CSA Layered Indian Dinner for the Instant Pot

CSA Layered Indian Dinner from Kathy Hester’s, The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook For Your Instant Pot. One pot. Hands off. Done all at the same time. So easy. Get the recipe, plus a full review of the book below.

I’m so excited about today’s post! I’ve got a review of Kathy Hester’s new cookbook, The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook For Your Instant Pot. I’m going to tell you why you need to get an Instant Pot if you don’t already have one. And, best of all, I get to share with you Kathy’s amazing recipe for this CSA Layered Indian Dinner – you won’t believe how easy it is!

Before receiving Kathy’s cookbook, I had no idea layered meals were even a possibility. You see three distinct “layers” in the dish above – rice, root vegetables, and dal. These were all cooked in the same pot and the same time! This seriously blew my mind. This Indian Dinner is the ultimate “set it and forget it” meal.

I love the flavors of Indian cooking. So fragrant and warm. The day I made this dish, my son came home from school and said, “Can I have some of whatever I smell? It smells good!” Indeed, the house smelled amazing!

This Indian dinner was surprisingly easy to make. Indian food usually calls for lots of spices and this dish is no different. However, if you follow my blog regularly, you likely have most of these spices in your spice rack already (or you should!). The only curveball is curry leaves, but that’s an optional ingredient.

You layer all the ingredients, 2 of them in separate containers, inside the Instant Pot! This was new to me and I was skeptical, but it worked brilliantly! Everything was done at the same time, perfectly cooked.

Why You Need an Instant Pot

I’ve mentioned before how much I love my Instant Pot. I sang my praises for this 7-in-1 device here. I tell everyone they need one. Here’s why –

• It has 7 different functions: pressure cooker, slow cooker, rice cooker, sauté/browning, yogurt maker, steamer, and warmer!
• Save space and throw away (or sell!) your other small appliances – you only need this one!
• Meals done in half the time!
• No soaking needed to cook dried beans!
• Fully programmable – dinner ready when you are!
• You can bake in it!
• Easy clean up – removable inner pot!

The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook For Your Instant Pot by Kathy Hester

If you have an Instant Pot, you need this cookbook! So much variety. So many tips and tricks. Kathy walks you through all in the ins and outs of your Instant Pot, including care instructions, cooking methods, presets, troubleshooting, and even what Kathy calls “Ninja Instant Pot Tricks” – you won’t find these in your manual!

In addition to the Introduction Chapter, there are 8 recipe chapters. Let’s take a look inside.

Five Recipes to Start You Out: The Best Not-Refried Beans; Pear Cardamom Steel-Cut Oats for Two; Super Easy Weeknight One-Pot Pasta

Quick and Easy Homemade Staples to Save You Money: No-Effort Soy Yogurt; Instant Pot Vegetable Bouillon; DIY Andouille Seitan Sausage

Bean and Lentil Recipes That Cook in Half the Time: Tomatillo-Poblano White Beans; Kidney Bean Etouffée; Black Bean Quinoa Burgers

Fun and Delicious Way to Add in More Whole Grains: Perfect Kamut (and Other Long-Cooking Grains); Vegan Sushi Bowl; Whole-Grain Cornbread

Eat Your Vegetables: Easy and Elegant Plant-Based Fare: Whole Spaghetti Squash; Not-Baked Potatoes; Vegan Cauliflower Queso

Fast and Comforting One-Pot Meals: Mushroom and Butternut Squash Chili Bean Soup; Welcome Spring Pea and Asparagus Risotto; Winter One-Pot Lentils and Rice

Cook It All at the Same Time: Layered Meals with Sides: One-Pot Burrito Bowls; Cheesy Potato Pierogies (Polish Dumplings); Southern Breakfast

Decadent and Healthy Desserts: Salted Date Caramel Tapioca Pudding; Holiday Orange Spice Cake; Spiced Oat-Stuffed Apples

Which are you most excited to try first?

More vegan Instant Pot recipes

• Instant Pot Vegan Split Pea Soup
• Instant Pot Spinach Rice and Chickpeas

More vegan Indian recipes

• Vegan Palak Tofu
• Bombay Potatoes and Peas
• Masala Lentils

I hope you love this recipe as much as we do! If you tried it, please use the rating system in the recipe card and leave a comment below with your feedback.

Be sure to sign up for my FREE Newsletter to be the first to get my NEW recipes! You can also follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest.

For even more easy family recipes, be sure to check out my cookbook, The Meatless Monday Family Cookbook!

Don’t forget to order a copy of The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook For Your Instant Pot and start enjoying fuss free meals ready in an instant!

Layered Indian Dinner for the Instant Pot

Layered Indian Dinner from Kathy Hester's, The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook For Your Instant Pot. One pot. Hands off. Done all at the same time. So easy.

4.67 from 3 votes

Print Rate

Course: Main Dish

Cuisine: American, Indian

Diet: Vegan

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes

Total Time: 55 minutes

Servings: 4 servings

Calories: 261kcal

Author: Jenn Sebestyen

Recommended Equipment

• ▢
  Instant Pot

Ingredients

Yellow Dal Layer

• ▢ 2 cups (475 ml) water
• ▢ ½ cup (96g) yellow split peas moong dal, red lentils, or combination
• ▢ 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• ▢ ½ teaspoon ground cumin
• ▢ ½ teaspoon garam masala
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon turmeric
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon chili powder
• ▢ ⅛ teaspoon ground coriander

Curried Root Vegetable Layer

• ▢ 2 cups (490g) diced turnip beet, potato or other root vegetable
• ▢ 1 tablespoon (15mL) water
• ▢ 1 tablespoon (6g) finely shredded coconut
• ▢ 1 teaspoon crumbled curry leaves dry or fresh (optional)
• ▢ ½ teaspoon grated ginger
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon minced garlic
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon ground cumin
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon ground coriander
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon ground turmeric
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon garam masala
• ▢ ⅛ teaspoon chili powder
• ▢ ⅛ teaspoon fennel seeds

Rice Layer

• ▢ 1 cup (185g) brown basmati rice
• ▢ 1 ¼ cups (295mL) water

Before Serving

• ▢ Salt (to taste)

Instructions

• For the yellow dal layer, add all the yellow dal ingredients directly to the Instant Pot liner, mix well, and add the rack on top of that.
• For the curried vegetable layer, add all the curried root vegetable ingredients to a short Pyrex container and toss. Place on the rack above the dal. (If you need to, you can wrap this layer in foil if you can’t fit two Pyrex containers above the dal.)
• For the rice layer, combine the rice and water together in a short Pyrex container and place, uncovered, on top of the root veggie layer.
• Cook on high pressure for 40 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally. Once the pressure indicator goes down, remove the lid and carefully lift out the pans.
• Before serving, taste each component and add salt to taste.

Notes

Kathy recommends 3-cup rectangular Pyrex containers (or similar) for the layers. Notes from the Veggie Inspired kitchen: For the Root Vegetable Layer, I used part russet potatoes and part beets. *Recipe reprinted with permission from Kathy Hester and Page Street Publishing

Nutrition

Calories: 261kcal | Carbohydrates: 57g | Protein: 10g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 100mg | Potassium: 272mg | Fiber: 11g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 50IU | Vitamin C: 36.3mg | Calcium: 60mg | Iron: 2.3mg

Nutrition values are calculated using online calculators and are estimates only. Please verify using your own data.

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