Herbaceous dill and rich, creamy moong daal meld together in this hearty Garlic Dill Lentils dish. Cooking the dill with lentils mellows the distinctive grassy flavor of the herb. This is a common dish in India after pregnancy, but baby or no baby, this recipe is delicious, served with warm paratha or rice.
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I grew up not enjoying certain vegetables and Dill was high up on that list. I grew up in a family where we were expected to eat whatever was served for our main meals uncomplainingly. This probably is the reason that I now truly appreciate the unique flavors and textures of so many different vegetables and fruits.
After I had left home and gotten married my mom reintroduced me to Dill again and this time I LOVED it. I appreciated the flavors so much more that it then became a repeat dish in my kitchen. My boys grew up eating this and never once complained the way I would as a child, and that makes really happy and proud. Doesn't life get much easier when the whole family enjoys the same meal?
What is Dill?
An aromatic herb from the fennel family, this leafy vegetable is widely grown in Europe and Asia. More commonly the leaves and seeds are used as a herb or spice for flavoring food. In India, these leaves are often used in making curries and lentils.
What is a daal?
The word daal has 2 meanings:
- Lentils or split beans. There are many different kinds of daals such as moong daal, masoor daal chana daal, etc that is using in Indian cooking.
- A generic name for cooked lentil dishes such as spinach daal, dill daal, etc.
Check out this interesting article on the dozens of varieties of lentils and beans used in Indian cooking.
This garlic dill lentils recipe is a variation of the authentic Maharashtrian dill curry. We love the flavors with lots of garlic and the creaminess of these well-cooked, blended lentils along with the chickpea flour. You can use yellow moong daal or orange masoor daal and the recipe uses only a few spices - mustard seeds (can substitute with cumin seeds), asafetida (optional), turmeric, and curry leaves.
Why add gram flour?
Gram flour works great as a thicker in this dish. It adds creaminess and earthy flavors to the dish.
Step by step recipe
- Start with giving a good rinse to the dill leaves and dry them with paper towels. Cut and discard the bottom one-third of the bunch that has thick stems and roots. Then pluck out the leaves that are attached to the skinny stems, discarding any remaining thick steams.
- Set the Instant Pot to sauté mode and make the tadka. "Tadka" is a hindi word for tempering where spices are cooked in hot oil or ghee and poured over the finished dish. This adds flavor as well as earthy aromas to the final dish. Add mustard seeds to the hot oil and allow them to pop. Then add asafetida, turmeric, chiles, garlic, curry leaves. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes or until the garlic turns golden brown and aromatic.
- Carefully take out the tempering and reserve. Add lentils, chopped dill, salt, and water to the Instant Pot. Mix well, scraping any browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Close the Instant Pot and pressure cook for 4 minutes. Allow 5 minutes of natural pressure release. Quick-release remaining pressure.
- Mash the lentils with a potato masher, immersion blender, or the back of a spoon. Stir in gram flour mixed in water and half of the reserved tempering. Bring the lentils to a gentle boil.
- Note - That the lentils will continue to thicken as they cool down. Take out the lentils in a serving bowl and garnish with the remaining tempering.
Serving
Enjoy hot with Instant Pot Basmati Rice and Parathas or Roti. Pair the meal with a delicious Cucumber Salad or Cabbage Salad for a satisfying vegetarian Indian meal.
In addition to this Garlic Dill Lentils are a few other Instant Pot lentil recipes you will enjoy:
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Recipe
Garlic Dill Lentils
Recipe Video
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon ghee or oil
- ½ teaspoon mustard seeds
- ⅛ teaspoon hing {asafetida} optional
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
- 2 green chillies sliced into half, 1 jalapeño sliced
- 10 curry leaves
- 10 garlic cloves minced
- ½ cup split red lentils/masoor daal or mung daal rinsed and drained
- 2 cups chopped dill leaves
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 cups water
- 2 tablespoons gram flour (besan) mixed in ¼ cup of water
Instructions
- Turn Instant Pot to Saute(more) mode. Once the hot sign displays add ghee or oil. Add mustard seeds and allow them to splutter. Add hing, turmeric, green chilies, garlic and curry leaves. Mix well and cook for a minute. Take out most of this tempering in a bowl and reserve.
- Add lentils and chopped dill to the Instant Pot. Mix well. Add salt and water. Mix again deglazing the pot to make sure the lentils are not sticking to the pot.
- Close Instant Pot with pressure valve to sealing. Pressure cook(hi) for 4 minutes. Allow 5 minutes of natural pressure release and then carefully quick release the remaining pressure.
- Open Instant Pot and mix with an immersion blender or mash the lentils with the back of a spatula.
- Set Instant Pot to saute mode. Stir in gram flour mixed in water and half of the reserved tempering. Mix well and bring to a gentle boil.
- Take out the lentils in a serving bowl. Serve hot topped with remaining tempering and steamed rice or parathas.
Nutrition
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annika says
This looks to good and with dill I'm sure it tastes amazing! You always have the best recipes!
Archana says
Thank you Annika! Yes, this is one of those simple comforting recipes that we have on repeat in our home.
Monali says
Hi there! When does the garlic get added?
Archana says
Hi Monali, Good catch, Thank you! I missed it in my instructions. Garlic is part of the initial tempering and added with green chilies and curry leaves. Fixed the instructions.
Cassandra|Delectatus says
I can't wait to try this!
Archana says
Let me know
Jincy says
Archana, I made this last week. It was my first time using dill too. Came out well, and will now be added to my rotation for daals!
Archana says
Awesome! Dill is super healthy and I am glad you are adding it to your rotation.
SC says
Archana, I made this last week and it turned out awesome. Very flavorful, filling and simple.
Archana says
Thank you for letting me know!
Anu says
Hi archana, this is a great recipe I am going to try it tomorrow. You said we can use moong dal , is that the yellow one ? Thanks
Archana says
Yes!
Anjuli says
Would you recommend using dried dill spice instead of the fresh? If yes, how much can I put in? Thanks.
Archana says
Hi Anjuli, This recipe is best with fresh dill.
Lance says
Anjuli, yes you can substitute dried for fresh using the standard 1/3 rule. Obviously this is a heavy dill recipe, 2 cups is quite a bit. Applying the rule you would want to use 2/3 cups of dried dill. Now like Archana says, there is no substitute for fresh dill, and I agree; however, if you don't have fresh you can still get close.
Lance says
Plus, I forgot to mention, dried dill will extract moisture from final product to re-hydrate; where as, fresh dill will add a little moisture. I would recommend adding a little more liquid, not much, if using dried dill.
Chhavi says
Very interesting flavors and very healthy and simple. Thanks !
Archana says
Thank you Chhavi.
Maggie says
Can I use curry powder and maybe some lemongrass instead of the curry leaves? Thank you for this recipe!
Archana says
You can simply skip curry leaves! Lemon grass and curry powder will add very different flavors
Nan March says
Difficult to find fresh curry leaves outside of metropolitan areas.
Will skipping them change the dish much?
Archana says
Not much! You can skip curry leaves
Sanjay says
I have tried this recipe and it was quite delicious. Thanks for sharing this lovely recipe which is liked by my wife also.
Ashley says
Can I sub the flour for regular flour ? And am I able to use black lentils ?
Archana says
Besan flour has a more earthy taste.You can leave out gram flour. And yes you can add black lentils if you like
Carotene says
Ultimate comfort food!! I used mint zest instead of the curry leaves (because google suggest so), added a dash of fish sauce. Great recipe!
Rc says
doubled the recipe (6 servings) but water is still show as 3 cups? is that right?
Archana says
Hi, Water should also have been doubled, I will make sure to add it to the ingredient list which will help in the future. Although, with this recipe, just for pressure cooking double the amount of lentils, 3 cups of water is still plenty. You will just have to add more water, in the end, to bring the dal to desired consistency.
Elicia says
This is my first recipe from you, and it is DELICIOUS. It's so good that I'm leaving this comment before I even finish eating it. I can't wait to work my way through all your recipes! Thank you!!
Hugo says
I've made this recipe a ton of times over the years and it is one of my favorite recipes ever. Also great with Bombay Aloo, paneer, roasted chickpeas. Could eat any day all day!
Archana Mundhe says
Thank you for the lovely feedback!
Jules says
Simple, unique and delicious!
Archana Mundhe says
Thank you Jules!