I'm type 2 diabetic and have been for quite a while. It runs in my DF's family and I have been getting steadily worse over time, things that worked at the start to keep my HbA1c down became less effective and I had to keep trying new habits and new medications. You are definitely doing the right thing to try to reverse the pre diabetes now because the longer that you fend off diabetes the better for your old age health.
When I was first diagnosed I got myself a fingerprick glucose monitor. I tested before eating, 2 hrs after eating and 4 hours after eating. I did that for all my regular meals, I didn't worry about meals that were one off like having dinner at a friend's house. That way I could rule out meals that spiked me and have more of the ones that were glucose friendly. Now I wear a continuous glucose monitor and that has been massively useful to understand what's going on all the time eg when I'm asleep.
What I found in the early days is that not only are different carbs 'good' or 'bad' but also what's good for one person is terrible for another. For instance the diabetes nurse said that porridge is a good breakfast for diabetics because it's slow-release, and lots of diabetics do find that true, but my body digests oats like sugar or white bread and porridge gives me a massive spike. Whereas lentils (you mentioned daal in your op) have always been pretty good, and still are even as my diabetes has become worse, but are not good always useful for other diabetics. Don't give up foods that you enjoy until you know that they are definitely spiking you because they might be fine.
Some handy hints that have worked well for me.
Do some exercise starting between 10 mins and 30 mins after eating, that mops up some of the excess glucose in your blood. So if you have lunch at your desk, have a 20 min brisk walk or use a skipping rope for 10 mins or something that uses big muscles and makes you breath a bit heavily. I have a rowing machine at home and I do a kilometre on that, because I have the cgm I can see whether or not that is enough so if my glucose hasn't gone to where I want it I will do another kilometre.
Do a little something every hour, a few press-ups on the kitchen counter or some sit-stands while you're waiting for the kettle to boil. If you work at a desk for most of the day try fidgeting your legs frequently, bounce them or do a seated march.
Use dried pasta, not fresh. Cook it and chill it, then reheat it when you're ready to eat it. This has been well documented to turn some of the carb molecules into non-soluble fibre. The same works for rice but be careful with rice because it can have a bacteria that causes stomach upset when it's kept and reheated. The cook/chill/reheat thing used to work great for me, but now I just don't eat pasta or rice at all. Also, cauliflower rice tastes awful but if you mix it half and half with real rice that disguises the taste really well, especially with indian food which has a robust flavour. You can buy cauliflower rice frozen in individual portions that just need to be microwaved.
If you eat bread try to find one that you like where the carb content is less than 5 times the fibre content, the fibre will slow down the digestion of the carb and will be more filling. Also check that the sugar part of the carb is low.
Have things handy so that you're not tempted to eat things that spike you because you don't have time or energy to do something different. I have soups and daals frozen in individual portions ready to microwave. I always have various cheeses, eggs, Dr Kargs protein thins and protein bread (made by Profusion) because that's an easy lunch.