DAL PALAK - One-pot lentil and spinach dal or stew that can double up as soup for the family on cold winter evenings. Absolute comfort food with some basmati rice, pickles and veg side.
Dal Palak recipe or Spinach Dal with Garlic is an easy dal / dahl or lentil soup recipe made with Toor Dal (split pigeon peas) and spinach or palak.
Dal is comfort food for Indians. We cook and serve dal atleast 3-4 times in a week. Makes an easy weeknight dinner with rice or roti / naan. You could also enjoy this as soup.
Spinach dal is healthy, hearty and uses pantry-friendly ingredients and put together under 30 minutes. I have included tips to cook dal palak in pressure cooker, stove-top and instant pot (refer to recipe card below).
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Ingredients
Toor Dal (split pigeon peas, arhar dal, thuvaram paruppu) - Rinse and soak the dal while you prep the rest of the ingredients.
Soaking the lentils is not mandatory. It just helps in quick cooking and easy digestion.
You can substitute toor dal with red lentils (masoor dal) or moong dal (split yellow lentils).
Spinach - Use fresh or frozen spinach. You can also add frozen spinach puree if you like. If using puree, add it after pressure cooking the lentils.
Feel free to use leafy greens like Kale, Methi (fenugreek), Swiss Chard and Bathua instead of spinach.
Garlic - Dal Palak tastes excellent with loads of garlic.
The dal is tempered twice. Kashmiri Red Chilli powder is added to the final tempering. You can simply omit this step and proceed with tempering the dal with the rest of the ingredients.
The important thing to remember while adding chili powder to tempering is that it needs to be added right at the end else it will burn and ruin the dish.
Palak Dal can be easily made gluten-free if you omit asafoetida or hing. For Vegan recipe, replace ghee with oil in the final tempering.
How to make Dal Palak in pressure cooker
Wash and Soak Toor Dal. Drain the water used for soaking.
Pressure cook toor dal with spinach.
Add salt and turmeric powder before pressure cooking. Note - It takes roughly 15 to 20 minutes for the lentils to cook in a pressure cooker.
Once cooked, mash them lightly and prepare for tempering.
Heat a pan, add 1 tbsp oil, mustard seeds, jeera and whole red chillies. Once mustard crackles, add finely chopped garlic and onion. Saute this until the onions and garlic have browned a little.
Add the cooked dal + spinach and mix well. Allow it to simmer for a few seconds. Check salt and once it reaches a boil, switch off the gas flame.
Final tempering before serving the dal.
Serving Suggestion
Rice - Basmati Rice, Jeera Rice, Brown Rice or Saffron Rice.
Indian Breads - Roti, Chapati, plain paratha or Naan.
Veg Sides - Aloo Gobi, Bhindi Masala, Cauliflower Tikka Masala or Baingan Bharta
Storage / Leftovers / Re-heating
Shelf life - Dal Palak stays fresh for 3-5 days in the refrigerator. Ensure you refrigerate the dal only when it reaches room temperature and use a clean dry spoon every single time. Frozen dal stays fresh for over a month.
Storage - For meal planning, divide the dal into individual portions and refrigerate or freeze in airtight container.
Re-heating - Dal or lentils thicken with time. To adjust consistency, add hot water when reheating in microwave or stove-top.
Leftovers can be re-purposed as paratha for breakfast or lunch. Just add the leftover dal to whole wheat flour, add few spices and knead the dough.
More Dal Recipes to try
Brown Lentils (Whole Masoor Dal)
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Dal Palak Recipe | Spinach Dal with Garlic
Equipment
- Pressure Cooker
Ingredients
Ingredients for the Dal (1 cup is 250ml, 1 tbsp is 15 ml and 1 tsp is 5 ml)
- ½ cup Toor Dal (Arhar Dal or Thuvaram Paruppu) split pigeon peas
- 1 cup Spinach finely chopped
- ½ teaspoon Turmeric Powder
- Salt to taste
- Water to cook lentils
Ingredients for the 1st Tempering
- ½ cup Onions finely chopped 1 medium size onion used
- 10 Garlic Cloves finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon Oil
- ½ teaspoon Jeera or Cumin Seeds
- ¼ teaspoon Mustard Seeds or Rai
- A pinch of Hing or Asafoetida skip this ingredient for GF recipe
Ingredients for Final Tempering
- 2 teaspoon Ghee or Clarified Butter replace with oil for vegan recipe
- ¼ teaspoon Jeera or Cumin Seeds
- ¼ teaspoon Mustard Seeds or Rai
- 2 Whole dry red chillies
- ¼ teaspoon Kashmiri Red chilli powder
- A pinch of Hing or Asafoetida skip this ingredient for GF recipe
Instructions
- Wash and Soak 1/2 cup Toor Dal for 10 mins. Drain water and keep aside.
- Pressure cook soaked and drained toor dal with 1 tightly packed cup of chopped spinach and 1 & 1/2 cups of water with turmeric and salt for 3 to 4 whistles.
- Switch off gas. Allow pressure to release naturally before opening the lid.
- Gently whisk or mash the lentils and prepare for tempering
- Heat a pan, add 1 tbsp oil, mustard seeds, jeera and whole red chillies. Once mustard crackles, add finely chopped garlic and onion and sauté until onions are translucent.
- To the pan, add pressure cooked dal + spinach and mix well. Allow it to simmer for a few seconds. Check seasoning and once the dal reaches a boil, switch off the heat.
- Remove the dal into a serving bowl and prepare for 2nd tempering. Note - This is optional.
- For the 2nd tempering, heat a pan, add 2 tsp ghee, some mustard seeds, jeera, whole red chilies, a pinch of hing or asafoetida.
- Once the mustard crackles, add a pinch of kashmiri red chilli powder and immediately switch off the flame. Pour this tempering over the dal just before serving.
Notes
- You can substitute toor dal with red lentils (masoor dal) or moong dal (split yellow lentils).
- Spinach - Use fresh or frozen spinach. You can also add frozen spinach puree if you like. If using puree, add it after pressure cooking the lentils.
- Other leafy greens like - Kale, Methi (fenugreek), Swiss Chard and Bathua can be added instead of spinach.
- Garlic - 10 cloves might seem too much but it adds a lot of flavor. Feel free to adjust the quantity if you are worried about garlic breath.
- The dal is tempered twice. The final tempering (the spicy chili one) can be easily skipped.
- Palak Dal can be easily made gluten-free if you omit asafoetida or hing. For Vegan recipe, replace ghee with oil in the final tempering.
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We will be back again with yet another exciting recipe .. Until then, stay healthy and happy!
Vidya Narayan
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