recipes that I learnt from one of my north Indian friends when I was in Bengaluru. When I prepared this dal for the first time, my family loved it. We usually pair up this dal with steamed Basmati rice and Aloo Bhaji.

Masoor dal

Masoor dal (Red Lentils) is one of the most frequently used lentils in every house in India. It is one of the very easily adaptable dals to our regular diet. There are many delicious recipes that are prepared with this healthy lentil like pakodas, dahl, sukhi sabji and many more. In fact, I have already shared many recipes with this lentil like Pyaj Diye Masoor Dal, Boiled Red Lentils Soup, Vegetable Dalia Khichdi etc.

Red Lentil Dahl – Advantages of the dish

Bengali Style Masoor Dal with Mixed Vegetables with step by step photos and instructions has been provided in the ‘Instructions’ section of the recipe. But before directly jumping into the recipe, let me share few interesting facts about this dal and the recipe.

Benefits of Masoor dal

How to cook Red Lentils – For the recipe?

The Masoor Dal Recipe is cooked in Mustard oil. To get the authentic Bengali aroma, Bengalis generally cook it in Mustard oil which cannot be achieved using any other oil.

I have used Nigella seeds for tempering of this dish. This spice is very important for the flavouring of the dish. I have not used any ground spice other than Turmeric powder. I have added chopped Cilantros and mustard oil after switching off the flame. It gives a nice kick of flavours to the dish.

In this Masoor Dal Recipe, I have used Potatoes, Carrots, Brinjal, Spinach and green Chillies. All these vegetables make the dal healthier and yummier.

Masoor dal gets cooked very quickly so there is no need to soak the dal in water for a long time. You can directly wash and clean the dal before use.

It is an instant pot recipe and I have prepared this dal in pressure cooker for saving time. If you prefer Kadai to prepare dal then you can also use Kadai for this dal.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Masoor dal (Red Lentils)
• 1 large Potato, medium pieces
• 1 Aubergine or Eggplant, large pieces
• 1 Carrot, medium pieces
• 1 cup Spinach, chopped (Fresh or frozen)
• 2 green Chillies
• 2 tablespoons Cilantro, chopped
• ½ teaspoon Nigella seeds (Kalonji)
• 1 teaspoon Turmeric powder
• Salt to taste
• Mustard oil for cooking
• 2 ½ cups of Water, to pressure cook the dal
• ½ cup of water, to dilute the dal (Quantity may vary according to preferred consistency)

1. Wash the dal thoroughly until the bubbles go away and the water becomes clear.
2. Drain the water and keep the dal aside.
   

3. Put the pressure cooker on flame and let it become dry.
4. Add 1 ½ tablespoon Mustard oil into the pressure cooker in high flame.
5. Once the oil is hot, add Nigella seeds.
   

6. Sauté them for few seconds until they crackle.
7. Add Potatoes and Carrots and mix them well.
   

8. Cook them in medium flame for a minute. Stir in between if required.
9. Add Aubergine, green Chillies and give a nice mix.
   

10. Cook them in medium flame for another minute.
11. Add Spinach and mix it well.
    

12. Add the dal (Step 2) into the cooker and mix it properly.
    

13. Add Salt, Turmeric powder and give a nice stir.
    

14. Cook them in low flame for 30 seconds.
15. Add 2 ½ cups of water into the cooker and give a nice stir.
    

16. Cook it in low medium flame for 1-2 whistles.
17. Let the pressure settle down, take off the lid.
18. Stir the dal, add ½ cup of water if the consistency of the dal is too thick.
19. Let the dal cook for another 2 minutes in high flame until it simmers.
20. Switch off the flame and put the cooker down.
21. Pour 1 teaspoon Mustard oil and sprinkle some chopped Cilantros over the top.