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Dal Palak Recipe | Spinach Dal | Spinach Lentil Curry

Dal palak is a simple, healthy and delicious curry made with a combination of dals and spinach (palak). The recipe that is shared here today is a double tempting recipe which adds a nice smokey flavour to this dish.
This is a healthy,vegan, protein-rich, diabeti-friendly, fibre-rich, and beginner-friendly recipe that is often made for a quick weekday lunch or dinner.
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Servings: 4 people
Course: Easy Dinner Recipes, Easy Lunch Recipes, Main Course
Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients Method Video Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 1 cup Spinach, roughly chopped
  • 1 cup Turdal / Arhar Dal / Pigeon Peas
  • 1/2 cup Yellow Moong Dal (Yellow Lentils)
  • 1 Onion, finely chopped
  • 1 Tomato, finely chopped
  • 1 teaspoon Garlic, finely chopped
  • 1 teaspoon Ginger, finely chopped
  • 2 Green Chillies, finely chopped
  • 2 Dry Red Chillies
  • 1 teaspoon Cumin Seeds (Jeera)
  • 1/2 teaspoon Turmeric Powder
  • 1/4th teaspoon Hing (asafoetida)
  • 1 tablespoon Coriander Powder
  • 1 tablespoon Garam Masala Powder
  • 1 teaspoon Red Chilli Powder
  • Salt to taste
  • 2 tablespoon Oil
For Garlic Tadka
  • 2 tablespoons Oil
  • 1 teaspoon Cumin Seeds (Jeera)
  • 2 Dry Red Chillies
  • 1 tablespoon Garlic, finely chopped
  • 1 tablespoon Kashmiri Red Chilli Powder

Method
 

  1. In a bowl add a cup of turdal (piegeon peas) & half a cup of yellow moong dal (yellow lentils).
  2. Wash the dals a couple of times till the water runs relatively clear.
  3. Add 2 cups of water and pressure cook the dals for 5-6 whistles.
  4. The cooked dal is ready. Using a masher, mash the dal to a fine consistency.
  5. Heat oil in a pan, add cumin seeds and let them sizzle. Add dry red chillies.
  6. Add finely chopped ginger-garlic-green chillies & hing (asafoetida). Saute till ginger & garlic changes colour to light brown.
  7. Keep the flame very low. This golden brown garlic gives a nice flavour to this dal palak.
  8. Add finely chopped onions and cook till translucent.
  9. Add finely chopped tomatoes. Cook this onion-tomato mixture till the tomatoes soften.
  10. Add coriander powder, gram masala powder, red chilli powder, and turmeric powder.
  11. Add 1/4the cup of water to prevent spices from burning.
  12. Let this masala cook till you see oil floating on top, stir frequently in between.
  13. Add chopped spinach (palak). Mix well with the onion tomato masala.
  14. Add salt to taste.
  15. Let the palak (spinach) cook for about 3-4 minutes. Add the cooked dal.
  16. Mix dal with palak and add 2 cups of water. Adjust the consistency of the dal as per your choice.
  17. Let the dal simmer for 3-4 minutes. Keep on stirring occasionally to avoid dal sticking to the bottom of the pan.
For Tadka
  1. In a tadka pan, heat oil add a teaspoon of cumin seeds and let them sizzle. Add 2 dry red chillies and a tablespoon of finely chopped garlic.
  2. Let the garlic cook till it changes colour to a light brown.
  3. Add a tablespoon of Kashmiri red chilli powder and mix well.
  4. Our tadka for dal is ready. You can keep half of the tadka aside to garnish while serving (optional).
  5. Pour this flavourful garlicky tadka on the dal and let the dal simmer for 5-6 minutes.
  6. Once the dal comes to a boil. Switch off the flame and transfer the dal to a serving bowl.
  7. Delicious dal palak (spinach dal) is ready to serve. You can opt to add the tadka on the dal before serving (optional).
  8. Serve this dal palak with jeera rice or paratha.

Video

Notes

Giving extra tempering of garlic is not necessary but I would highly recommend it as it gives a nice smokey flavour to this dal.
For making it Jain style or satvik version, skip onion & garlic.
To make it gluten-free, skip adding hing (asafoetida).
Instead of combining dal, you can use any lentils that are available at hand.
 
Looking for more delicious vegan recipes? Don’t forget to check out my Vegan eBook – packed with simple, flavorful dishes to make your vegan journey effortless and delicious!
 
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Lal Masoor Dal (Red Lentil Curry)
Akkha Masoor Dal (Brown Lentil Curry)
Lobia Masala (Black Eyed Beans Curry)
Green Moong Dal (Green Gram Lentil Curry)
Maharashtrian Amti (Sweet & Tangy Dal)
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Vegan (Plant-Based) Recipes
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Product links to buy
garam masala powder
coriander powder
turmeric powder
Kashmiri red chilli powder
sunflower oil