Quick Instant Pot Lentil Curry

This quick Instant Pot Lentil Curry is a family favorite, which I turn to again and again on busy weeknights.

As far as my family is concerned, these are Lentils with a capital “L”. My Instant Pot Quick Lentil Curry is loosely based on Indian dal, but with ingredients from my American pantry. When I try to make lentils some other way - Italian style, say, or with bacon, I get an earful. “What’s this? It doesn’t taste right. These aren’t lentils.”

Jump to:

• Ingredients
• How to Make Quick Instant Pot Lentil Curry
• Substitutions
• 🛠 Equipment
• 📏Scaling
• 🤨 Soaking lentils?
• 💡Tips and Tricks
• What to serve with Instant Pot Lentil Curry
• ☃️ Storage
• Instant Pot Lentil Curry Recipe
• 🤝 Related Posts
• 💬 Comments

These lentils are my daughter’s comfort meal. When I ask “does anyone have any requests for dinner next week?“, she always says “Lentils!” The rest of the family enjoys it, too…except for my oldest, my picky eater. He despises it. His note in my birthday card, just last week:

You’re the sweetest. Unless you make me lentils. Just kidding. ❤️

(He’s not kidding - he wrote this before I started cooking this recipe.)
With three kids, I know some recipes will split the vote…but none are quite this divisive, loved and hated in equal measure. I enjoy these lentils too, so I use Lord Vetinari’s rule of Democracy: “One man, one vote. I’m the one man; I have the vote.” And I vote for lentils.
I cooked lentils for years on the stovetop, but I switched to the pressure cooker version, and I never looked back. The set it and forget it Instant Pot makes this a mostly hands-free meal. Most of the active time is dicing and sauteing the onions; once I set the pressure cooking time, I can walk away and trust the lentils to be ready to serve in about 20 minutes. (That said, don't skip the sauteing step - cooking the onions and toasting the spices adds a lot of flavor to the recipe.)
So, here it is: our family favorite Lentils, Instant Pot Quick Lentil Curry. Enjoy!

Ingredients

This is a simple dried bean recipe, so the ingredients list is pretty basic

• 1 pound dry lentils, sorted and rinsed (brown lentils are "lentils" in my area)
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed (optional)
• 1-inch piece ginger, peeled and grated (optional)
• ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1 tablespoon sweet curry powder
• 6 cups water
• 1½ teaspoons fine sea salt

How to Make Quick Instant Pot Lentil Curry

Rinse the lentils

Put the lentils in a strainer and rinse thoroughly with cold water. Let stand to drain while you prepare the rest of the recipe.

Sauté the aromatics and spices

Melt the butter in the pressure cooker over medium heat until the butter stops foaming. (Use sauté mode in an Instant Pot). Add the onion, garlic, and ginger to the pot, and sprinkle with ½ teaspoonsalt and 1 tablespooncurry powder. Sauté until the onion softens and the curry powder starts to smell toasty, about 5 minutes. Stir the lentils into to the pot, scraping the bottom of the pot to loosen any browned onions or spices. Pour in the 6 cups of water and add 1½ teaspoons of salt. Lock the lid.

Pressure cook the lentils for 12 minutes with a quick pressure release

Pressure cook on high pressure for 12 minutes in an electric PC (Use “Manual” or “Pressure Cook” mode in an Instant Pot), or for 10 minutes in a stovetop PC. When the cooking time is done, quick release the pressure.

Serve

Remove the lid from the pressure cooker, tilting it away from you to avoid the hot steam. Stir the lentils, and taste for doneness. If the lentils aren’t soft enough, simmer for another five minutes or so (don’t bring back to pressure – use simmer mode on the cooker or simmer on the stovetop). Serve with rice.

Substitutions

• Different Types of Lentils: Brown lentils are just "lentils" in my area. You can substitute green lentils if you want a firmer lentil in your curry. Red lentils are another substitute, but they cook quicker than brown lentils.Cut the pressure cooking time back to 10 minutes if you use red lentils.
• Extra vegetables: This recipe is great when I want to add in extra vegetables. When I want to add more vegetables to this recipe, I'll replace a cup of the water with a 15-ounce can of diced tomatoes. Or, I'll add 8 ounces of baby carrots with the lentils. Or a handful of baby spinach after pressure cooking, where it will wilt in the heat of the curry. And I'll garnish the curry with some diced cilantro leaves for a bit of extra flavor.
• Different curry powders: I use a standard "curry powder" from Penzeys spices, but the curry powder at your local grocery store will work great in this recipe.
• Heat level: The heat level in this dish depends on the curry powder you use, and there isn't any heat in the grocery store "curry powder" I buy. If you want a hotter curry, go with a hot curry powder, or add up to ½ teaspoon of cayenne pepper with the curry powder.
• Coconut milk: If you want a richer, sweeter curry, with more of a Thai flavor, Replace 2 cups of water with a can of coconut milk.
• Vegetarian or vegan: This curry is vegetarian as written. For vegan version of this curry, substitute olive oil or vegetable oil for the butter. I use butter because ghee (Indian clarified butter) is a common ingredient in Indian curries.
• Broth for extra rich curry: To increase the flavor, substitute vegetable broth, for some or all of the water. (If you are OK with a non-vegetarian version of the recipe, homemade instant pot chicken broth is a fantastic addition.)
• Lentil soup version: Increase the water to 8 cups and this becomes a lentil soup

🛠 Equipment

A 6-quart pressure cooker. Pressure cooker dried beans are one of the reasons I became a pressure cooker convert, and love my Instant Pot. Try them - you’ll never go back to canned beans. (OK, maybe you will, for convenience - but see the Storage section for tips on make ahead freezer beans.)

📏Scaling

This recipe scales down easily - cut everything in half if you don’t need as many beans, or have a 3-quart pressure cooker. Scaling up runs into space issues; if you have an 8-quart pressure cooker, you can double this recipe, but it’s too much to fit in a 6-quart pressure cooker.

🤨 Soaking lentils?

I get the “to soak, or not to soak?” question all the the time. Don't soak lentils. They cook too quickly - if you soak them, they fall apart when pressure cooked.

💡Tips and Tricks

• Salt your lentil water! “Salt toughens beans” is a myth. Salting before cooking helps season the beans all the way through as they cook.
• Try to buy lentils from a store with lots of bean turnover. Beans dry out as they age, which makes them a little tougher to cook.
• Quick releasing the pressure thickens the broth. The sudden pressure release shocks the water into a vigorous boil, which roughs up the lentils and releases starch into the liquid. If you don’t want the mess or noise of a quick release, cut the pressure cooking time back to 10 minutes and go with a natural pressure release, and then puree a cup of the lentils and stir them back into the pot to thicken the broth.

What to serve with Instant Pot Lentil Curry

Basmati rice is the traditional side dish with curry. I usually serve it with Jasmine rice, which has a similar taste, but is much cheaper. (Lentils and rice are a great combination, giving you a complete protein in a vegetarian meal.)
If you want to add an extra health boost to your rice, serve this recipe with my Instant Pot Brown Jasmine Rice.
Naan - Indian flatbread - is another traditional side dish. My local grocery stores rarely carry naan bread, so I'll substitute another flatbread (like pita bread) when I need a quick weeknight side dish.

☃️ Storage

These lentils will last in the refrigerator for a few days, and freeze for up to 6 months. I freeze leftovers in 2-cup containers, and they're ready to eat after reheating for about 5 minutes in the microwave.

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🤝 Related Posts

Pressure Cooker White Rice (If you have a second Instant Pot, use it to make the rice)
Pressure Cooker Lentil and Bacon Soup
Pressure Cooker Umbrian Lentils and Sausage
My other Lentil Recipes
My other Pressure Cooker Recipes

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1. Um...unless my wife doesn’t agree. Hi, honey! ↩