Mango Dal – tangy and spicy lentil curry made with raw unripe mango, toor dal (split pigeon peas) and basic spices. A classic dish from Andhra cuisine locally known as Mango Pappu / Mamidikaya Pappu that goes well with rice and chapati. This simple dal made in an instant pot is absolutely a great way to get meals ready on weekdays.
Traditionally, dal is cooked with turmeric and mango until soft and mashable. Tempering is done separately and then mixed with dal. But here spices are tempered and then in the same pot dal is cooked with mango in an instant pot. The subtle sourness infused by raw mangoes and lovely flavour of tempered spices makes the dal absolutely delicious and a delight to your taste buds.
As always, you will find the full ingredients list with measurements and detailed recipe instructions in a separate recipe box underneath the text section. To bypass the text section choose “SCROLL TO RECIPE” or “PRINT RECIPE” or click the “SCROLL TO VIDEO” option to watch the full video of this recipe. All options are located at the beginning of the post.
MORE MANGO RECIPES
Mango Dal recipe variations
A handful of spinach makes a nutritious and healthy addition.
Fresh ginger makes a good addition and adds a lovely flavour.
You may swap red chilli powder for chillies.
You can use red lentils if you don't have toor dal in hand. However, the cooking time varies and you don't need to soak it as well as it takes less time to cook than toor dal. Set the timer to 5 minutes for red lentils.
Ghee can be swapped for oil to infuse great flavours.
Frozen mangoes can be used when fresh ones are not available. Add them at the end and simmer for 5 minutes. It is not really necessary to thaw them.
How to serve Mango Pappu
Mango dal with plain rice with a dollop of ghee, simple side dish Jeera Aloo, pachadi, rasam and papad makes a traditional Andhra meal.
Serve it with rice, papad and pickle when you are short of time or on lazy days.
Make it a little thin and enjoy it as a soup.
This simple mamidikaya pappu can be paired with flavoured rice such as Jeera Rice, Coconut Rice.
It goes well with chapati and paratha.
Stovetop Method
First cook dal with turmeric, mango and water in a pressure cooker for 3-4 whistles (cooking time may vary depending on the quality of dal and hardness of water, so cook accordingly). Slightly mash the dal with the back of the ladle.
In a steel pot, heat oil over medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot slightly reduce the heat, add mustard, cumin and let it to splutter for a few seconds.
Now add red chillies followed by garlic, asafoetida and sauté until garlic starts to turn light brown.
Add curry leaves, green chillies and sauté for few seconds.
Stir in onion and sauté for 4-5 minutes or until onion turns soft.
Now add cooked dal, salt, coriander and mix well.
Tangy and tasty dal is ready to serve.
Watch how to make simple Instant Pot mango dal
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Ingredients
Whole and Dry Spices: mustard, cumin, asafoetida, turmeric.
Vegetables: garlic, curry leaves, green chillies, onion, raw mangoes, coriander.
Lentils, Condiments & Liquids: oil, water, dried red chillies, toor dal and salt.
Method
Rinse and wash dal with plain water for 3-4 times or until water runs clear.
Soak dal in warm water for 20 minutes, meantime prep the vegetables and gather all the ingredients to start cooking.
After 20 minutes discard the water and keep dal aside.
1 & 2. Plugin Instant Pot, turn sauté mode ON and add oil.
3. Once the oil is hot, add mustard, cumin and let it splutter for a few seconds. Now add red chillies, followed by garlic, asafoetida and sauté for few seconds until garlic starts to turn light brown.
4. Add curry leaves, green chillies and sauté for few seconds. Now add onion and sauté for 3-4 minutes or until they start to turn soft. Stir in turmeric and then turn the saute mode OFF.
5 & 6. Add mango, dal, water and close the pot with a lid.
Turn the knob to SEALING position.
Turn pressure cook mode ON, set timer to 15 minutes at high pressure as shown in below image.
Once done, let the pressure release naturally (NPR) for 10 minutes. Then turn the knob to vent position, wait until pin goes down.
11. Take the lid off the pot.
12. Add salt, coriander and mix well.
13. Slightly mash dal with the back of the ladle.
Enjoy piping hot instant pot mango dal with any rice of your choice.
Notes
Dal has to be soaked to reduce the cooking time. If you are short of time then soak dal in hot water for 10 minutes.
Adjust chillies based on your spice requirements.
You can make this dal little bit thick or thin. Once dal is mashed, simmer for 5 minutes to get a thick consistency or add more water and simmer for a couple of minutes to get thin dal.
Use mangoes that are firm and sour. Adjust the quantity based on their sourness.
This mamidikaya pappu will have a slightly coarse texture with mango chunks. To get smooth texture mash with the back of a heavy ladle little longer.
Ensure to peel the mango skin else they impart a bitter and undesirable taste to dal.
Some people may find it not as flavourful as a dal cooked in a traditional method. It is because not all the flavours and aroma are retained as they tend to escape with the release of pressure. You may add extra tadka/tempering at the beginning to compensate. Alternatively, do tadka/tempering in a small pan at the end and add it to dal. This is NOT a must but an optional step. My family just love this curry as is and I don’t do any extra tadka at all.
More Simple Curry recipes
Instant Pot Mango Dal (Andhra Style Mamidikaya Pappu)
Video
Ingredients
1 cup = 250ml ; 1 tablespoon = 15ml ; 1 teaspoon = 5ml
- 1 cup (230 gms) Toor Dal (Split pigeon Peas)
- 2 tablespoon Oil
- 1 teaspoon Mustard
- 1 teaspoon Cumin
- 2 Dried Red Chillies each cut into 2-3 pieces
- 4-5 cloves Garlic peeled and crushed
- ¼ teaspoon Asafoetida
- few Curry Leaves
- 2-3 Green Chillies each slit and cut into half
- ½ cup (88 gms) Onion 1 small, cut into cubes
- ¼ teaspoon Turmeric
- 1 cup (212 gms) Raw Mangoes 5 small, skin peeled and cut into thick slices, discard stone
- 2.5 cups Water
- as required Salt
- handful Coriander chopped
Instructions
- Rinse and wash dal with plain water for 3-4 times or until water runs clear.
- Soak dal with warm water for 20 minutes, drain the water and keep it aside.
- Plug in Instant Pot, turn sauté mode ON and add oil.
- Once oil is hot, add mustard, cumin and let it splutter for few seconds.
- Now add red chillies, asafoetida, garlic and sauté for few seconds until garlic starts to turn light brown.
- Add Curry leaves, green chillies and sauté for few seconds.
- Now add onion and sauté for 3-4 minutes until they start to turn soft.
- Stir in turmeric and then turn saute mode OFF.
- Add mango, dal, water and close the pot with lid.
- Turn the knob to SEALING position.
- Turn pressure cook mode ON, set timer to 15 minutes at high pressure.
- Once done, let pressure release naturally (NPR) for 10 minutes. Then turn the knob to vent position, wait until pin goes down.
- Take the lid off the pot, add salt, coriander and mix well.
- Mash dal with back of the ladle.
- Enjoy piping hot dal with any rice of your choice.
Notes
Nutrition
More Instant Pot recipes
- Cabbage Poriyal
- Dal Palak (Spinach Lentil Dal)
- Vegetable Upma
KEEP IN TOUCH
Do let me know if you make this delicious Andhra style mango pappu. I love to get feedback from readers.
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