Are you looking for simple lentil recipes? Here is my vegan, gluten-free, no onion no garlic protein-rich mashed green gram dal / curried green mung beans / pachai payaru masiyal as we say in Tamil prepared in Instant Pot.
So it begins – the month protein-rich dishes. The first recipe that I am going to post under the theme is Mashed Green Gram Dal or Patchai Payaru Masiyal as we say in Tamil. It’s a simple mashed dal tadka/kadaiyal prepared with green gram with a hint of tamarind. Masiyal in Tamil means mashed and patchai payaru in Tamil means green gram or the green mung beans. As we are mashing the green gram lentils, it is called patchai payaru masiyal.
I love and treasure cookbooks. One of my favorite books is “Dakshin – Vegetarian Cuisine from South by Chandra Padmanabhan” Guess what; I got this recipe from that book. It’s one of our staple dal recipes, and somehow I didn’t post it here on the blog. I am glad to post it now under this theme, especially the instant pot version.
You don’t need to soak the dal for this recipe. Be it the pressure cooker version or the IP version; you can just add the dal and cook. That’s the advantage of green mung beans and of course, pressure cooking. As I didn’t soak the dal, I went with 20 minutes of cooking time. But there is no harm in soaking it. If you have soaked the dal, reduce the cooking time.
Why Curried Moong Beans?
Are you wondering why am I calling this as curried mung beans? No, I am not adding any curry powder, but I am adding sambar powder though. The original recipe doesn’t call for sambar powder. But to add some spice, I usually add ½ Tsp of sambar powder or rasam powder. (Err; at times I do add rasam powder too) But today for this version I went with sambar powder. But you can add red chili powder or curry powder as well.
That ¼ cup of cilantro is the real secret ingredient in this recipe. I would recommend adding more even. :-) This goes well with both rice and roti, and we usually have this with rice. With just this dal, rice and sutta appalam (roasted papad), and ahh you are in food heaven for sure.
According to Livestrong, 1 cup of green moong bean has 14 grams of protein and 15 grams of fiber, making it a perfect lean source of protein. I have used 1 tbsp of oil(I know it’s on the higher side), but you can reduce it to 2 tsps or even less and making it healthier and protein-rich.
Like green moong beans, other lentils are also super healthy. If you are looking for some Instant Pot lentil recipes, then check out these recipes from my archives.
- Instant Pot Black Lentils
- Instant Pot Sweet Green Gram Lentils
- Instant Pot Black Bean Taco Salad
- Instant Pot Black-Eyed Peas Curry
- Instant Pot Yellow Moong Dal
How to Make Green Gram Masiyal
Here is the quick video recipe for this instant pot mashed green gram dal. Please subscribe to my youtube channel and stay tuned for more recipes.
Ingredients:
- Green Gram Dal/ Patchai Payaru – ½ cup
- Water – 1.5 cups + 1 cup
- Tamarind paste – 2 tsp
- Sambar powder – ½ tsp
- Salt – 1 tsp
- Chopped Cilantro – ¼ cup
- Oil – 1 tbsp
- Mustard Seeds – 1 tsp
- Red Chili – 1
- Green chili – 1
- Curry leaves – few
- Hing – ¼ tsp
Prep – Work:
- Wash the green gram dal and set aside.
- Slit the green chili and chop the cilantro and set aside.
- Dilute two tsp of tamarind paste in 1 cup of water.
Steps:
Instant Pot Method:
- Set the IP in saute mode and add the oil.
- Once the oil is hot, add the mustard seeds, hing, red chili, slit green chili and few curry leaves.
- Saute for a minute and as the mustard seeds start to splutter, add the washed green gram dal and combine them.
- Add the tamarind water and mix well.
- Now add the sambar powder, salt and remaining 1.5 cups of water and mix.
- Set the Instant Pot on manual mode and pressure cook for 20 minutes and let the pressure release naturally.
- Remove the IP lid carefully and mash the dal nicely.
- Now set the IP back to saute mode and add ¼ cup of chopped cilantro and let it simmer for 3 to 5 minutes.
That’s it. Green gram masiyal is ready. Serve hot with rice and papad.
Pressure Cooker Method:
- Heat the pressure pan or cooker and add the oil.
- Once the oil is hot, add the mustard seeds, hing, red chili, slit green chili and few curry leaves.
- Saute for a minute and as the mustard seeds start to splutter, add the washed green gram dal and combine them.
- Add the tamarind water and mix well.
- Now add the sambar powder, salt and remaining 1.5 cups of water and mix.
- Pressure cook the dal mix for at least 5 to 6 whistles.
- Let the pressure subside and carefully open the lid and mash the dal nicely.
- Add ¼ cup of chopped cilantro and let the dal simmer for 3 to 5 minutes over medium flame.
Notes:
- Adjust the salt and spices as per your preference. You can either increase the chili quantity or the sambar powder.
- Instead of oil, you can use for tempering.
- More the cilantro, better the taste. So I would recommend adding at least ¼ cup of chopped cilantro.
- Adjust the water as per your consistency preference.
- Instead of sambar powder, you can use curry powder.
- If you can’t source tamarind, then add one or two tsps of lemon juice after turning off the Instant Pot.
📖 Recipe
Instant Pot Mashed Green Gram Dal | Pachai Payaru Masiyal
Ingredients
- ½ cup Green Gram Dal/ Patchai Payaru
- 2.5 cups Water – 1.5 cups + 1 cup
- 2 tsp Tamarind paste
- ½ tsp Sambar powder
- 1 tsp Salt
- ¼ cup Chopped Cilantro
- 1 tbsp Oil
- 1 tsp Mustard Seeds
- 1 Red Chili
- 1 Green chili
- Curry leaves few
- ¼ tsp Hing
Instructions
- Wash the green gram dal and set aside.
- Slit the green chili and chop the cilantro and set aside.
- Dilute two tsp of tamarind paste in 1 cup of water.
- Set the IP in saute mode and add the oil.
- Once the oil is hot, add the mustard seeds, hing, red chili, slit green chili and few curry leaves.
- Saute for a minute and as the mustard seeds start to splutter, add the washed green gram dal and combine them.
- Add the tamarind water and mix well.
- Now add the sambar powder, salt and remaining 1.5 cups of water and mix.
- Set the Instant Pot in manual mode and pressure cook for 20 minutes and let the pressure release naturally.
- Remove the IP lid carefully and mash the dal nicely.
- Now set the IP back to saute mode and add ¼ cup of chopped cilantro and let it simmer for 3 to 5 minutes.
- That’s it. Green gram masiyal is ready. Serve hot with rice and papad.
- Pressure Cooker Method: Heat the pressure pan or cooker and add the oil.
- Once the oil is hot, add the mustard seeds, hing, red chili, slit green chili and few curry leaves.
- Saute for a minute and as the mustard seeds start to splutter, add the washed green gram dal and combine them.
- Add the tamarind water and mix well.
- Now add the sambar powder, salt and remaining 1.5 cups of water and mix.
- Pressure cook the dal mix for at least 5 to 6 whistles.
- Let the pressure subside and carefully open the lid and mash the dal nicely.
- Add ¼ cup of chopped cilantro and let the dal simmer for 3 to 5 minutes over medium flame.
Video
Notes
- Adjust the salt and spices as per your preference. You can either increase the chili quantity or the sambar powder.
- Instead of oil, you can use for tempering.
- More the cilantro, better the taste. So I would recommend adding at least ¼ cup of chopped cilantro.
- Adjust the water as per your consistency preference.
- Instead of sambar powder, you can use curry powder.
- If you can’t source tamarind, then add one or two tsps of lemon juice after turning off the Instant Pot.
- Adapted from From the book – Dakshin by Chandra Padmanabhan
Nutrition
I am not a nutritionist. The nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. It varies depending upon the product types or brands.
Sounds like a pot full of green moong soup. Can have it just like that – no need of rice. Very interesting recipe. Looking forward to your other recipes in this marathon.
Thanks Ruchi. Same here.
Just made this yesterday and my MIL makes this very well too. very hearty dal…
Very true. It’s such a heaty dal. Thanks Kalyani.
Can be made in Minutes
Yup. Thanks
This moong curry is delicious my FIL and hubby love the bean and so they will be happy to eat one more new curry.
:-) Glad you liked it. Thanks
This goes well with Roti, a combo that was kiddo’s fav once upon a time!! Good one Vidhya…
Thanks PJ. :-)
Same pinch,this is one such comforting dhal,I do make it often with no tamarind.Looking forward to your IP recipes..
Thanks Nalini.
Protein packed bowl, love dal chawal. Its mine fav food. So healthy so simple to digest.
Yup very true. Thanks Preeti.
Back home we always had moong Dal with Puttu and sometimes mom prepared thogayal.. but i loved this version of curry… Lovely start Vidhya :)
oh wow thogayala? Recipe share panni erukeengala? Between thanks much sharmi.
Such a wonderful dish to start the series. Looks like you hit a jackpot with that instant pot..:)..I know this series will be so useful for many!
:-) :-) I hope so. Thanks a lot Valli.
This is such a delicious dal recipe. I make this for Sruti but I haven’t tried with tamarind. Next time I will add some tamarind. Very nice video demo Vidya.
Thanks a lot Gayathri. Learning video bit by bit.
Mung curry is such a satisfying and healthy curry. I make it once a week with rice. And don’t you love the Instant Pot, such a versatile gadget. No nosy whistles and no baby sitting it too.
Oh yeah. I love IP and you put right. No babysitting. Thanks a lot Mayuri.
I am an instant pot fan and I love all the recipes made in that. I have never paired tamarind with whole green gram. Will try it sometime. Looking forward to the rest of the recipes for the mega marathon.
Thanks Rajani.
Your theme sounds prefect to start this Mega marathon. Instant pot mashed green gram dal looks seriously prefect to enjoy with a bowl of rice and some papads. Lovely start Vidhya.
Thanks Priya. Glad you liked it.
very nice preparation
Thanks Amrita.
Your theme sounds very interesting and this is a classic start to the marathon. Looking forward to all the other dishes you have lined up.
Thanks a lot Sowmya.
Beautiful recipe ! The green gram is a favourite of hubby and he would be more than happy to have them in a new avatar .
Wonderful choice to start the Protein Rich Marathon .
Thanks Vaishali.
We love moong dal with rice but always make it with lots of garlic ginger and tomato, the punjabis way. I love your version and that little sambhar powder must have made a huge difference. Looking forward to your other recipes.
Thanks a lot Sapana.