Dal Palak/Lentils with Spinach
Yellow mung dal/lentils are roasted till aromatic and then cooked with spinach and tempered with spices. A comfort food which brings on warm fuzzy feelings.
Like most of the Indian recipes, this is very adaptable and are cooked in different ways, with different lentils and different spices depending on the region where it is cooked and definitely on the mood of the chef! I have different kinds of Palak Dal that I make at home. This one here is my favorite, not just because it tides in nostalgia, but also because of the roasted mung dal that is used here. It is very popular to lightly dry roast the yellow mung dal before cooking in West Bengal. Roasting the lentils, brings out the beautiful aroma that will hang around your home for a long time.
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Dal Palak/Lentils with Spinach
Ingredients:
- 1 bunch spinach, washed thoroughly and roughly torn
- 1 medium tomato, grated (optional)
- 3/4 cup yellow mung (or moong) dal
- 1.5 teaspoon oil/ghee/butter
- 1.5 teaspoons grated ginger/ginger paste
- salt
- 3/4 teaspoon sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon red chili powder (optional)
- 2 fresh green chili pepper
- a pinch of hing/asafoetida
- 4 cups water (may be a little bit more if needed)
- fresh lemon
Preparation:In a dry thick bottomed skillet, lightly roast the mung dal/lentils till they are fragrant and golden. Cool them and wash them.
In a large pot over medium-high heat combine the dal and water. Bring to a boil, then add the turmeric and salt, ginger, 1 green chili, slit or broken. Reduce the heat, and simmer till the lentils are about half done.
Add the spinach and simmer until the lentils are soft, about 1 hour /more or less (or you may pressure cook the dal/lentil). I add the spinach later during cooking so they are not overccoked and still maintains the dark green color. The lentils should not dry up while cooking, they have to have the soupy consistency. If you need more water, do add more. Remove from heat when the lentils are cooked and soft but not mushed up.
In another pan, heat the oil/ghee/butter and cumin and fry until the cumin sizzles. Add the green chili and asafoetida/hing if you’re using it and fry for about half a minute.
Add the red chili powder and the tomatoes and cook till the tomatoes are mushy. Add the cooked lentils and spinach to this pan, cover and allow to cook/simmer for another ten minutes. Taste, and season with more salt if needed.
Squeeze some fresh lemon juice on the top before serving. Serve hot with rice or roti.
This is my entry to MLLA#20, an event started by Susan of The Well Seasoned Cook and hosted this month by Rachel of The Crispy Cook.
Related Posts:
Methi Dal (Lentil Soup with Fenugreek Leaves)
Spinach Soup with Potato and Fried Garlic
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February 24th, 2010 at 5:35 pm
Is that a comfort food
I like ging and cumin in ur dhal, is different than what I make it!
February 24th, 2010 at 7:15 pm
Like you said Soma, it is cooked in a lot of different ways and this is different for me. I have never cooked it with moong always with toor. And I never knew roasting the dal was an option. Am going to try this the next time. Lovely recipe and beautiful pictures.
February 24th, 2010 at 7:38 pm
Such a comforting and flavorful dish! I have a lot of spinach to use right now and would love to make this!
February 24th, 2010 at 8:56 pm
looks so comforting nd yummy,.
February 24th, 2010 at 9:16 pm
This looks so delicious. Its been a while since I ate Dal Palak…Love it!
February 24th, 2010 at 10:02 pm
Totally delicious, I love how the beans are roasted first.
February 24th, 2010 at 10:24 pm
Moong dal and spinach is a fantastic combo, the colors compliment each other so well!
February 24th, 2010 at 10:26 pm
I love daal when it is thick like the one you have. Grating tomato is new to me. Other thatn that, I make it pretty much the same. Look good.
February 24th, 2010 at 10:42 pm
Great combination. I’ve never made lentils with spinach before.
February 25th, 2010 at 2:30 am
I love the combination here and lemon drops will make it even more irresistible! I make a similar dish with green lentils and spinach heads (not the leaves, but their pinkish ends.)
February 25th, 2010 at 2:34 am
A scrumptious combination! Just the kind of dish i could eat now…
Cheers,
Rosa
February 25th, 2010 at 2:54 am
Its a hearty comfort food.Love the thick daal Soma.I too have read and tried grating tomato from Madhur Jaffrey’s book.This makes an instant puree removing the skin.Love the way you explain everything.
February 25th, 2010 at 2:58 am
I love this combination and make it quite often at home!!! Yummm!!!! Lovely Clicks!
February 25th, 2010 at 3:00 am
I love palak dhal, but never tried roasting it. I must have a go now!
February 25th, 2010 at 5:34 am
YUMMO! Just give me a slice of bread and spoon, I am good to go!
February 25th, 2010 at 6:04 am
Interesting combination. I love spinach and lentils so I’m sure I’d enjoy a hot bowl of this dish.
February 25th, 2010 at 6:57 am
This dal and rice would be my all time comfort food. Mostly it is plain, this i have to make.
February 25th, 2010 at 7:37 am
My favorite! I love the Saravana bhavan version very much,I have to try your version looks appealing!
February 25th, 2010 at 7:50 am
There couldn’t be anything healthier that tastes so good. Great job.
February 25th, 2010 at 8:12 am
Looks very nice dish..nice pics
February 25th, 2010 at 9:00 am
Nice one…..we too love dal palak combination, atleast once a week it’s must…..My blog is all spinach recipes now-a-days as he wants to eat spinach everyday…..
February 25th, 2010 at 9:01 am
I just need a roti to slop it all up..
February 25th, 2010 at 10:30 am
I could really go for a bowl of this deliciousness right now. Thanks for sending this great recipe over to My Legume Love Affair.
February 25th, 2010 at 12:45 pm
Wow oh wow, and this is just the perfect weather for a dish like this one. Roasting the lentils … that should change everything. This is on my must try list!
February 25th, 2010 at 3:00 pm
What a great comfort meal–sounds exactly like the perfect dinner for this evening! Love the vibrant color.
February 25th, 2010 at 5:38 pm
Lentil with spinach sounds great! I love lentils, but never tried them with Spinach. Perfect to be eaten with flat bread!
February 25th, 2010 at 7:14 pm
I made lentils and beef stew a couple days ago, so my vegetarian husband did not eat them…..I love this recipe, because he eat it, too
February 25th, 2010 at 9:22 pm
That looks so nice, Soma..Love the rustic bowl!!
February 26th, 2010 at 3:08 am
hey nice recipe..I too make suc dal but with toovar dal..these clicks are so yummyy…too good
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February 26th, 2010 at 6:06 am
Comfort food at its best! Will love this with hot rice. Bhaja mung dal diye kokhono korini … ekbar try korbo.
February 26th, 2010 at 10:04 am
what an absolutely delicious and healthy food! love the recipe!
February 26th, 2010 at 10:31 am
I will have to try making this. I love lentils but only cook it in basically 2 ways. I could sure use a 3rd option.
February 26th, 2010 at 1:49 pm
This is now high up on our to-make list! However, we already have regular green lentils and split red lentils at home. So, Soma do you have a suggestion which of those kinds would work better, because I have never used the kind you have in this recipe and not sure if I should buy ANOTHER bag? I will adjust the cooking time as need be I can handle that part…just wonder what you think. Also I bought a bottle of mustard oil recently and am interested to experiment with this new cooking ingredient…
Thank you!
The red lentils
If I do not use the moong, I usually use the red lentils(masoor dal) with the spinach which is my favorite.
This is a very adaptable recipe and as I said it is done with different lentils and different seasonings. Some use chopped onion and garlic .. rather than what I have used. Adapt it like you said the mustard oil. that is what cooking is about.
here is a red lentil recipe tempered with mustard oil which I had posted quite some time back:
(http://www.ecurry.com/blog/soups-and-salads/soup/simply-seasoned-red-lentils-a-taste-of-home/)
don’t hesitate to ask if you need to ask anything else.
February 27th, 2010 at 9:49 am
I’ve been eating a lot of lentils lately… Not sure why; it must be some sort of coincidence really but this looks like another great dish to try out. Lovely and colorful!
February 27th, 2010 at 1:02 pm
All of your soups look so good. I also want to try the tomatoe one that you recently posted.
February 27th, 2010 at 2:01 pm
Oh, this is so delicious! I had to use toor dal instead, and it was just as good. The roasting, the tomato and the lemon make all the difference. Thank you very much for sharing the recipe with us ;*
February 28th, 2010 at 5:20 am
A georgous & ooh so tasty dish!! I so love spinach & to add lentils with this & so many spices must taste awesome!
February 28th, 2010 at 8:21 pm
I happen to have some spinach I need to use up. This looks like just the hearty and healthy dish to use it in. Thanks for sharing this lovely recipe!
March 1st, 2010 at 1:04 pm
sushatha, sugondhi, sundor !!
March 2nd, 2010 at 9:24 am
This does sound like perfect comfort food. I could enjoy this every day!
March 2nd, 2010 at 10:59 am
I love the combination of lentils and spinach, looks delicious ! Perfect comfort food
March 6th, 2010 at 5:20 am
Nice pictures, what lens have you used?
March 12th, 2010 at 10:17 am
I made this and had it for dinner last night. It was terrific. I’m used to using onion and garlic in most of the Indian dishes I make, but the fact that this recipe omits them, lets the rich earthy flavor of the spinach come through in each bite of the dish. Roasting the mung dal was a nice technique also. The only thing I did that was not part of the recipe was to add a handfull of curry leaves, because I had ‘em, and I love curry leaves!
Cooking is all about getting creative, isn’t it?; so glad that you made it your own. The eastern part of India, when I belong has a lot of recipes which do not use onion and garlic. They are awesome even without them and comfort food for me.
March 26th, 2010 at 9:20 am
Hi,
I tried out thus recipe yesterday with jeera rice and it was wonderful.
Such a comfort food feel. Really different from the regular palak dal …..we loved it!
‘am happy that it worked out for you