This is a North Karnataka-style recipe for green moong dal, also known as Hesarukalu Palya (Hesarukalu means moong bean, and palya means subji/curry). Mung Bean Curry can be prepared dry or as a gravy dish. Moong bean being protein-rich, this Hesarukalu Palya is one of the perfect dishes to add more protein to your vegetarian diet. I have made this recipe by soaking moong beans overnight, but If you don’t have time to soak lentils, You can still make this dish by setting the timer to 15 minutes on the INSTANT POT with (Quick Pressure Release) and for ¾ cup of dry green lentils add 3 cups of water. Have this as a green moong dal soup with a piece of bread or baguette. You can also add veggies like carrot, broccoli, squash along with lentils before you pressure cook, and instead of water, use vegetable stock. Stir spinach or kale at the end to make this a healthy vegetable lentil soup. If you love Lentils & Beans and looking for more Instant Pot Indian Recipes? Here are my 22+ Instant Pot lentils & Beans Recipes you must try.
Ingredients for Green Moong Lentils
How to Make Green Moong Dal in Instant Pot
Firstly, wash and soak moong dal overnight (or about 6-7 hours). Press Saute on Instant Pot. Add oil, and once it’s hot add cumin seeds. Let them crackle. Add ginger-garlic paste, and saute till the ginger-garlic turns golden brown. Next, add onions, and green chili and allow to saute for 2-3 minutes until translucent - stir regularly. Then add tomatoes and dry spices like turmeric powder, red chili powder, coriander powder, and garam masala, and cook for 1-2 minutes, till the tomato turns soft. Now add soaked moong dal, water, and salt give a stir. Close the lid on the pot. Set the pot to manual (High Pressure) and set the timer to 3 minutes (for firmer moong beans) or 5 minutes(for softer, broken-up moong beans). Once the pot beeps, manually do a quick pressure release (QR). Lastly, remove the lid away from you, and add cilantro and lemon juice. Also, adjust the consistency of the dal at this point. Serve Instant Pot whole green moong da hot with any flatbread, steamed rice, roti, quinoa, or eat as a soup.
Stovetop Pressure Cooker Method
Follow the same steps as above. Just cook the green lentils on a stovetop pressure cooker for 2 whistles on high heat, then set the heat to medium-low and cook for another 5-8 minutes. Pressure cooker green moong dal is ready.
Stovetop Pot/Pan Method:
Use a thick-bottomed deep pot or pan. Follow the same steps as above. Add the soaked green moong dal, 3-3.5 cups of water. Cover the pan with a lid and cook the green lentils on medium-high flame till done (appx takes 15-20 minutes).
Serving Suggestions
Serve Green Moong Dal hot with roti, paratha, steamed rice, quinoa.
Tips & Variations for Mung Bean Curry
If you don’t have time to soak lentils. You can still make this dish by setting the timer to 15 minutes on the INSTANT POT with (Quick Pressure Release), and for ¾ cup of dry green lentils, add 3 cups of water. If you don’t have garam masala, add half a teaspoon each of cumin powder and coriander powder. If your green moong dal is watery, you can turn on the saute and cook for another 2-3 minutes in the end. No onion/no garlic variation: You can take out the onion and replace garlic with a pinch of asafetida/hing.
More Instant Pot Lentil Recipes
Dal Fry - Dal made with toor dal (split pigeon peas). Yellow Moong Dal Tadka - Dal prepared with split yellow moong lentils, assorted spices. Chana Dal Fry - Dal prepared with split chickpeas lentils, and assorted spices. Masoor Dal - Dal prepared red lentils. Spinach Dal / Palak Dal – Dhal cooked with spinach leaves. Panchmel dal – dal prepared with five varieties of lentils Spinach Dal / Palak Dal – Dhal cooked with spinach leaves Raw Mango Dal - Dal cooked with Raw Mango
More Indian Curry Recipes
Lauki (Bottle gourd) Sabji Black Eye Pea Curry (Lobia curry) Zucchini Besan Sabzi Potato Peas Curry Mushroom Masala Vegetable Korma Chickpea Curry Aloo Green Beans Curry Rajma Masala
Subscribe to my Youtube Channel for healthy & tasty video recipes. Looking for Instant Pot recipes, then check out my Instant Pot Recipes board on Pinterest.
