Vegan curry with tender jackfruit and lentils made in Instant Pot! Here is my vegetarian version of the Hyderabadi special Dalcha with plant-meat – raw/unripe/tender jackfruit. Check out the detailed veg dalcha recipe with the video below.
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What is dalcha?
Dalcha is a popular Hyderabadi dish. It’s a lentil-based curry cooked in the tamarind sauce along with meat. Usually, it is served with masala rice or bhagara khana( rice made with just whole spices) or with biryani. But today I am going to swap the meat with tender or the raw jackfruit and make this dalcha a complete vegan curry.
Dalcha with other vegetables
As much as meat-based dalcha is popular, veg dalcha with pumpkin, brinjal, bottle-gourd, plantain is quite popular as well.
I first relished this dalcha at my friend’s place. I shared it on my Instagram as well. She made it with mixed vegetables and served it along with biryani. I loved it so much, and I had it with idli and dosa too for dinner. Our friend JV is super sweet, and she shared the recipe right away.
With my book work, I couldn’t make it right away, but I did try this spring, and from then on, it became staple in our household. Initially, I made it with brinjal and bottle gourd. Then when I got tender jackfruit for my jackfruit biryani, I decided to try this dalcha curry with jackfruit. We loved the taste and the texture, and here I am, presenting the same for you.
Are you wondering why it took so long for me to post this recipe? Because I was waiting for the fresh raw mangoes. Yes, dalcha recipe calls for both green mango and tamarind. Don’t worry; the curry is not tangy. The vegetables, lentils, and the other spices balance the tangy flavor.
PS: Check the recipe notes for raw mango and tamarind substitutes.
Veg dalcha main ingredients
Lentils Ratio:
We use two lentil varieties here – split pigeon peas aka toor dal and Bengal gram aka chana dal. I went with 4:1 proportion for toor dal to Bengal gram. I used ½ a cup of toor dal which is 8 tbsps and 2 tbsps of chana dal for this recipe. You can add them in equal proportions also or make dalcha with either toor dal or chana dal also.
In my recipe, the quantity of lentils is more. I just used 1 cup of tender jackfruit. But you can reduce the lentils measure and add 2 cups of vegetables.
Vegetables:
Instead of jackfruit, you can add a mix of brinjal, red pumpkin, bottle-gourd, plantain, etc. or anyone vegetable of your choice. Local seasonal vegetables are great for this dalcha recipe. You can even make dalcha with just raw mango.
We also need an onion, tomato, ginger-garlic paste, mint leaves for spice powders for intensifying the flavors.
How to make vegetarian dalcha in stove-top pressure cooker
I made this in my Instant Pot as a one-pot meal. You can make this in the pressure cooker also. If you are using soft vegetables like brinjal, bottle-gourd or pumpkin, and don’t prefer mushy vegetables, then pressure cook the dal separately. After cook, the dal, in wok or saucepan, do the tempering, saute the onion and tomato. Add in the spices and the vegetables. Add some water and cook until the vegetables are soft and tender. Then add the cooked dal.
Now without any further ado, here is the recipe for the veg dalcha.
Watch me make veg dalcha
How to make vegetarian dalcha in Instant Pot?
- Wash the dals and soak in water for 10 minutes or until you do the prep-work and then drain the water.
- Set the Instant Pot in the “saute” mode and when the display shows hot, add the oil. Wait for 30 seconds and then add the whole spices – fennel seeds, cardamom, cloves, star anise, and cinnamon. Mix and fry it for just 10 seconds. We don’t want the fennel seeds to brown up.
- Then add the 1 cup of chopped onion. Saute the onion for about 3 to 4 minutes.
- Next, add the mint leaves and ginger-garlic paste. Mix and cook for 30 seconds.
- Then add the chopped tomatoes. Gently stir and add salt all the spice powders – salt, garam masala, turmeric powder, coriander powder, and red chili powder. Mix thoroughly — Cook for a minute.
- Add the tender jackfruit now and mix, followed by the raw mango or green mango, if using. Mix again.
- Now add the washed lentils – split pigeon peas and Bengal gram.
- Then the water. Finally, add in the tamarind paste and mix the curry thoroughly. Make sure to scrape the bottom.
- Press cancel and close the Instant Pot. Make sure the sealing ring is present, and the vent is in the sealing position. Pressure cook at manual mode “high pressure” for 20 minutes and after the cooking is complete, let the pressure release naturally.
- Now carefully open the Instant Pot and set the Instant Pot back to “saute” mode. Mash the lentils and tender jackfruit.
- Add the cilantro and let it simmer for 5 minutes. Then turn off the Instant Pot.
- Serve dalcha hot with biryani, pulao or even with plain steamed rice or idli or dosa.
Recipe notes
- Instead of tender jackfruit, you can use mixed vegetables like bottle gourd, plantain, brinjal, or with any vegetables that you have in hand.
- If you can’t source raw mango, you can increase the tamarind paste and instead of ½ tsp you can use 1 to 1.5 tsp. If you can source both fresh green mango and tamarind, make the curry without it. After adding cilantro, add about 2 tbsp of lemon or lime juice for the tanginess.
- I did not use any green chilies. You can add one or two and in that case, reduce the red chili powder measure.
- In my recipe, the quantity of lentils is more. But you can reduce the lentils measure and add 2 cups of vegetables.
- Adjust the salt and spices according to your preference.
More lentil-based recipes
If you like lentil-based recipes, then don’t forget to check out these recipes below:
PS: Follow me on Instagram or join my Facebook Group for more gardening and recipe updates. If you try this veg dalcha recipe, please don’t forget to comment and rate this recipe.
📖 Recipe
Instant Pot Vegetarian Dalcha | Tender Jackfruit and Lentils Curry
Equipment
- Instant Pot
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp oil
- 1 tsp fennel seeds
- 2 cardamom
- 2 cloves
- 1 star anise
- 1 inch cinnamon stick
- 1 cup onion chopped
- 1 Roma tomato chopped, approx ½ cup
- 1 tsp ginger-garlic paste
- 10 mint leaves
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp garam masala
- ½ tsp turmeric powder
- 1 tsp coriander powder
- 1.5 tsp red chili powder
- 1 cup tender jackfruit if using frozen, thaw it to room temperature
- ¼ cup raw mango chopped
- ½ cup split pigeon peas toor dal, rinsed, soaked for 10 minutes and drained
- 2 tbsp Bengal gram chana dal, rinsed, soaked for 10 minutes and drained
- 3 cups water.
- ½ tsp tamarind
- 2 tbsp cilantro
Instructions
- Set the Instant Pot in the “saute” mode and when the display shows hot, add the oil. Wait for 30 seconds and then add the whole spices – fennel seeds, cardamom, cloves, star anise, and cinnamon.
- Mix and fry it for just 10 seconds. We don’t want the fennel seeds to brown up.
- Then add the 1 cup of chopped onion. Saute the onion for about 3 to 4 minutes.
- Next, add the mint leaves and ginger-garlic paste. Mix and cook for 30 seconds.
- Then add the chopped tomatoes. Gently stir and add salt all the spice powders – salt, garam masala, turmeric powder, coriander powder, and red chili powder. Mix thoroughly — Cook for a minute.
- Add the tender jackfruit now and mix, followed by the raw mango or green mango, if using. Mix again.
- Now add the washed lentils – split pigeon peas and Bengal gram. Then the water. Finally, add in the tamarind paste and mix the curry thoroughly. Make sure to scrape the bottom.
- Press cancel and close the Instant Pot. Make sure the sealing ring is present, and the vent is in the sealing position. Pressure cook at manual mode “high pressure” for 20 minutes and after the cooking is complete, let the pressure release naturally.
- Now carefully open the Instant Pot and set the Instant Pot back to “saute” mode. Mash the lentils and tender jackfruit. Add the cilantro and let it simmer for 5 minutes. Then turn off the Instant Pot.
- Serve dalcha hot with biryani, pulao or even with plain steamed rice or idli or dosa.
Video
Notes
- Instead of tender jackfruit, you can use mixed vegetables like bottle gourd, plantain, brinjal, or with any vegetables that you have in hand.
- If you can’t source raw mango, you can increase the tamarind paste and instead of ½ tsp you can use 1 to 1.5 tsp. If you can source both fresh green mango and tamarind, make the curry without it. After adding cilantro, add about 2 tbsp of lemon or lime juice for the tanginess.
- I did not use any green chilies. You can add one or two and in that case, reduce the red chili powder measure.
- In my recipe, the quantity of lentils is more. But you can reduce the lentils measure and add 2 cups of vegetables.
- Adjust the salt and spices according to your preference.
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.
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