Looking for a quick and easy Dishoom-inspired Instant pot black dal? Look no further – tender lentils in a rich and creamy tomato gravy seasoned with cinnamon, coriander, cardamom, fennel, garam masala, and more. Finished with just a touch of butter and heavy cream, this vegetarian dish is comfort food at it’s best.
Ever since I first had black dal at London’s beloved Dishoom, I’ve been low-key obsessed. It was one of the menu items that I was going to pass up even though they tried to sell it hard on the menu:
HOUSE BLACK DAAL
A Dishoom signature dish — dark, rich, deeply flavored. It is cooked over 24 hours for extra harmony.
I mean, okay, looking at it now, I should have just gone with it because it’s a signature dish. But for some reason all the other dishes called out to me more. I think it happens quite often because our server gently suggested we give it a try and I’m so happy that we did because it’s become one of my top comfort foods, especially with some homemade garlicky naan.
If you haven’t had dal, it might be kind of a hard sell. It looks like, well, not much. But, brown food is almost always the best food out there and if you had a taste you might be obsessed too. With a good dal, the lentils are perfectly cooked, holding their shape, yet giving way with just the slightest pressure. They release their starchy goodness into the gravy, thickening and making magic. The spice mix goes a long way, building flavor upon flavor with cinnamon, fennel, garam masala. The tomato paste adds that extra bit of umami and finishing off with butter and cream? Well, that’s just asking for love at first taste.
After falling in love, I created a 24 hour copy cat version because Dishoom cooks theirs for 24 hours. But, sometimes, when my freezer stash runs out, I need dal and I need it immediately. The thing about lentils is, they take time. But, after a quick consult with The Google, I realized that Indian grandmas everywhere have been making dal with pressure cookers since the invention of pressure cookers.
So, I grabbed the Instant Pot and here we are. The only difference between this recipe and the one on the stove – aside from the 24 hour cook time – is the fact that I didn’t soak or precook the lentils. Taste wise however, the two were quite different. I happened to have a batch of the 24 hour dal in the freezer specifically so I could do a side by side taste test and the results were pretty surprising.
left: 24hrs, right: instant
The 24 hour dal had much more depth of flavor. It was smoky and rich and dark. The Instant Pot version was almost light and creamy in comparison. It definitely had something to do with the amount of time the tomato paste had to cook and condense down. The 24 hour dal had just the hint of tomato – you almost have to be looking for it to identify the flavor, where as the Instant Pot version has tomato as one of the first things you taste. I love both so it’s hard for me to say if one is preferred over the other, but if I’m in a dal-rush, I defintely won’t turn my nose up at this Instant Pot version. In fact, I’m going to go have some for lunch, right now ;)
love and lentils,
xoxo steph
Instant Pot Black Dal Recipe
makes about 2.5 cups dal
- 2 whole cloves
- 1 star anise
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne
- 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon garam masala
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 small onion, finely diced
- 1 tablespoon minced ginger
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1/2 cup lentils, rinsed
- 5 oz can tomato paste
- 2 cups water
To Finish:
- 2 tablespoon butter
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream
- salt, to taste
- cilantro and yogurt, to garnish
In a dry pan, lightly toast the cloves, star anise, coriander, cumin, cayenne, fennel, garam masala, and cardamom, stirring constantly until fragrant, about 30 – 45 seconds. Remove from heat and grind in a spice grinder or crush with a mortar and pestle and set aside.
In the Instant Pot, with the sauté function on high, add the butter and oil. Add the onion and cook, stirring, until soft, but not brown. Add the ginger and garlic and cook, stirring. Stir in the spices, cinnamon stick, and bay leaf.Stir in the lentils, tomato paste and add up to 2 cups of water. Place the lid on and cook on high pressure for 15 minutes. Quick release when the time is up. Vent and carefully open the Instant Pot. Stir in butter and cream to finish. Taste and season with salt. Enjoy with cilantro and yogurt.
Note: Sometimes I have this with just rice, but naan is always a good bet!
Update: I’ve made this again a couple of times and have successfully reduced the water by about 1/2 cup (after soaking the lentils for an hour or two) and cooking for a tiny bit longer than 15 minutes. I’ve done everything from 20-30, it really depends on how tender/mushy you like your lentils.
27 Comments
kat says:
March 19, 2018 at 1:06 am
Hello!
I just love the aesthetics of your blog and the way you work with your recipes, photos, texts.
I am vegan and since I changed my diet, my anemia kicked in for good. Lentils are one of the most good sources of iron, so… I was wondering if this recipe could be done the same in a normal pot or in a pressure pot. I don’t have an instant pot. Perhaps it would be better in a normal pot, so the flavours and spices get to mingle slowly and strongly.
Thank you so much!
Take care and have a nice week,
katReply
Stephanie says:
March 19, 2018 at 5:54 pm
hi kat,
you can definitely do this in a regular pot, just check this recipe!
Reply
Sj Dc says:
March 19, 2018 at 2:57 am
if i may suggest, a variation i frequently make is using ghee in the beginning to sautee onions/spices..and add fresh tomatoes..subsequently cook lentils in a milk and water for a creamier dal (i use 2:1 but you could vary the ratio per your preference..i do thus since i don’t always have cream on hand and actually prefer this to adding cream in the end)
and finally, in the end i heat butter and add smoked paprika letting it cook for a few minutes before adding to the dal..its adds a mild smoked heat whick complements tge creamy dalReply
Daniela says:
March 19, 2018 at 6:06 am
Hi
What type of lentils did you use specifically? I’ve used split urad dhal for a similar recipe and wasn’t impressed with the flavour.
Thank you
DanielaReply
Stephanie says:
March 19, 2018 at 5:52 pm
hi daniela,
i used black beluga lentils :)
Reply
Celina Nader says:
March 21, 2018 at 9:26 am
Beautiful!! I’ve made Dal Makhani with black lentils before, but not in a pressure cooker. Must try.
Reply
javnika says:
May 1, 2018 at 3:52 am
If you are bored with the regular dals then this will add some taste and flavor to your food. I made this at home, and everyone is obsessed with it now, I have to make it every week, lol…
Reply
Dak says:
October 3, 2018 at 3:44 pm
Your recipe is delicious; not to mention how wonderful it smelled as it was cooking.
I used black dal, Urad, unsoaked and it definitely needed a full 1/2 hour time under pressure, at 15 mins it was not cooked. Otherwise, absolutely fantastic, thank you!
Reply
Stephanie says:
October 5, 2018 at 3:37 pm
so happy you got to try this recipe dak and thanks for the tip on 30 minutes instead of 15!
Reply
Dak says:
October 3, 2018 at 3:59 pm
I noticed that your 24 hour recipe calls for 1 cup black lentils, while the Instant Pot version calls for 1/2 cup, same amount of spices (that blend is heavenly!). Any particular reason? If I wanted to double the Instant Pot version to 1 cup, do you have any tweak I might add?
Stephanie says:
October 5, 2018 at 3:36 pm
hi dak,
it went with more spices and less lentils just because it was an instant pot version and i wanted it have extra oomph. after a couple of tests i liked it that way better :)
Reply
Mark says:
October 19, 2018 at 6:26 am
I wonder if you could cook the dish under pressure, then use the slow cooker function to get the effect of the longer cooking time?
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Stephanie says:
October 20, 2018 at 11:31 am
i haven’t tried but i think that would definitely help out with the further softening of the lentils and intensify the flavors somewhat. let me know if you give it a try!
Reply
Jax says:
October 24, 2018 at 7:22 am
Let me know how it came out – looking forward to your feedback!
Reply
Priyanka says:
December 3, 2018 at 12:01 pm
I made this using black urad lentils (had to go to my Indian grocery store as the other store didn’t carry any). I had to pressure for 30 minutes to get the lentils soft and I think next time I would do 35-40 to get them even softer and creamier. I also omitted the cream and butter at the end -= stirred in a dollop of yogurt to get the creaminess. The spice blend is great!
Reply
Tess says:
December 21, 2018 at 9:40 am
So delicious, especially served with the yogurt, cilantro and chutney. I used 365 brand organic whole black lentils from Whole Foods and pressured it for 26 minutes, based on other reviews. However, my lentils were over cooked. I’ll reduce it next time.
Reply
Sarah says:
February 4, 2019 at 12:37 pm
I tried this (with urud dal) but found the taste of tomatoes overpowering and it did not remind me of my favourite black dal from Dishoom. the spice blend was nice, but I am not sure if I would make it again.
Reply
Stephanie says:
February 4, 2019 at 8:06 pm
hi sarah,
thanks for the feedback – i think if you’re looking for something that’s more close, the 24 hour dal would be a better bet – the tomatoes don’t cook down as much in this version.Reply
Abha Patel says:
June 1, 2019 at 5:53 am
I have urad daal, how much water would you use for 1 cup of daal?
Reply
Stephanie says:
June 2, 2019 at 10:20 am
hi abha,
do you mean you want to make 1 cup of prepared daal?Reply
Evelyn says:
June 10, 2019 at 2:05 pm
Hi I love this recipe if I double the lentils do I double everything else?
Reply
Stephanie says:
June 11, 2019 at 9:11 am
hi evelyn,
yes, double everything if you’re going to double the lentils :)
Reply
Darran Edmundson says:
April 12, 2020 at 11:10 pm
Hi Steph. I just made your Instant Pot version for the first time. I enjoyed it but it was way too spicy for my 13 year-old. I’ve never used some of these spices before and could do with some advice. Do I just to back off on the cayenne pepper, or are there other spices giving it the heat?
Reply
Stephanie says:
April 13, 2020 at 9:24 am
hi darren,
definitely cut down or omit the cayenne. you could also cut back on the garam masala. the cumin is what’s giving it that kind of curry-ish flavor so if he doesn’t like that you might want to tone that down a bit too. hope that helps!Reply
marti says:
December 19, 2022 at 6:09 pm
Might it be possible for you to offer the recipe for the 24hr dal? I don’t have an instant pot and the 24hr version visually appeals to me more. Thanks so much, this looks delicious
Reply
Stephanie says:
December 20, 2022 at 6:04 pm
hi, the recipe is here: https://iamafoodblog.com/dishooms-black-dal-and-garlic-naan/
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