Instant Pot recipe for nutritionally rich Rajasthani Panchmel Dal, using five most common lentils from the Indian kitchen pantry and infused with ginger and cloves. ‘Dal’ means lentil soup and ‘Panchmel’ means a mixture of five, hence Panchmel Dal is a lentil soup made by mixing five different lentils. Relish it just as a soup, or pair it with rice, quinoa, or bread (hot roti).
Panchmel Dal for Dal Bati Churma
Panchmel Dal is a key component of the popular Dal Bati Churma, wherein Dal is referring to the Rajasthani Panchmel Dal featured here. The traditional way of having dal bati is to crush the bati and then pour Panchmel Dal over it. Some people also sprinkle jaggery on top of it. Panchmel Dal, because of its rich flavor, is treated as a special occasion dal and tastes best when served with unleavened Indian bread such as missi roti, tandoori roti, bati or khoba roti.
Nutritionally Rich Lentils
Lentils used in Panchmel Dal are the main source of proteins and part of the staple diet in middle eastern countries and the Indian subcontinent, where a significant population is vegetarian. They have a hearty texture and have many other nutrients such as folate, manganese, iron, phosphorus, copper, thiamine, potassium, magnesium, and vitamins to name a few. Due to all these nutrients, lentils are a great source of fiber, good for heart health, improve digestive health, helps manage blood sugar levels and improve body immunity.
Gather all the ingredients and let's get started...
Panchmel Dal - Five Lentil Soup
Equipment
- Wok
Ingredients
Split Lentils
- ¼ cup Split Bengal gram lentil
- ¼ cup Split Urad lentil
- ¼ cup Split Red lentils
- ¼ cup Split mung lentil
- ¼ cup Split Pigeon lentil
- 400 g Tomato 3 to 4 Finely diced
- 150 g Onion 1 medium size Finely diced
- 20 g Ginger 1 inch piece Grated
- 5 g Dry red chilies 3 to 4
- 10 g Green chilies 3 to 4 Chopped or slit
- 10 g Cilantro handful
- 2 tablespoon Ghee or Ghee preferred - 2 tbs
- 1 tablespoon Lime Juice of 1 to 2 limes
- 4 cup Water can be varied depending on desired consistency
Spices
- ½ teaspoon Garam masala
- 1 teaspoon Dry mango powder
- ½ teaspoon Turmeric powder
- 2 teaspoon Coriander powder
- 1 teaspoon Red chili powder
- 1 teaspoon Cumin seeds Jeera
- 0.5 g Asafetida hing - generous pinch
- 5 g Cloves cloves weight6 to 7
- ½ teaspoon Salt As per taste
Instructions
Stove Top Pressure Cooker Method for Panchmel Dal
- Wash the lentils three to four times and and drain all water each time.¼ cup Split Bengal gram lentil, ¼ cup Split Urad lentil, ¼ cup Split Red lentils, ¼ cup Split Pigeon lentil, ¼ cup Split mung lentil
- Pressure cook till dal is al dente. Time and number of whistles vary depending on the type of pressure cooker, heat setting and quantity. I boiled it for 10 minute on medium heat until whistle starts sounding intermittently.
- In a separate pan, heat ghee or oil and add asafoetida (hing), cumin seeds (jeera), cloves and dry whole red chilies. Let it roast for a few seconds.2 tablespoon Ghee, 1 teaspoon Cumin seeds, 0.5 g Asafetida, 5 g Cloves, 5 g Dry red chilies
- Now add ginger and green chilies. Continue roasting.20 g Ginger, 10 g Green chilies
- Then add finely chopped onion and saute further until onion is translucent or golden brown.150 g Onion
- Now add chopped tomatoes and cook further they are mushy and the whole mixture starts separating oil.400 g Tomato
- Add spices – turmeric powder, coriander powder, red chili powder and salt.½ teaspoon Turmeric powder, 2 teaspoon Coriander powder, 1 teaspoon Red chili powder, ½ teaspoon Salt
- Once all spices are mixed and you can smell the flavors, add pressure cooked lentils. Mix well and let it cook more.
- Add water (if needed) to get to the desired consistency.4 cup Water
- Once it starts boiling, then turn off the heat and add garam masala, dry mango powder, lemon juice and chopped cilantro. Mix well and transfer to a serving bowl.
- For extra rich look and flavors, like in the picture below, add tamper from the top.
Instant Pot Recipe Method for Panchmel Dal
- Start the instant pot on SAUTE mode and heat ghee/oil in it.2 tablespoon Ghee
- Add asafoetida (hing), cumin seeds (jeera), cloves and dry whole red chilies. Let it roast for a few seconds.1 teaspoon Cumin seeds, 0.5 g Asafetida, 5 g Cloves, 5 g Dry red chilies
- Then add green chili, ginger and saute for 30 seconds10 g Green chilies
- Then add diced onion. Saute until onions are translucent.150 g Onion
- Now add tomatoes and saute until soft and mushy.400 g Tomato
- Add all the spices except garam masala and lemon juice and mix them.½ teaspoon Turmeric powder, 2 teaspoon Coriander powder, 1 teaspoon Red chili powder
- Wash the lentils for 3-4 extracts of water and then add them to the instant pot.4 cup Water
- Add water equal to three times the dry lentil volume
- Press CANCEL and close the instant pot lid with vent in sealing position.
- Press MANUAL or PRESSURE COOK mode for 0 minutes and let the pressure release naturally (NR)
- When float valves pops down, open the lid, add garam masala and lemon juice.½ teaspoon Garam masala, 1 teaspoon Dry mango powder, 1 tablespoon Lime
- For extra rich look and flavors, add tamper from the top.
Notes
For a complete festive occasion, serve with other Rajasthani recipes as shown in the place setting below:
Xavier says
If cooking without a pressure cooker, how long should you soak/boil the lentils?
Rupali Agarwal says
Hello Xavier, I have not cooked it without pressure cooker so can’t tell exactly how long it will take, but to my best assumption it should be done in 35-40 minutes.
Thank you
Rupali
Good2bnani says
For the instant pot method, you are saying 0 mins on manual mode. Is that a typo? Thanks for clarifying.
Rupali Agarwal says
No, it’s not typo. It is supposed to be 0 minutes. In 10 minutes it will become paste ?
Most of the folks think how can lentils be cooked in 0 minutes? But if you see lentils start cooking when pressure is building up and then which is 15-20( depending on how much water you have added) and then continue to cook while pressure is releasing. So they get sufficiently cooked in pressure building up and in releasing time. Which can be anywhere from 30-40 minutes.
Hope this makes sense! Let me know if you have any other question.
Thank you-Rupali
Deb says
Hi! Thanks for this recipe! Is 1 min manual really sufficient for the dals?
Rupali Agarwal says
Yes, it is since it needs to be al dente not mushy.