Dal Palak / Spinach Dal

I love Dal of any kind - Toor dal, Moong Dal, Green Gram, Masoor Dal .... Around 2 years back, I was aware of only two kinds of recipes with Dal. One was the Kerala style parippu curry (Kerala Style Dal) and the other, Dal with potatoes which my mom prepares for Chappathis. I did try other kinds of dal recipes at my office which tasted awful and looked like Dal in lots of water. Now the credit for my love for dals goes to one of my best friends who used to bring variety of Dals for lunch every day and I will share the recipes one by one in this blog. 

Ingredients :

Palak / Spinach/ Keera - 1/4 cup

Toor Dal - 1/2  cup  

1/4 teaspoon Turmeric powder - Manjal Podi

1/2 teaspoon Chilli powder - Mulaku Podi

Ginger - Garlic Paste

Green chillies 

Onion - 1/2 

Tomato - 1/2

1 teaspoon Cumin Seeds (Jeera) 

A pinch of asafoetida (Kayam)

Salt to taste

1 teaspoon Oil 
Coriander leaves for garnishing

Time for preparing : 30 minutes

A very old pic taken from my mobile :) 

Recent Pic:



Method of preparing: 

Step 1:

Pressure Cook Toor Dal for 3 whistles and keep aside. I also add a pinch of fenugreek powder while pressure cooking. Mash the dal well after its cooked. 

Step 2:

Heat Oil in a wide thick bottomed pan. (We are going to add Dal to the pan at the end. So it should be wide enough to hold dal and palak )

One oil heats up, add cumin seeds and asafoetida.

Add onions and green chillies and saute them till they are soft and translucent and light brown. I had very spicy chillies with me. So I just added a quarter part of one green chilly. Depending on the spicyness of your green chillies, add to your taste. Remember we are going to add chilly powder also later. 

Step 3: 

Add ginger - garlic paste and saute for 2 minutes.

Step 4: 

Add turmeric, chilly powder and salt and saute for 3 min.

Step 5:

Now Add Tomato and saute till they are mushy. My tomato was very big. So I added only half. Depending on the size of your tomatoes, please add accordingly. 

Step 6:

Now add Spinach leaves (Palak/ Keera). Saute till they are a bit cooked. 

Step 7: 

Then add  the cooked dal to the pan and cook with lid for 10 minutes or till they boil.

Garnish with coriander leaves. Serve hot with rice or chappathi.