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Beans and Lentils, Dinner, homemade, lunch, Seasonal, Vegan, vegetarian  /  October 19, 2021

Dal Palak – moong masoor cooked with spinach

by Kanika Samra

Palakwali dal or dal palak is an easy way to introduce greens into your diet. That’s one of the primary reasons I’ve been a fan of this recipe. Additionally, lentils are an extremely inclusive food. I say that because while this recipe uses a mix of two lentils – moong and masoor – you can prepare dal palak with just about any other lentil. The only real difference would be in cooking times. If you’ve been here before, you’ve likely noticed that we released a podcast earlier this year. We talk about all the varied influences that’ve shaped how we cook. Episode 4 of the Kitchenpostcards Podcast is dedicated to pantry staples that we keep in stock, dal amongst them. You can listen to the podcast here, or wherever you get your podcasts and read notes from the episode here. With the right amount of spinach and a well seasoned tarka, this dal might even become you favorite winter soup!

Jump to Recipe Print Recipe
Adding tarka to a bowl of dal palak
Final tarka before serving Dal Palak

Eat your greens!

Unlike the US, where I live, good quality spinach is only found for short windows of time in India. Spinach requires cool weather to grow and this happens to be either winter or early spring in India. Sorry, but summer spinach in India is lousy. And forget about it in the monsoons! It is common knowledge to avoid leafy greens during the rainy season. All that excess moisture in the soil and on plants makes for an ideal environment for bacteria to thrive and, generally rot sets in faster. So as soon as the drier cooler weather sets in, we try to make the most of greens like spinach, mustard, haak, methi in saag, in dal, flatbreads like missi roti and makki methi ki roti, and other recipes.

Palakwali Dal – packing a green punch

To make this dal you will need a Pressure Cooker, or a large stock pot or dutch oven. It can just as easily be cooked in an Instant Pot. Roughly follow instructions from this Panchmel Dal post to cook in an Instant Pot.

Active Time: 25 minutes, Inactive: 10 to 15 minutes; Total: 40-45 minutes

Ingredients for dal palak flatly image
Ingredients for Dal Palak

Ingredients for Dal Palak:

First Tadka:

  • Oil – 1 tbsp
  • 1 heaped tsp of Panch Phoran style mix – zeera, rai, methi, dhania, saunf and ajwain (optional)
  • Green chillies – 2, chopped (optional)
  • Garlic – 2 to 3 cloves, chopped
  • Ginger – 1 inch piece, chopped (I prefer ginger in winters)
  • Onion – 1/2 or 1, chopped (decide based on size)
  • Tomato – 1/2 or 1, chopped (decide based on size)
  • Salt ~ 1/2 tsp, adjust to taste later (spinach is salty, so do not over season in the beginning)
  • Haldi/Turmeric – 1/2 tsp
  • Laal Mirch/Chilli powder – 1/2 tsp
  • Pepper 1/2 tsp
  • Coriander powder 1/2 tsp (optional but recommended)

Dal and Spinach to steam:

  • Spinach – 2 cups, washed and chopped
  • Dhuli Moong dal – 1/4 cup, washed and soaked
  • Dhuli Masoor dal – 1/4 cup, washed and soaked
  • Water ~ 1 cup

Final Tadka before serving:

  • Oil – 1 tbsp
  • Zeera/cumin seeds – 1 tsp (optional)
  • Kashmiri Mirch/A milk paprika – 1/2 tsp (mostly for color)
  • Sabut Laal Mirch/Whole red chilies 3-4
  • A pinch of sugar (yup!)
Powdered spices for dal palak
Washed dals and masalas for Dal Palak

Some more inspiration from the blog

  • Dal with Beetroot Greens
  • May 2, 2018
  • Chilli Coconut Dal Palak
  • May 16, 2022
  • Sookhi Urad aur Palak
  • May 22, 2018

Let’s make Dal Palak:

Panchphoran tadka for Dal Palak
Dal palak tarka – sautéing ginger and chilies
Dal Palak – sautéing onion and tomato

Ingredient prep:

Step one as always, gather everything, wash, clean and prep. Wash spinach in lots of water, preferably thrice. If using already washed and cleaned spinach, then skip. Roughly chop the spinach. Crush, peel and chop garlic cloves. Similarly, chop green chillies and ginger. I’ve started using ginger as is, unpeeled. Wash it thoroughly to remove all dirt. The skin has a lot of flavor. In the winter months I will often make dals with just ginger, or when unavailable, like here, I’ll use garlic. Use what you have. Collect the dry masalas and keep them ready. Measure and wash the dals. Let them soak in about a cup of water.

Thermal physics in food – its quite scientific!

Chop onion and tomato as well. Keep them both chunky because we want them to cook down and dissolve into the dal. It is a matter of simple physics, more surface area absorbs more heat and cooks faster!

Let’s get this pressure cooker going:

Sauteing spinach for dal palak
Sautéing palak for Dal Palak
Dal Palak ready to steam in a pressure cooker
Adding washed Moong masoor to the tadka for Palakwali Dal
Dal palak in a pressure cooker just before steaming
Palakwali Dal- ready to steam!

Put the pressure cooker on the stove at medium high heat. Once warm, add oil followed by all the panch phoran style seeds listed under First Tadka. Let them splutter and then add chopped chillies, garlic and ginger. Cook until ginger and garlic are fragrant and starting to brown. Next, add onion and tomato. Sauté until onion is translucent and tomatoes soft. Follow with all the dry masalas. Allow them to bloom. Then, add chopped spinach. Give it a quick stir and cook for just about a minute. Spinach wilts quickly and will turn a bright green as it begins to cook. That’s your cue to add dals along with their soaking water. Stir and sauté for a minute or two, then add another cup to cup and a half of water.

See here for instructions for cooking a similar dal in the Instant Pot.

Be careful when working with a pressure cooker

Close the pressure cooker lid and turn the heat to high. The cooker should take 5 to 6 minutes to build enough steam to blow the whistle. As soon as the whistle goes off, lower the heat down to the lowest setting on your stove. Cook on low for another 5 minutes and then turn off the stove. But let your pressure cooker sit undisturbed and allow the steam to escape naturally.

  • Steamed and ready dal palak
    Dal Palak, steamed. Stir to mix in and see the color emerge!
  • Palakwali Dal stirred in a pressure cooker
    Steamed dal palak ready to finish with a tarka

Be careful when you open the lid. It is very important to be vigilant. Check if the pressure valve has dropped and gently lift the weight with a fork or spatula to see if any more steam escapes. If all is quiet and the valve has lowered, open the lid. You will find a green, soupy dal. Stir to see its yellow-green color emerge!

Making a red chilli tarka for dal palak
Laal mirch tarka for Dal Palak
Adding tarka to a bowl of dal palak
Final tarka before serving Dal Palak
Red chillies in oil on dal
Laal mirch chhaunk for dal palak

Final tadka for Dal Palak

Just like the panchmel dal and Dal Tarka, this dal is more appetizing with a laal mirch chhaunk or tarka added just before serving. You can use ghee or any cooking oil. I almost always use extra virgin olive oil. Heat about 2 tsp oil/ghee in a small saucepan or ladle like tadka pan. Add red chilli powder to it (preferably Kashmiri Laal Mirch), whole red chillies and a pinch of sugar. The sugar helps to amplify other flavors – saltiness, spiciness. Try it! It works on just about any dal, but especially arhar dal.

Enjoy Dal palak with rice or whole wheat chapatis!

Its a comforting meal when souped over rice or even in an ensemble of a typically quick Indian dinner, that I make often. Just switch out the dal for this!

Dal palak served with rice in a bowl
Dal palak served with rice.
A bowl of dal palak with whole red chilli tarka on top
Dal Palak
Dal palak in a bowl with rice in the center
Comfort food!

Bookmark this recipe!

A bowl of dal palak with whole red chilli tarka on top
Print Recipe

Dal Palak – Yellow Lentils with Spinach

Dal palak contains sautéed spinach cooked with a mix of moong-masoor. This recipe can also be cooked with Toor/Arhar dal. It is an easy and delicious way to add more greens to any diet!
Prep Time15 mins
Cook Time25 mins
Total Time40 mins
Course: dinner, lunch, Main Course
Cuisine: Indian
Keyword: Dal, Dal Palak, Palak, Palakwali Dal, Spinach
Servings: 4 people
Author: Kanika Samra

Equipment

  • Pressure Cooker

Ingredients

First Tadka

  • 1 Tbsp Oil
  • 1 tsp Mixed seeds – jeera, rai, methi, saunf, dhani, ajwain Tweak this mix per your preference
  • 2 Green chillies chopped
  • 2-3 cloves Garlic smashed and chopped
  • 1 1 inch piece Ginger washed and chopped
  • 1/2 to 1 Onion roughly chopped, preferably red onion
  • 1/2 to 1 Tomato roughly chopped
  • 1/2 tsp Salt adjust to taste
  • 1/2 tsp Haldi/Turmeric
  • 1/2 tsp Laal Mirch/Red Chilli powder
  • 1/2 tsp Black pepper ground
  • 1/2 to 1 tsp Dhania/Coriander powder

Dal and Spinach to Steam

  • 2 cups Spinach washed and chopped
  • 1/4 cup Dhuli Moong Dal
  • 1/4 cup Dhuli Masoor Dal
  • 1 cup Water and more as needed

Final Tadka

  • 1 Tbsp Oil or ghee
  • 1 tsp Zeera/Cumin optional
  • 1/2 tsp Kashmiri Laal Mirch or a mild chilli like paprika
  • 2-3 Sabut Mirch/Whole Red Chillies
  • pinch Sugar optional, but recommended

Instructions

Ingredient prep:

  • Wash spinach in lots of water, preferably thrice. Roughly chop the spinach. Crush, peel and chop garlic cloves. Chop green chillies and ginger. Roughly chop onion and tomato. Collect dry masalas and keep them ready. Measure and wash the dals; let them soak in about a cup of water.

Pressure cooking dal

  • Put the pressure cooker on at medium high heat. Once warm, add oil followed by all the panch phoran style seed mix from the list of First Tadka ingredients. Let them splutter and then add chopped chillies, garlic and ginger. Cook until ginger and garlic are fragrant. Next, add onion and tomato. Sauté until onion is translucent and tomatoes soft. Add all dry masalas and allow them to bloom.
  • Follow with chopped spinach. Give it a quick stir and cook for just about a minute. Spinach will turn a bright green as it begins to cook. That’s your cue to add dals along with their soaking water. Stir and sauté for a minute or two, then add another cup of water.
  • Close the pressure cooker lid and turn the heat to high. Cook for 5-6 minutes/until first whistle. Lower the heat down to the lowest setting on your stove. Cook on low for another 5 minutes. Then turn off the stove. Allow the steam to escape naturally.

Final Tadka before serving

  • Just like the panchmel dal and Dal Tarka, this dal is more appetizing with a laal mirch chhaunk added just before serving. Heat about 2 tsp oil/ghee in a small saucepan. Add Kashmiri mirch powder to it, whole red chillies and a pinch of sugar. The sugar helps to amplify other flavors – saltiness, spiciness. Try it! Serve with rice or chapatis.

Notes

  • Ginger: I’ve started using it unpeeled. Wash it thoroughly to remove all dirt. The skin has a lot of flavor. In the winter months I will often make dals with just ginger. 
  • Be careful when you open the pressure cooker’s lid. It is very important to be vigilant. Check if the pressure valve has dropped and gently lift the weight with a fork or spatula to see if any more steam escapes. If all is quiet and the valve has lowered, open the lid. 

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Tags

  • dal
  • Dal aur Chukander ke patte
  • dal aur mooli ke patte
  • Dal Palak
  • greens
  • palak recipe
  • palakwali dal
  • spinach
  • Vegan food
  • vegan recipes
  • vegetarian

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