Sabut Moong Dal (Creamy Green Mung beans)
Sabut Moong Dal - a delicious creamy North Indian dal made with green mung beans in the Instant Pot with green mung beans simmered in a fragrant tomato coconut milk sauce flavored with aromatic Indian spices. Serve with rice or flatbread for a comforting meal. Gluten-free Soyfree Nutfree
Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup green mung beans (sabut moong) soaked for at least two hours
- 1 teaspoon oil or use a few tablespoons water to sauté
- 1/2 cup chopped onion
- 2 cloves of garlic finely chopped
- 1 hot green chili finely chopped
- 1-2 teaspoons garam masala or berbere or Madras curry powder
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne or Indian red chili powder. You can use more if you'd like more heat
- 1/4 cup canned tomato puree or you can use 2 fresh tomatoes pureed.
- 14 oz can full-fat coconut milk or use cashew milk or water
- 1 cup water (use 1 1/2 cup if your instant pot is prone to burn error)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- cilantro , lemon juice/ lime juice and pepper flakes for garnish
Instructions
- Wash and soak your moong beans if you haven't already then drain and set aside.
- Turn the Instant Pot on Saute mode at high and add the oil. Once the oil is hot add the onion, garlic, green chili, and a good pinch of salt and cook until the onion is golden, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir occasionally. Also deglaze occasionally if needed by adding a 1-2 teaspoons of water.
- Once golden, add in the spices and mix well. Cook for another 15 seconds. Then add in the tomato puree, drained moong beans, water, coconut milk, and salt, and stir to mix in.
- (If using fresh tomato puree, add just the tomato puree after adding the spices and cook for 2 to 3 minutes until it comes to a good boil then add in the moong beans, coconut milk, and water and mix in.)
- Mix really well to pick up any stuck bits, and switch off Saute mode. Close the lid and pressure cook for 35 minutes or bean mode for 35 minutes. I like to use the bean mode because sometimes the beans are pretty old and they take a much longer time to cook on regular pressure cook mode. (For less soft beans, pressure cook 20 mins.)
- Let the pressure release naturally then open the lid, stir and mash some of the moong beans using a spatula, mashing them on the sides of the inner pot. Taste and adjust salt and flavor. If the dal is too thick, you can add in some more water and mix in while the dal is still hot. Remove the dal from the instant pot and garnish with cilantro and lemon juice and serve with rice, quinoa, naan, or flat bread.
Video
Notes
- Stove top: Follow the first 4 steps with a large saucepan over medium heat. Add another 1.5 cups water, then partially cover and cook for 45-50 mins. Stir occasionally and mash some of the beans when they are done to preference.
- To make it coconut free you can use a mix of any other non-dairy milk and two tablespoons of non-dairy yogurt for additional thickening.
- You can also make this without any additional added non-dairy milk. Just use water instead of coconut milk. So you'll use two cups of water in total.
- You can make this oil-free. Use water to sauté and also add 1/4-1/2 cup more water
- Dals are usually overcooked so that they are soft and mushy, and that can sometimes cause the dal at the bottom to scorch and give a burn signal depending on your Instant Pot (some can be very sensitive or heat unevenly ). Add 1/2 cup more water if yours is generally more sensitive
- No onion garlic: Use zucchini instead of onion and add 1/2 teaspoon fenugreek leaves or 1/8 teaspoon fenugreek seed powder instead of garlic
- Other lentils: You can use other Dals here as well. Brown lentils will take 16-18 mins pressure cook time. Green lentils 20 mins. Whole Urad(black matpe beans) 40 mins. Chana Dal 35-40 mins. Chickpeas(soaked overnight) 45-50 mins
Nutrition
Calories: 182kcal | Carbohydrates: 31g | Protein: 10g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Sodium: 341mg | Potassium: 553mg | Fiber: 8g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 165IU | Vitamin C: 6mg | Calcium: 95mg | Iron: 3mg