Instant Pot Dal Tadka Recipe with Pot in Pot rice

1. Thoroughly wash the yellow lentils and soak them for a couple hours.
2. Heat the Instant Pot on Sautee mode. Once it is hot, add ghee, asafetida (hing), ginger & garlic and stir for 30 seconds until you can smell the aroma.
3. Next add the onions and salt and saute until they turn translucent. Cover with a glass lid for a couple minutes.
4. Then add the tomatoes and dry spices and sauté for about 5-minutes until the oil starts separating. Stir a couple times in between, if required.
5. Next add the soaked yellow lentils with 4 cups of water.
6. If making Pot in Pot rice, follow this step or else skip to the next step. Place the trivet in the inner pot which contains the dal. Place the stainless steel pot with rice and water.
7. Cover it with a steel lid so the dal doesn’t splutter onto the rice.
8. Close the lid, seal the vent and pressure cook for 5 mins followed by a natural pressure release. If using unsoaked dal then pressure cook for 10 mins followed by a natural pressure release. Do not make pot in pot rice with unsoaked dal as the cooking times vary.
9. Pour the dal into the serving bowl.
10. Lastly prepare the second tempering. Heat ghee in a tadka pan or small sauce pan.
11. Next add asafetida, cumin seeds, dried red chillies and red chilly powder. Once you hear the crackling sound pour it over the piping hot Dal.
12. Garnish with cilantro and serve it with rice or a flatbread.

Stove Top Dal Tadka Recipe

1. Start by thoroughly washing the lentils and soaking them for at least 2 hours. This helps aid digestion.
2. When the lentils are done soaking, heat the oil, butter, or ghee in a stove top pressure cooker without the lid on.
3. Once the oil is hot or the butter melted, add the asafoetida, ginger, and garlic. Cook the spices for about 1 to 2 minutes or until they are fragrant.
4. Next, add the onions and salt. Loosely cover and saute the onions until they start to turn clear. This takes about 3 to 4 minutes.
5. When the onions have started to cook, add the tomatoes and spices. Cook for an additional 5 to 7 minutes or until the oil starts to separate from the rest of the ingredients.
6. When the separation occurs, add the yellow lentils and 4 cups of water.
7. Place the lid on the pressure cooker and pressure cook for 15 minutes. When the 15 minutes are done, allow the pressure to release naturally for about 5 minutes. Manually release the remaining pressure. Whisk the dal. 
8. Use a spoon to place the dal into a bowl and break or cut some cilantro leaves on top.
9. The final step is to make the tempering. To do this, heat ghee, butter, or oil and whole spices in a small pan. Once the spices start to crack and pop, pour the tempering over the dal.
10. Serve the dal hot with some rice and enjoy!