A simple Indian dal recipe with zucchini and frozen cooked moong dal made in Instant Pot. Call it kootu or stew or dal, it’s a perfect weeknight meal that can be prepared easily. A vegan and a gluten-free dal recipe!
Earlier this month, I had shared how I cook and freeze my lentils and also how to make sambar with the frozen toor dal. Now it’s time for a simple dal recipe with the frozen moong dal and zucchini.
India is famous for its lentil-based dishes. Right from a simple dal tadka, aka tempered dal to creamy and smoky dal and dal with veggies, you can find it all. I have over 30 plus Indian lentil recipes on my blog.
Every dal is unique in its own way, and I love to experiment with dal dishes with different vegetables. A dish packed with protein and with the goodness of the veggies is always a win-win in our household. This zucchini kootu is one such dish. (PS – I used my homegrown zucchini for this recipe. Check out my other zucchini recipes for this season – zucchini soup and zoodles)
You can call this as zucchini dal or zucchini stew or kootu. It’s a simple combination of lentils and vegetables without the freshly ground coconut spice mix. You can serve this as a side dish as part of the thali or pair it with jeera rice and make a simple meal.
In my cabbage kootu recipe, I had shared different variations/attempts that I did try while testing that recipe. The attempt-1 of the cabbage kootu inspires this zucchini dal.
Panch Phoron Spice Mix-
I have used the panch phoron spice mix to temper this kootu. I have explained this spice mix in my potato-capsicum curry, but let me share it here again.
It’s a blend of 5 seeds or spices. It is popularly called as Bengali 5 spice mix too. The spices are seeds here, not the powder. So the panch phoron mix is the equal quantity of Nigella seeds (Kalonji), Yellow mustard seeds (Rai, some combination have black too. The one that I used had yellow mustard seeds), Fennel seeds (Saunf), Cumin seeds (Jeera), and Fenugreek seeds (Methi).
I used a store-bought one. But you can make your mix as well. It took me some time to get acquired to the combination of mustard, fennel, nigella, and fennel. But now we simply love it. I am just using it regularly these days.
It’s not mandatory to use the panch phoron spice mix for tempering. You can use mustard seeds and cumin seeds like we do for other dals.
Zucchini Cooking Time-
Zucchini is a watery vegetable, and with frozen dal, two minutes of cooking time is more than sufficient. But this time, I wanted a mushy dal, I went with 4 minutes of cooking with a natural pressure release.
This dal is perfect for toddlers and for those who prefer soft food. But if you like the bite of the kootu, then reduce the cooking time or release the pressure quickly.
Now you might all ask, what’s the advantage of using frozen dal-
✔ As the dal is pre-cooked and mashed well, the dal blends really well in the dish, and the lentils don’t stand out. That’s how I always like my lentil dishes until it’s for a salad. For kootu and dal, I want the lentils to blend in.
✔ Of course, there is no soaking time involved, and you can whip up any dishes quickly. As I wanted a mushy dal, I went with 4 minutes of cooking time, but as I said before, you can opt for 2 minutes alone.
✔ With watery vegetables, you can go with minimal cooking time not worrying about the dal cooking time. Instead of moong dal, you can use toor dal or masoor dal.
If you are using a stove-top pressure cooker, follow the same procedure, and pressure cook for just one whistle.
Watch me make this zucchini dal-
How to make zucchini dal in Instant Pot-
- Set the Instant Pot in saute mode and add the oil.
- When the oil is hot, add the panch phoron spice mix. Let it sizzle.
- Add the dried red chili, slit green chilies and the garlic. Saute for a minute.
- Now, add the chopped onions. Mix it and then add the ginger, followed by salt. Gently mix and cook for 2 minutes.
- Next, add the chopped zucchini and gently mix. Turn off the Instant Pot.
- Now place the frozen cooked moong dal on top of the zucchini.
- Close the lid and ensure the vent is in the sealing position. Pressure cook this dal on manual mode at high pressure for 4 minutes, and when the cooking is complete, release the pressure naturally.
- After the pressure is all gone, carefully open the Instant Pot lid and mix the dal.
- Add the garam masala and lemon juice and gently mix again. And that’s it. The zucchini dal is ready. Serve it with rice or as a side dish or as is like a stew.
Recipe Notes-
- You can make similar dal with other veggies like bottle gourd, chayote squash, etc. The timing might change, so adjust accordingly.
- Instead of panch phoron spice mix, you can do the tempering with mustard seeds and cumin seeds. You can use ½ tsp of mustard seeds and 1 tsp of cumin seeds. If you have nigella seeds and fennel seeds, you can add ¼ tsp of each or skip it.
- I did not add any asafoetida. You can use ¼ tsp, but if you want to keep the dal gluten-free, skip it.
- Adjust the spices and salt according to your preference.
- As I mentioned in the post, this dal is quite mushy. If you like the bite of the kootu, then reduce the cooking time or release the pressure quickly.
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📖 Recipe
Zucchini Dal | Instant Pot Zucchini Stew With Frozen Moong Dal
Equipment
- Instant Pot or Pressure Cooker
Ingredients
Measurement Details: 1 cup=240ml; 1tbsp=15ml; 1tsp=5ml;
- 1 tbsp oil
- 1 tsp panch phoron spice mix refer notes for alternatives
- 1 dried red chili broken into two
- 3 green chilies slit into half
- 3 garlic cloves roughly chopped
- 1 cup onion chopped
- 5 grams ginger, peeled and thinly sliced (reserve a few to garnish)
- 2 tsps salt or to taste
- 650 grams zucchini when cut I got about 6 cups
- 1 cup moong dal cooked and frozen (I did not thaw it to room temperature)
- ½ cup water
- 2 tbsp cilantro finely chopped
- ¼ tsp garam masala
- 1 tsp lemon juice
Instructions
- Set the Instant Pot in saute mode and add the oil.
- When the oil is hot, add the panch phoron spice mix. Let it sizzle.
- Add the dried red chili, slit green chilies and the garlic. Saute for a minute.
- Now, add the chopped onions. Mix it and then add the ginger, followed by salt. Gently mix and cook for 2 minutes.
- Next, add the chopped zucchini and gently mix. Turn off the Instant Pot.
- Now place the frozen cooked moong dal on top of the zucchini.
- Close the lid and ensure the vent is in the sealing position. Pressure cook this dal on manual mode at high pressure for 4 minutes, and when the cooking is complete, release the pressure naturally.
- After the pressure is all gone, carefully open the Instant Pot lid and mix the dal.
- Add the garam masala and lemon juice and gently mix again. And that's it. The zucchini dal is ready. Serve it with rice or as a side dish or as is like a stew.
Video
Notes
- You can make similar dal with other veggies like bottle gourd, chayote squash, etc. The timing might change, so adjust accordingly.
- Instead of panch phoron spice mix, you can do the tempering with mustard seeds and cumin seeds. You can use ½ tsp of mustard seeds and 1 tsp of cumin seeds. If you have nigella seeds and fennel seeds, you can add ¼ tsp of each or skip it.
- I did not add any asafoetida. You can use ¼ tsp, but if you want to keep the dal gluten-free, skip it.
- Adjust the spices and salt according to your preference.
- As I mentioned in the post, this dal is quite mushy. If you like the bite of the kootu, then reduce the cooking time or release the pressure quickly.
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.
Update Notes: This recipe was originally posted in 2011 but now updated with new pics, Instant Pot version, and with frozen moong dal.
I tried this recipe and it tasted so yummy. My 3 year old enjoyed it. Thanks.
Thanks pa :-)