Operation Manual
19
Cooking Dal
Dal is the Indian term for various dried edible seeds such as lentils.
The basic steps to pressure cook dal are:
1. Put dal, water and seasonings (if desired) in cooker. Stir.
2. Close cooker. Bring to full pressure on high heat. Reduce heat and
cook the required time.
3. Remove cooker from heat. Allow to cool naturally.
4. Open cooker. Add tempering with spices as desired.
Some dals such as tuvar, moong and chana, tend to sprout while
cooking. Pressure cooking these dals in a mold eliminates sprouting.
For example,
3
/4 cup
/
150 g tuvar dal and 2 cups
/
480 ml water may
be pressure cooked in a 1 litre (1 quart) mold on the grid. Water in
cooker body: 1 cup
/
240 ml water. Pressure cooking time: 10 minutes.
Yield: 2
1
/2 cups. See Using Molds, page 15.
See the following suggestions to reduce sprouting when cooking
dal directly in the cooker.
To Reduce Dal Sprouting
1. Do not fill the cooker body (dal and water combined) to more than
one-third. Do not exceed dal and water quantities and cooking times
given in the following chart.
2. Do soak dal (in enough water to cover dal) for 15 minutes before
pressure cooking and add 1 tsp
/
5 ml salt,
1
/4 tsp
/
1.3 ml turmeric and
1 tsp
/
5 ml vegetable oil per cup of dal, to dal and water in cooker
before closing the lid.
3. Do reduce heat to medium immediately when the pressure cooker
reaches "Full Operating Pressure".
4. Do not release pressure by lifting the pressure regulator.
5. If sprouting persists, bring to full pressure on medium heat
and reduce heat immediately when the pressure cooker reaches
"Full Operating Pressure".
There are many varieties of dal and some amount of experimentation with water and cooking
time may be necessary to suit your taste. A few examples are given in the chart below.
Dal Maximum Water Pressure Cooking Time Pressure Release
Quantity** Quantity in Minutes
(soaked
/
unsoaked)
Tuvar dal* 1
3
/4 cups
/
350 g 4
3
/4 cups
/
1.1 litres 1 Allow to cool naturally
Moong dal* 1
1
/2 cups
/
300 g 3
3
/4 cups
/
900 ml 1 Allow to cool naturally
Chana dal* 2
1
/2 cups
/
500 g 4
1
/4 cups
/
1 litre 6 Allow to cool naturally
Sabat Urad 1
3
/4 cups
/
350 g 8 cups
/
1.9 litres 25 Allow to cool naturally
Dal Chart
* To reduce frothing: Soak 15 minutes in water and drain; add salt, turmeric and oil.
** IN A 5 LITRE PRESSURE COOKER