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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:

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
prep time: 10 minutes
cook time: 15 minutes on high pressure plus time to come to pressure
total time: 30 minutes

• 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.

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