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Lentil Veggie Dhansak Recipe. Dal and vegetables cooked with spices. Parsi dhansak Recipe. Make this dal dhansak in Instant Pot Pressure Cooker or in a Saucepan. Serve over rice or flatbread or garlic bread. Vegan Gluten-free Soyfree Nut-free Indian Recipe.
Dhansak /dansak /dhan saak is an Indian dish from the Parsi community. It has various regional adaptations. It combines elements of Persian and Gujarati cuisine (cuisine of the state of Gujarat). Dhansak generally is made by cooking some meat with a mixture of lentils and vegetables, while the vegetarian version uses just lentils and veggies.
Dhansak can be simply spiced to retain the flavors of the vegetables or lentils, or can be flavored with various spices. It is often served over caramelized onion rice (rice cooked with caramelized onions). This version is a simply spiced dhansak with a combination of lentils, vegetables and greens. Use any vegetables in this amazing dish.
Flexible to your palate and a delicious 1 Pot meal. Perfect to use up the assorted seasonal veggies and greens and so flavorful. Make it in an Instant Pot or in a saucepan, but definitely make this simple, delicious and nutritious meal! The fresh raw ginger and chile in the lentils and veggies make it a different and fresh flavored stew.
Dhan means grains and Saak/Shak means vegetables. This Vegetable Dal curry is served over brown rice, which is rice cooked with caramelized onion. To make the rice, caramelize an onion with 1 tsp oil, 1 tsp sugar and a pinch of salt. Add rice, water, salt and bay leaf and cook the rice until done to preference. The version in the pictures has only a few fenugreek leaves for the greens which are mixed in, hence all the prominent yellow dal.
If you make this, do let me know in the comments how it worked for you and also rate the recipe.
More 1 pot Veggie Meals from the blog
- Kohlapuri Veggies – Veggies in sesame coonut sauce
- Mushroom Matar Masala
- Bombay Potato and Peas
- Tofu in Spinach Curry – Saag Tofu
Veggie Lentil Dhansak Instant Pot
Ingredients
Dal and Veggies:
- 3/4 cup total split dals, combination of red lentils(masoor dal and yellow lentils(mung dal) or toor and moong dal)
- 2 cups chopped vegetables (heaped), such as cauliflower, eggplant, zuchhini, opo squash, pumpkin, sweet potato, broccoli etc)
- 1 cup packed chopped greens, such as spinach, fresh fenugreek leaves, mustard leaves, chard or amaranth
- 1 tbsp minced ginger
- 4 cloves of garlic minced
- 1 hot green chile minced
- 1/2 tsp turmeric
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 tsp dhana jeera powder* , or 1/2 tsp garam masala + 1/2 tsp coriander powder + a good pinch of ground cloves
Tempering:
- 1 tsp oil
- 3/4 tsp mustard seeds
- 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
- 1/2 cup chopped onion (heaped)
- 3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
- 1/2 tsp garam masala, or more as needed
Instructions
- Soak the dals for 15 mins to half hour. Drain and combine in a pressure cooker/Instant pot with the vegetables, and the rest of the ingredients under Dals and Veggies(ginger, garlic, spices)and 2.5 to 3 cups water. Cook for 3 minutes on manual (high pressure). Let the pressure release naturally.
- Meanwhile, make the tempering. Heat oil in a small skillet over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add mustard and cumin seeds and let them start to pop. Add onion and garlic and cook until golden, stirring occasionally. (a heavy bottom pan, a good pinch of salt and stirring at regular intervals gives an even golden onion). Add garam masala and mix in .
- Once the pressure has released, open the lid. At this point you can mash the veggies and lentils for a more traditional version..
- Mix in half the tempering into the lentil vegetable mixture in the Instant Pot. Taste and adjust salt and heat(cayenne). Add more salt and garam masala if needed. Garnish with the remaining half tempering, cilantro and lemon juice and serve.
- Serve with rice, flatbread, toasted bread or garlic bread, garlic naan and kachumbar salad (cucumber tomato onion salad).
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Do you mince the garlic and ginger or add them whole?
“1 tbsp minced ginger
4 cloves of garlic minced”
Can this be made without an instant pot? If it can, how long do you cook it for?
Yes, See the recipe notes section for saucepan instructions.
Every time I cook one of your recipes for the 1st time I think it’s the best one yet. Every time I prove myself wrong 🙂 Just had a bowl of this delicious veggie lentil dhansak and decided this was the winner! Thankfully I made double the amount. Thanks Richa ❤️
thank you for this wonderful note! I am glad the recipes turn out well and impressive 🙂
For doubling the recipe, how much time and liquid? I know from another one of your instant pot recipes with lentils you had 1.5x the water rather than double, but just wanted to be sure. Thanks!
yes double everything except water. 1.5x should be good. if its too thick, you can add in some water while still hot when you open the lid.
perfect, thanks for the super fast response! just got an instant pot and am making this tonight (right now actually!). Thanks again–your recipes are fantastic!!!
Delicious i want to make it.
My whole family loved this dish! We tripled the recipe because there are 5 of us, and it made a ton of food! We used eggplant, broccoli and carrots plus spinach for our leafy green. It was so good, we are already planning to have it again next week with a different combination of veggies! I love how easy and versatile this recipe is!! Thank you!
I forgot to mention, my kids are 12, 6 and 1 &1/2, and the all devoured this dish! My non-vegan husband loved it too!
i too found this very bland i’m afraid no depth to flavours – sorry ! i did in pan as dont have pressure cooker but i have cooked better and with a better tempeh to be honest – sorry i normally really like ur stuff 🙁
maybe it needed more salt and garam masala? i usually use less garam masala coz mine is sometimes too potent.
Oh wait, where is the salt? lol. i forgot to add it with the lentils no wonder. Updating now. Salt always brings all the flavors together. the salt amount makes or breaks the recipe!
Sorry about the missed salt. Hope the salt and spice fixed it when you made it. Thanks for catching it!
Thanks for the recipe! I made this tonight, and while the flavors were very good, it ended up being overcooked. I followed the Instant Pot directions exactly. Is it because I doubled the recipe? Or maybe because I have the newest model? I cooked it for 3 minutes on high pressure mode.
It could be because of doubling. Double-ed up the pressure would take longer to reach adding the extra time before the counting starts. Were the veggies very over cooked or just the lentils?
Both were over cooked 🙁
Try 1 minute with a quick release with the larger quantity. The food starts cooking while the pressure is building and longer pressure building time is what might have cooked the veggies and the lentils.
If you are doubling or tripling the recipe how do you adjust cooking? New to using the Insta Pot! Made one of your recipes so far and loved it.
Cooking time for manual stays the same. the IP will take longer to come to pressure and that automatically adds some extra time. everything else is doubled except water. You want to start with 1.5x water. If the dish comes out too thick, just add some more water while it is still hot when you open the lid.
An excellent recipe for my daughter, The Pure Doctor out of Costa Rica.