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!
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:
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!)
Some more inspiration from the blog
Let’s make Dal Palak:
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:
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.
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!
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!
Bookmark this recipe!
Dal Palak – Yellow Lentils with Spinach
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.