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Sabut Moong Dal – a delicious creamy North Indian dal made with green mung beans in the Instant Pot with green mung beans simmered in a fragrant tomato coconut milk sauce flavored with aromatic Indian spices. Serve with rice or flatbread for a comforting meal. Gluten-free Soyfree Nutfree
Here’s a wholesome mung bean curry just in time for the first cooler days of the year! Indian Sabut Moong Dal – this North Indian Green Mung Bean Dal is delicious, creamy, super flavorful and so easy and quick to make in an Instant Pot. Sabut means whole. Moong/mung is a green colored small bean. It comes in whole form, that’s the green mung beans, and split form. The split can have the green skin or can have the skin removed. The No skin version is yellow and is called moong dal.
This sabut moong is paired with creamy coconut milk, chili, garlic, onions, tomatoes and warming Indian spices, this green mung bean curry is such a comforting meal ideal for those colder early fall days. Serve it with rice or naan bread for the perfect plant-based meal.
I love cooking with mung beans as they are very versatile. I use them for soup, kitchari , fritters and I even use them to make a delicious Vegan Omelet. They make a great addition to your pantry!
They can be easily found at Indian grocery stores but also at mainstream stores such as Whole Foods and Costco.
Other than the mung beans, we are mostly using very basic pantry ingredients such as garlic, onions, coconut milk, tomatoes, garlic and some spices like garam masala.
why you will love this Mung Bean dal
- it uses a few ingredients
- it needs just 1 pot
- it is gluten-free Soyfree Nutfree
- it has no onion garlic option in recipe notes
- this is a versatile recipe. Use it with other lentils or beans!
More lentil recipes:
Vietnamese Inspired Caramelized Pork Bowls with Lentils
Mung Bean Sprouts, Seared Carrots, Kale Salad with Chili Lime Sesame Dressing
Black Eyed Pea and Mung Bean Stew. Mixed Dal.
Sabut Moong Dal (Creamy Green Mung beans)
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup green mung beans (sabut moong), soaked for at least two hours
- 1 teaspoon oil, or use a few tablespoons water to sauté
- 1/2 cup chopped onion
- 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
- 1 hot green chili, finely chopped
- 1-2 teaspoons garam masala or berbere or Madras curry powder
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne or Indian red chili powder., You can use more if you’d like more heat
- 1/4 cup canned tomato puree or you can use 2 fresh tomatoes pureed.
- 14 oz can full-fat coconut milk, or use cashew milk or water
- 1 cup water, (use 1 1/2 cup if your instant pot is prone to burn error)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- cilantro , lemon juice/ lime juice and pepper flakes for garnish
Instructions
- Wash and soak your moong beans if you haven’t already then drain and set aside.
- Turn the Instant Pot on Saute mode at high and add the oil. Once the oil is hot add the onion, garlic, green chili, and a good pinch of salt and cook until the onion is golden, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir occasionally. Also deglaze occasionally if needed by adding a 1-2 teaspoons of water.
- Once golden, add in the spices and mix well. Cook for another 15 seconds. Then add in the tomato puree, drained moong beans, water, coconut milk, and salt, and stir to mix in.
- (If using fresh tomato puree, add just the tomato puree after adding the spices and cook for 2 to 3 minutes until it comes to a good boil then add in the moong beans, coconut milk, and water and mix in.)
- Mix really well to pick up any stuck bits, and switch off Saute mode. Close the lid and pressure cook for 35 minutes or bean mode for 35 minutes. I like to use the bean mode because sometimes the beans are pretty old and they take a much longer time to cook on regular pressure cook mode. (For less soft beans, pressure cook 20 mins.)
- Let the pressure release naturally then open the lid, stir and mash some of the moong beans using a spatula, mashing them on the sides of the inner pot. Taste and adjust salt and flavor. If the dal is too thick, you can add in some more water and mix in while the dal is still hot. Remove the dal from the instant pot and garnish with cilantro and lemon juice and serve with rice, quinoa, naan, or flat bread.
Video
Notes
- Stove top: Follow the first 4 steps with a large saucepan over medium heat. Add another 1.5 cups water, then partially cover and cook for 45-50 mins. Stir occasionally and mash some of the beans when they are done to preference.
- To make it coconut free you can use a mix of any other non-dairy milk and two tablespoons of non-dairy yogurt for additional thickening.
- You can also make this without any additional added non-dairy milk. Just use water instead of coconut milk. So you’ll use two cups of water in total.
- You can make this oil-free. Use water to sauté and also add 1/4-1/2 cup more water
- Dals are usually overcooked so that they are soft and mushy, and that can sometimes cause the dal at the bottom to scorch and give a burn signal depending on your Instant Pot (some can be very sensitive or heat unevenly ). Add 1/2 cup more water if yours is generally more sensitive
- No onion garlic: Use zucchini instead of onion and add 1/2 teaspoon fenugreek leaves or 1/8 teaspoon fenugreek seed powder instead of garlic
- Other lentils: You can use other Dals here as well. Brown lentils will take 16-18 mins pressure cook time. Green lentils 20 mins. Whole Urad(black matpe beans) 40 mins. Chana Dal 35-40 mins. Chickpeas(soaked overnight) 45-50 mins
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Ingredients:
- green mung beans, soaked for at least two hours
- sauteed onion, garlic, and green chili are the base
- aromatic spices: garam masala or berbere or Madras curry powder, black pepper and cayenne or Indian red chili powder
- canned tomato puree adds body to this dal – I used canned but you can use 2 fresh tomatoes pureed
- full-fat coconut milk makes the dal creamy. You could use water if you are not into creamy dals or want to keep this very low-fat
Tips
- To make it coconut free you can use a mix of any other non-dairy milk and two tablespoons of non-dairy yogurt for additional thickening or just use water
- You can also make this without any additional added non-dairy milk. Just use water instead of coconut milk. So you’ll use two cups of water in total.
- Once you open the lid, you can mash more of the dal to make it more creamy.
- You can make this oil-free. I add the oil so that it reduces the chances of getting a burn signal as we are cooking the dal for a longer time.
- Dals are usually overcooked so that they are soft, and that can sometimes cause the dal at the bottom to scorch and give a burn signal depending on your Instant Pot (some can be very sensitive or heat unevenly ). Add 1/2 cup more water if your instant pot is generally sensitive.
- Dals as I mentioned are cooked until a melt in your mouth texture. This is the expected texture and result. This means they will be mushy. If you don’t like it too soft, pressure cook for 18-20 mins instead.
How to make Sabut Moong Dal
Wash and soak your moong beans if you haven’t already then drain and set aside.
Turn the Instant Pot on Saute mode at high and add the oil. Once the oil is hot add the onion, garlic, green chili, and a good pinch of salt and cook until the onion is golden, 3 to 5 minutes.
Stir occasionally. Also deglaze occasionally if needed by adding a 1-2 teaspoons of water.
Once golden, add in the spices and mix well. Cook for another 15 seconds.
Then add in the tomato puree, drained moong beans, water, coconut milk, and salt, and stir to mix in.
(If using fresh tomato puree, add just the tomato puree after adding the spices and cook for 2 to 3 minutes until it comes to a good boil then add in the moong beans, coconut milk, and water and mix in.)
Mix really well to pick up any stuck bits, and switch off Saute mode. Close the lid and pressure cook for 35 minutes or bean mode for 35 minutes. I like to use the bean mode because sometimes the beans are pretty old and they take a much longer time to cook on regular pressure cook mode.
Let the pressure release naturally then open the lid, stir and mash some of the moong beans using a spatula, mashing them on the sides of the inner pot. Taste and adjust salt and flavor. If the dal is too thick, you can add in some more water and mix in while the mixture is still hot. Remove the dal from the instant pot and garnish with cilantro and lemon juice and serve with rice, quinoa, naan, or flat bread.
How to serve?
This Green Moong Dal pair perfectly with basmati rice or roti or flatbread. You can also pair it with quinoa or cauliflower rice.
Storage
Refrigerate for upto 4 days. Freeze for upto a month
Like everything Richa publishes this is amazing. You have made my 10 year vegan anniversary so tasty and exciting with your spice blends and amazing flavours.
Thank you for your kind words!
Delicious taste and creamy consistency! Thank you!
Awesome!
This turned out so well. I used 1 and 1/2 teaspoons of berbere seasoning. My bottle of berbere seasoning includes salt so I adjusted for that. I used green chili, black pepper, and cayenne. Next time, I may leave out one of them. On its own, it was a little too spicy. With rice, it was perfect.
So glad you enjoyed it!
Delicious! I accidentally burned the bottom of the pan- mixed it in and it was even better than before! Chocolate undertones. I had to use a can of coconut cream instead of coconut milk. So good!
Good improvising!
This is absolutely scrumptious, Richa, Thank you!👏(I like things hot, so I added more curry, and also some coriander powder, and some kalonji seed. I used homemade cashew cream in lieu of coconut milk! It is a decadent dal, richly flavoured and creamy! Love your recipes!👏😋
Sounds deliciously spicy!!