Restaurant style Dal Takda cooked in the Instant Pot come together quickly in under 30 minutes. Sharing the secret tadka that sets this dal tadka apart from the other yellow dal. Cooked effortlessly for a complete flavor meal.
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It was until a few years ago that I didn't know that yellow dal and dal tadka were different. When I was talking to my mom about testing this recipe that's when she explained to me the magic tadka, that transforms simple dal into restaurant style dal tadka.
My son loves a good Dal Tadka, he got hooked onto it form the Indian restaurants so now, I use my Instant Pot to make this dal. It's quick, flavorful, and oh so convenient. In this post, I'll share my easy recipe and tips to make restaurant-style dal tadka at home.
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Ingredients
See recipe card for quantities, here is just a gist of ingredients.
- Dals - You will need arhar (toor) or yellow split mung dal to make this dal tadka. It's important to wash the dal thoroughly until the water runs clear. This ensures there is no mucky foam once the dal is pressure cooked. I also prefer to soak the dals as it aids digestion however if time is crunched, and you cannot soak the dal, just add a couple extra minutes during pressure cooking.
- Tempering - You will be tempering this dal twice once in the beginning in the pot and will finish it off with another tadka just before serving.
- Produce - you will need fresh produce like onions, tomatoes, ginger, garlic, green chillies, cilantro and lemon juice.
- Spices - you will need the staple, turmeric, red chili powder, cumin, whole red chillies, coriander powder, amchur, garam masala, asafoetida.
How to make Dal Takda and Pot-in-Pot Rice in Instant Pot
- I always rinse and soak the yellow dals (toor & moong dal) until I am prepping the other ingredients.
- Turn on Instant Pot in sauté mode; heat ghee or oil.
- Add the onions, ginger, garlic and green chili paste & spices and sauté until fragrant.
- Add chopped tomatoes and salt; cook until soft and the oil seperates
- Add soaked dal and water, stir.
- Close the lid, seal the vent & pressure cook on high for 6 minutes (I add 2 more minutes if dal is not soaked well)
- I allow the pressure to release naturally for 5 minutes, then quick release remaining pressure.
- Prepare tadka (tempering) separately: heat ghee, add cumin seeds, asafoetida, ginger garlic an dgreen chili paste, the spices again, dried red chilies, red chili powder; fry briefly.
- Pour hot tadka over cooked dal, garnish with chopped cilantro and optionally squeeze some lemon juice.
- Serve dal and rice hot together for a complete, flavorful meal.
How to serve Dal Tadka
My favorite way to enjoy Dal tadka is with Air Fryer Kurkuri Bhindi or Aloo Gobi, along with Lassi.
Common Mistakes & How to Avoid Them
Final thoughts
Dal tadka is my go-to comfort food, it's what I crave after having dals on rotation. My family loves it too. With just a bit of planning and the right tricks, you can nail this iconic, restaurant-style flavor in your own kitchen. Give it a shot and let me know how it turns out, trust me, your family will want seconds!
Related
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
Restaurant Style Dal Tadka Instant Pot Recipe
Servings:
servingsCalories:
Ingredients
For cooking the Dal
- 1 cup toor / arhar
- 1 cup yellow hulled mung dal
- 1 cup tomatoes diced
- ½ cup onions diced
- 3 tablespoon ghee / oil / butter
- 1 teaspoon asafoetida / hing
- 2 tablespoon ginger garlic green chili paste grated
- 1.5 teaspoon coriander powder
- ½ teaspoon cumin powder
- ½ teaspoon dry mango powder / amchur
- 1 teaspoon dried fenugreek leaves / kasuri methi
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro
- 3 cups water
Final Tempering
- 1 tablespoon ghee / oil / butter
- ½ teaspoon asafoetida / hing
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 2 whole dried red chillies
- ½ teaspoon red chilly powder
- ½ tsp turmeric
- ½ teaspoon red chili powder
- 1 teaspoon coriander powder
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
Instructions
- I always rinse and soak the yellow dals (toor & moong dal) until I am prepping the other ingredients.
- Turn on Instant Pot in sauté mode; heat ghee or oil.
- Add the onions, ginger, garlic and green chili paste & spices and sauté until fragrant.
- Add chopped tomatoes and salt; cook until soft and the oil seperates
- Add soaked dal and water, stir.
- Close the lid, seal the vent & pressure cook on high for 6 minutes (I add 2 more minutes if dal is not soaked well)
- I allow the pressure to release naturally for 5 minutes, then quick release remaining pressure.
- Prepare tadka (tempering) separately: heat ghee, add cumin seeds, asafoetida, ginger garlic an dgreen chili paste, the spices again, dried red chilies, red chili powder; fry briefly.
- Pour hot tadka over cooked dal, garnish with chopped cilantro and optionally squeeze some lemon juice.
- Serve dal and rice hot together for a complete, flavorful meal.
Football prediction software says
LOL, finally someone explained the mystical power of tadka that Ive always vaguely worshipped! This Instant Pot magic is *chefs kiss* – making both dal and rice seems almost too convenient. Though my kitchen might look less organized than the authors, Im definitely stealing the pot-in-pot rice trick, maybe skipping the soaking just to see if instant karma hits. Cant wait to try this and see if my family develops second helpings... or just second glances at the pot! #KitchenConfessions
Pavithra says
Absolute keeper! Comes out great every time!