Moth beans (pronounced as moath) is a drought-resistant legume. It is rich in proteins and quite popular across India. They are also called matki beans, Mat Bean, Turkish Gram, or Dew Bean and Nundy in Telugu. They are small brown lentils with a yellow interior. You can use them as sprouts or as a curry. One of the famous Marathi dishes uses them very well if you are familiar with misal pav and usal.
Moth dal is an easy option to make in an instant pot or in traditional pressure cooker. Especially, when you are hard pressed for time on weekdays. It cooks fast in an instant pot and is a comforting meal at the end of the day. Apart from moth beans, you can cook sabut moong(whole mung beans), mung dal chilka, chana dal, yellow moong, lobia dal, masur dal (red lentils) in a similar fashion.
Ingredients
- Onions,tomatoes ,garlic-ginger paste
- cumin seeds
- curry powder or ( mix of tumeric powder, red chili powder,coriander powder garam masala powder)
- moth beans (soaked in water for 4-6 hours)
- salt and pepper as per taste
- water
- cilantro leaves
authentic Indian curry paste / or use onions,tomatoes ,garlic-ginger paste
See recipe card for quantities.
Wash and Soak moth beans for 4-6 hours in water. Discard water before usage.
Instructions
- In an instant pot, heat oil and add cumin seeds on saute mode. Let it splutter. Add chopped chili, ginger and onions. Let it cook until onions are browned and add chopped tomatoes to it.
2. Add spices and let it cook for few minutes,add the moth beans
3. Add water to the pot
4. Cover the instant pot with the lid with the SEAL ON position.Cook for 15 mins on high in pressure cooker mode, release after 10 minutes or let it have a natural release.
5. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves.
Hint: If you let the beans sprout, it is more beneficial.
Related recipes
Instant pot matki dal recipe | Instant pot moth beans
Equipment
- instant pot
- pressure cooker in case not using the instant pot
Ingredients
- 1 cup moth beans / matki dal
- 4 cups water
- 2 tbsp. sesame oil any other oil / ghee for vegetarian
- 1 tablespoon ginger -garlic paste
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 2-3 medium tomatoes chopped
spices
- 1 tsp. cumin seeds
- 1 tsp. red chili powder as per taste
- 2 teaspoon curry powder (use this or below spices) curry powder can be replaced with turmeric,coriander and garam masal
- ½ tsp. turmeric powder / curry powder
- 2 teaspoon coriander powder / cumin powder optional
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
- salt as per taste
Instructions
- Wash and soak the lentils for atleast 3-4 minutes in 2 cups of water
Traditional pressure cooker method
- Boil the lentils along with chopped tomatoes , turmeric powder and salt in a pressure cooker. Pressure cook for 2-3 whistles on a low flame.
- Mash the lentils using a potato masher or mathni.
- In a tadka pan, heat oil and add cumin seeds on a high flame. Let it splutter. Add the ginger, chopped green chillies and heeng. Mix well.
- Add red chilli powder to the tempering and turn off the heat. Add the tempering to the boiled lentils.Let it simmer for few minutes.
- You may garnish optionally with chopped coriander leaves. Serve hot with jeera rice or roti.
For instant pot:
- Heat oil in an instant pot. Add cumin seeds and let it crackle. Add ginger-garlic paste along with chopped tomatoes and salt. Cook until it softens.
- Add 1 cup soaked moth beans
- Now add 4 cups of water and mix well.
- Add spices and Start the instant pot in pressure cook mode on high for 15 minutes with the seal ON position. Once done, pressure release naturally.Garnish with fresh coriander leaves.
- Serve hot with vegan naan or basmati rice.
Notes
Substitutions and Variations
- You can make a tempering in ghee for vegetarians with ginger-garlic paste along with onion tomato paste. For a jain recipe, avoid adding onion and garlic. You can make it vegan when making it in oil instead of butter or ghee.
- Spicy - add more chopped green chili to make it spicier.
- Kid friendly - You may add any other veggies to this recipe too like carrots, potatoes or sweet potatoes.
- You can make the same curry in a pressure cooker. Just cook on medium flame and cook for 3-4 whistles. The beans need to be soaked overnight or minimum of 4 hours.
- Plain sprouted moth beans makes a great salad when mixed with some cucumbers and tomatoes. Apart from this you can also eat sprouted matki recipe as curry when steamed. Bonus: You can also add it as a filling in onion dosa.
- Just another way to have an everyday cooking fun with kids who always want a new recipe to eat.
Equipment
- Instant pot
- large bowl
FAQ
Moth beans are very high in nutrients. It is a good source of fibre, zinc and helps builds muscle and aids in weight loss. The legume contains Vitamin B which helps in the proper functioning of human body. Helps control cholesterol levels and blood pressure.
Usually, they grow a good ¼ to ½ inch long tail within a day. In winters it may take up to 2 days for the beans to sprout.
Conclusion: Moth beans curry is an easy recipe in an instant pot.
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