Step 1

Take toor dal in a bowl.

Step 2

Add water to it, rinse it well at least 2-3 times.

Step 3

Drain water.

Step 4

Now add water to it. I transferred to my cooker stacking bowl.

Step 5

Add turmeric powder and a few drops of oil.

Step 6

Keep covered.

Step 7

Place the trivet inside the inner pot.Pour 1 cup water to it.

Step 8

Place the bowl inside on the trivet.

Step 9

Now close with lid.

Step 10

Inititally the steel button is down.

Step 11

Press the bean / chilli mode.

Step 12

Keep pressure level low.

Step 13

Now the instant pot has started.It takes few mins to change from ON to timer(in bean mode its 20 mins) and only when then the timer is shown the actual cooking time starts.

Step 14

Inititally the steel knob is down and when it starts to cook it automatically goes up. When the knob is up it means cooking is in process/started and when its down pressure is released and you are ready to open the lid. Do not open the lid when the knob is up.

Step 15

Bean / chilli mode automatically sets temperature to 20 mins. The timer is shown so the actual cooking time starts only. You can either change this 20 mins or leave it as such. Make it 25 mins if its for sambar / rasam and you need nicely mushy dal. Incase if you want to use dal for kootu, dal tadka etc 20 mins will be enough.

Step 16

20 mins done and it gives a beep sound to indicate that its done.

Step 17

After the time is over, it automatically goes to keep warm mode but still the steel know will be up only. Now you can either manually pressure release or naturally let it release. I usually let it release naturally, it takes from 10 mins to 30 mins depending on the water content inside. But incase if you are in a hurry, release it after 10 mins. Only when the steel button goes down(indicates that pressure is released) its ready to open so keep an eye.

Step 18

Incase you want to manually pressure release push 'press' button.

Step 19

Open the lid.

Step 20

Dal is cooked.

Step 21

Mash it well and use it for your recipes.