(Dal palak)
Moong dal with spinach is a wonderful healthy combination of green. This is a great way to get your greens and protein. It is an easy, healthy and flavorful dal made with palak (Spinach) and moong dal (green grams) and tempered with tomato, onion and garlic tadka.
This is a very adaptable awesome dish and cooked in different ways with different lentils and different spices depending on the region where it is cooked and personal preferences. It is a main course dish and can be served with rice or chapattis.
Ingredients for Dal:
1 10 oz frozen pack of chopped spinach -thawed
or 1 pound fresh chopped spinach
½ Cup green split moong dal or split yellow
moong dal
½ Teaspoon turmeric powder
1½ Teaspoon salt or to your taste
5 Cups of water
Ingredients for onion tadka:
1 Medium size onion- fine chopped
1 Teaspoon minced garlic
1 Tablespoon fresh grated or fine chopped ginger
1 Medium size ripe tomato – chopped in to small pieces.
1 Medium green chili–fine chopped
1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
Ingredients for cumin seed tadka:
1 Teaspoon cumin seeds
1 Pinch of asafetida (Hing)
1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
Ingredients for hot chili tadka:
2 Teaspoons crushed red chilies or red chili powder
2 Tablespoons melted butter or ghee
Serving for 4
Cooking measurement conversion
Measurement converter
Frozen Chopped Spinach
Or, Fresh chopped Spinach
Chopped Tomatoes, Chopped Onion, Chopped Green chilies, Grated Ginger & Minced Garlic
Crushed Peppers, Butter, Cumin seeds & Hing (Asafetida)
Direction for cooking dal:
1. In a pressure cooker add dal and wash, changing water several times until the water appears clear.
In the Cooker add split Green Moong
Wash Green Moong Dal
2. Once Dal is soaked wash and rinse.
Soak Dal in water
Wash and rinse Dal
3. Add thawed or fresh chopped spinach and 5 cups of water.
Green Moong Dal is soaked
Add chopped spinach
Add water
Mix water with spinach and Dal
4. Add Turmeric powder and salt and mix everything together, close the lid of the pressure cooker and place the weight on the lid, turn the heat to medium high.
Add Turmeric powder & Salt
Mix Turmeric and salt
Close the pressure cooker
Open the Pressure cooker
5. In about 8 to 10 minutes pressure cooker will start steaming, turn the heat down and cook for 12 to 15 minutes. Turn the stove off and wait until steam goes down. Different brand of cooker require different time to cook.
6. While dal is cooking prepare the onion and cumin seed tadka and keep them aside. (see below for for tadka directions)
7. Open the pressure cooker. Turn the stove on to medium heat, with the cooking spoon mix dal well so there are no lumps and cook for 5 to 6 minutes or until spinach and moong dal blend in together.
8. Moong dal should get over cook so that spinach and moong dal blend in.
With a spoon mix Dal & Spinach well
Dal and Spinach are cooked
9. Once spinach and Dal blend in well add onion tadka in the dal and mix and cook, stirring frequently so that dal does not stick to the bottom.
10. If the Dal looks thick then add some water.
Add Onion Tadka
With a spoon mix Onion Tadka
11. Let the dal cook for 7 to 8 minutes, once onion tadka, Dal and Spinach blend well with each other and you have the desired consistency add cumin seed tadka, cook for1 minute and turn the stove off.
12. When ready to serve, transfer dal in a serving bowl and pour hot chili tadka over dal. (see below for chili tadka)
Moong Dal with Spinach Dal blend
Add Cumin seed Tadka
Moong dal with Spinach is ready
Moong Dal with Spinach
Moong Dal with Spinach
Tips:
1. If you wish you can skip onion tadka or any other tadka and alter Dal to your taste.
2. Use pressure cooker to cook dal, otherwise it takes too long to cook the dal.
Directions for cumin seed tadka: (Tadka)
1. In a small pan (tadka spoon) add 1 tablespoon oil, cumin seeds, and pinch of asafetida and fry them for 2 to 3 minutes or until cumin seeds become dark brown. Take it off the stove.
Directions for hot chili tadka: (Hot oil) (tadka)
1. In a small pan (tadka pan) heat 2 tablespoons ghee or melted butter add crushed red chilies or red chili powder and fry them on very low heat for 1 to 2 minutes or until the red chilies fried, turn the heat.
Directions for onion tadka: (tadka)
1. On medium heat in small pan heat 2 tablespoons oil, add chopped onions and minced garlic and sauté them 5 to 7 minutes, or until they become light brown. Frequently keep stirring the onions.
2. Add chopped tomatoes, grated or chopped ginger and chopped green chilies and cook. With the spatula try to mash the tomatoes so that they become soft quickly. In about 5 to 6 minutes tomatoes will become soft and blend in with onions. Turn the stove off.
Please take the time to let me know what you think about my recipe. Your comments would be helpful to me to improve the recipe.
Thank you
Geeta Seth
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