It's no secret that the Emerald Doulas are big, huge fans of the Instant Pot. We live on Baby Time, and that means we're often scrambling between births and client meetings, and balancing that with our own families. Eating whole meals is a challenge sometimes. 

Know who else lives on Baby Time? New Parents. 

As it turns out, a good portion of our New Parents Community (and former clients) also love the Instant Pot. It's meets all of the requirements we all need from a kitchen appliance- it's fool-proof, it's fast, and it helps make tasty, nutritious meals. Plus, one could throw it all in the pot, walk away to so something else, and come back to a hot meal. Does it get any better than that?

But, we get it. Recipe testing isn't something that New Parents have the time and energy to do. And, not every recipe on the internet is as delicious as it's hyped to be. So we'll take it on for you! Each month, we'll test out an internet Instant Pot recipe. Then we'll report back here on our blog, sharing the steps involved and the tastiness that results. 

First up? Moong Dal Khichdi. It's a gluten-free, vegetarian dish, made with rice and lentils and seasoned with turmeric, cumin seeds, curry leaves and other spices. 

The Ingredients: 

Peel and chop ginger

Set your Instant Pot to "Sauté"

Add oil (the recipe called for Ghee, but we used Vita-Coco Coconut Oil to convert this into a vegan dish)

Sauté ginger and spices until fragrant (and trust us, it's deliciously fragrant)

Turn off Instant Pot. Add rice, dal, and 1 cup of water

Put the lid on and turn valve to seal

Press "Manual" and adjust time to 5 minutes 

Walk away. Nurse your baby. Take a shower. Check Facebook. Allow the Instant Pot to cook, and allow the pressure to release naturally. Come back to this: 

Grab your best doula friends, and enjoy! 

We had our Moong Dal alongside naan, and with pickled mangos and other pickled veggies.

The Verdict: Aside from needing to add in a little salt at the end, it's really, really yummy and equally as fast to whip up. (It maybe took 5 minutes to get it all into the pot, and then about 20 minutes total to pressure, and release on it's own) It's easy to see why this popular Indian dish is a traditional comfort food and one that's often served when someone is sick or recovering from an illness. 

This is the perfect dish for a freshly postpartum family.