Palak Dal Recipe | Spinach Dal | Indian Palak Dal Recipe With Step By Step Photos.

There isn't a single day that goes by in Indian households without curry. The gravy kind of curry is unquestionably a must-have in Indian households. There may be changes in ingredients and seasoning techniques, but curry is enjoyed by all across India, sometimes with rice or chapati for lunch, and sometimes with dosa or naan for dinner.

We prepare a variety of gravy-based curries in Kerala as well. Most of the time, we add coconut to the gravy to make it richer. When we're in a hurry, we'll use an onion and some other simple spices instead of coconut. Today's recipe is a north Indian variation of a very basic cuisine. It's a quick and simple spinach lentil curry. Palak, pigeon peas, tomatoes, spices, and herbs are some of the components.

Palak is a type of Indian spinach popular in northern India. Palak is now available in south Indian marketplaces as well. To use this healthy leafy vegetable, we can produce a variety of dishes such as palak paratha, palak paneer, hara bhara kabab and so on. In Kerala, we have a similar variation of spinach lentil dish known as cheera parippu curry. Cheera is the Malayalam word for spinach, and parippu is the Malayalam word for lentil.

About this palak Dal curry?

When we talk about a palak dal curry, we should note that it is primarily a north Indian style curry that is typically eaten with rice or soft roti or chapati. This Indian side dish cooked with split pigeon peas, spinach, spices, onion, tomatoes, and herbs that's healthful and protein-rich.

Palak dal curry can be made in a number of different ways. We can make it simple by tempering it with onion, green chilies, and other common spices, or we can make it exquisite by preparing it as follows.

This dish's main element is toor dal. Toor dal is the Hindi name for pigeon pea, and thuvara parippu is the Malayalam name. I used split dehusked green gram (moong dal or cherupayar parippu) when I first tried this recipe, and it turned out quite nice and creamy. So toor dal is not a required component; you may replace with moong dal and then name will change slightly to palak moong dal ki sabji.

In North India, onions and garlic are frequently left out, especially when food is made during fasting (vratam / vrat). However, I usually like to include these spices because they give a lot of flavor to our curry.

Professional tips for making the palak dal curry

The texture of the curry is determined by how well the toor dal lentil is cooked. The curry will be grainy if the lentils are not cooked thoroughly. So cook the lentils till mushy, but not fully mashed.
Palak is a spinach variety popular in North India. For additional information, visit my palak paneer recipe. The palak should be completely cleaned, with all dirt and debris removed.
Ghee is one of the flavorful ingredients in this vegetarian curry, but you can make it vegan by omitting the ghee and substituting any vegetable oil instead.
The sour flavor comes from the tomato. You can vary the number of tomatoes to your preference; however, for a mild sour flavor, this recipe is sufficient. Increase the amount of tomatoes if you want a sour curry.

How to Make Dal Palak?

Dal Palak Recipe | Spinach Dal | How To Make Indian Spinach Lentil Curry

Indian Spinach Lentil Curry

Preparation time: 10 minutes | Cooking time: 20 minutes | Total time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

1/2 cup pigeon peas / toor dal
250 gram palak
1 medium sized onion, peeled and finely chopped
3 to 4 green chilies, slit
4 to 5 garlic cloves, peeled and slightly crushed
1" piece ginger, peeled and slightly crushed
1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon asafoetida
1.5 tablespoon ghee
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
One handful of coriander leaves
Salt to taste

Dal Palak Preparation With Step By Step Pictures

I used 250 grams or one bunch of fresh palak to prepare the dal palak. If palak isn't accessible in your area, use regular green spinach instead. The taste will be slightly different, but the health benefits will be the same.
Palak dal curry can be made in a number of different ways. We can make it simple by tempering it with onion, green chilies, and other common spices, or we can make it exquisite by preparing it as follows.
We only need half a cup of pigeon peas to make 250 gm of palak. Its flavor and color will be affected if the amount of any exceeds this amount.
Wash the pigeon peas two or three times in fresh water before transferring them to a pressure cooker.
Add two cups of water and the cleaned and sliced palak. Cook it in a pressure cooker for one whistle on high and two whistles on low. Wait until the pressure has subsided.
Check whether the pigeon peas are cooked by opening the lid; if not, cook for another whistle. To cook some pigeon peas, you'll need to use extra whistles. It should be cooked until it is soft and breaks easily when pressed between your fingers. Set aside.
We'll start tempering now. Pour ghee into a pan set over medium-high heat. To make the dish vegan, omit the ghee and replace it with any vegetable oil.
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As soon as the ghee has completely melted, add the cumin seeds and let them to crackle.
When the crackling stops, add the red chilly, ginger and garlic. Cook it until the raw scent has vanished.
Finely chop the onion and green chilies and add them to the pot. Cook until the onions become translucent. Although I only used two green chilies in this dish, if you want a more spicy dal palak, you can use four.
Add in the finely chopped tomato pieces.
Cook, covered, over low heat until the tomatoes are soft and cooked.
Open the lid once the tomatoes are done and add the spices such as chilly powder, turmeric powder, and asafoetida. You can experiment with different flavours by combining spices such as coriander powder, garam masala, kasoori methi, or jeera powder with the spices described above. Cook until the raw scent disappears.
Add the spinach pigeon pea mix and season with salt to taste. If a thin gravy-like consistency is desired, add boiled and cooled water as needed.
Turn off the heat and add fresh chopped curry leaves once the dal palak has reached the required consistency. Taste it and add salt if necessary.
Serve hot and delicious dal palak with steamed rice, chapati or roti. Enjoy.