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5 from 29 votes

Instant Pot Dal Bukhara

Instant Pot Dal Bukhara - try this easy creamy black lentils made in the Instant Pot using my dump and done method. A rich, slow-cooked whole black gram curry recipe made with tomato puree, vegan butter and vegan cream. Gluten-free Soyfree , easily Nutfree
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time1 hour
Soak time8 hours
Total Time9 hours 10 minutes
Course: Main
Cuisine: Indian
Servings: 6
Author: Vegan Richa

Ingredients

For the dal:

  • 1 cup whole urad (black gram lentils/black matpe beans), soaked overnight or atleast 4 hours. You can also use mung beans instead, see recipe notes for other lentil cooking time
  • 2 1/2 cups water
  • 1/4 teaspoon turmeric
  • 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds crushed (preferably toasted)
  • 1 inch ginger minced
  • 1 teaspoon smoked paprika or Kashmiri chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon garam masala use less or more to preference
  • 1/8 teaspoon asafoetida or hing see recipe notes for substitutes
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried fenugreek leaves kasoori methi
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 cup tomato puree

For adding later:

  • 3/4 cup tomato puree(canned) or unseasoned tomato sauce/passata.
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried fenugreek leaves
  • 1 tablespoon vegan butter
  • 1/4-1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika (see notes for other smoky options)
  • 1/4 cup non-dairy cream such as cashew cream or non dairy yogurt use coconut cream or coconut yogurt for Nutfree.
US Customary - Metric

Instructions

  • Oil the instant pot in the bottom because some pots can heat up unevenly and the lentils might stick.
  • Then add all of the dal ingredients to the pot and mix well. Close the lid and pressure cook at bean mode at high pressure for 50 minutes or pressure cook at pressure cook mode at 50 minutes.
  • Let the pressure release naturally then open the lid. Add in the tomato puree, salt, fenugreek leaves, optional smoked paprika and butter and mix well.
  • Start saute and keep cooking until the mixture comes to a boil. Then add in the non-dairy cream or yogurt and mix in.
  • Let it simmer for another minute. Mash some of the beans using your spatula. Mash them between the spatula and the side of the pot.  Taste and adjust salt and flavor switch off the saute.
  • If the consistency is not thick enough then you can saute for a few more minutes. Usually, this dal gets really thick after sitting so you want to keep a little bit of liquid in the dal. Or if you want it to be thinner, you can add some water or non-dairy milk and continue sauteing to bring it to a boil.
  • Then remove the inner pot from the instant pot so that the dal doesn't stick to the bottom plate which is going to stay hot even after you switched off the saute.
  • Serve it topped with some more non-dairy cream and cilantro and pepperflakes. A dash of lemon juice also goes well with the dal. Serve with roti, Naan, flatbread (regular or glutenfree) or rice or even garlic bread.
  • Storage: Store refrigerated for upto 3 days. Freeze for upto 2 months.

Video

Notes

  • Love this recipe? Get my instant pot book!!
  • For brown or green lentils, pressure cook on bean mode for 25 minutes. For mung beans or beluga lentils, pressure cook 40 minutes. For small beans like adzuki, pressure cook 40 minutes.
  • Oil-free : omit the oil and butter.
  • Toast the cumin seeds on a skillet until fragrant and then crush and use. This is optional. You can just add untoasted seeds or use 3/4 teaspoon ground cumin. 
  • Stovetop saucepan: cook the lentils with the ingredients listed and 4 cups water for 1 hour or longer, partially covered, until lentils are tender to preference. Then follow the rest of the recipe for adding the remaining ingredients and mashing the dal while mixing 
  • Urad comes in 3 forms. The whole lentil/bean(Sabut Urad), split lentil with skin(Urad dal Chilka) and split without skin(white Urad dal). Most lentils and beans come in these 3 formats in Indian stores. You can see in the pictures that the recipe uses whole version. Depending on the shop they use English naming differently - black lentils or Indian black beans or black matpe beans.
    You can use the split version in the recipe as well, just pressure cook for 11 minutes.
  • Stovetop pressure cooker: Pressure cook with 3 cups of water over medium heat for 15 minutes then medium low for 10-20 minutes. 
  • Add more smoky ness: toast regular paprika or fenugreek leaves on a skillet until toasty then add in. 
  • Tomato purée: I use canned tomato purée here. If you are using fresh tomatoes, purée them and cook in a skillet for 6-8 mins to thicken and then use 
This is a no onion garlic recipe. If you want to add onion and garlic, you can add in the beginning before adding the dal ingredients. Saute the onion and garlic a little bit and then add in all of the dal ingredients and then continue with the pressure cook process.
Hing ( asafeetida) substitute: hing is used as a garlic substitute. If you don't have any hing, just omit it. There's enough flavor in the dal even without it. You can add in a teaspoon of miso instead to keep it onion garlic free or add garlic. 

Nutrition

Calories: 142kcal | Carbohydrates: 20g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 330mg | Potassium: 226mg | Fiber: 8g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 490IU | Vitamin C: 6mg | Calcium: 46mg | Iron: 4mg