creamy spinach dal recipe with step by step photos. this is an easy and nutritious recipe of spinach with pigeon pea lentils. one of the popular lentil recipe as it combines the goodness of the arhar dal (pigeon pea lentils) as well as palak (spinach) leaves.
spinach has a high nutritional value and is extremely rich in antioxidants, iron, calcium, vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E and vitamin K.
many people are not fond of greens like spinach, fenugreek leaves, amaranth leaves and that is especially true for kids. but when we mix the greens with dals or legumes then the dish not only becomes tasty but also nutritious.
in this recipe, you can substitute palak (spinach) with chaulai (amaranth leaves) or methi (fenugreek leaves) and even kale. i have made a kale dal too. you can also use moong dal or a combination of moong+arhar or masoor+arhar dal. i have also shared one more variation of making dal palak without onion and garlic.
serve the dal with roti, parathas or plain steamed basmati rice. it will also go well with jeera rice or ghee rice.
how to make nutritious and creamy spinach dal
1. pick and then rinse ½ cup arhar dal (pigeon pea lentils) a couple of times in water.
2. drain very well and add the lentils in a pressure cooker along with ¼ tsp turmeric powder and 1.5 cups water. stir well and pressure cook the lentils for 8 to 9 whistles or for 14 to 15 minutes on a medium flame.
3. when the pressure settles down on its own, check the lentils to see if they are cooked well. mash them with a spoon and keep aside.
4. in another pan, heat 1.5 tbsp oil. add ½ tsp cumin seeds and saute them till fragrant and brown. you can also use ghee or butter instead of oil.
5. add ⅓ cup sliced shallots. you can also use ⅓ cup chopped onions instead of sliced shallots.
6. saute till translucent or light brown.
7. next add the crushed ginger, crushed garlic with their peels and 1 to 2 green chilies (sliced or chopped).
8. saute till the raw aroma of ginger and garlic goes away.
9. now add a pinch of asafoetida, ¼ tsp red chili powder and ½ tsp coriander powder. for a spicy dal, you can increase the quantity of green chilies and red chili powder.
10. stir well.
11. then add ⅓ cup chopped tomatoes.
12. next add ½ tsp kasuri methi (dry fenugreek leaves). kasuri methi is optional and you can skip it.
13. mix everything very well.
14. saute till the tomatoes soften and you see oil releasing from the sides of the mixture.
15. add 1.5 cups chopped spinach.
16. mix very well again.
17. saute till the spinach wilts.
18. add the cooked and mashed dal.
19. stir well.
20. then add ½ cup water or as required. for a thicker dal, you can even skip the water or add less. for a thinner dal, add some more water.
21. mix and stir well.
22. season with salt and mix again.
23. continue to simmer for 5 to 6 minutes or till the dal reaches the desired consistency. lastly sprinkle ¼ tsp garam masala powder, lemon juice and stir. you can even skip the garam masala and lemon juice.
24. serve hot with rotis or lachha paratha or basmati rice or kuska biryani or jeera rice.
more dal recipes
spinach with lentils
INGREDIENTS
for pressure cooking lentils
- ½ cup arhar dal (tuvar dal or pigeon pea lentils) or 115 grams dal
- 1.5 cups water
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
for tempering
- 1.5 tablespoon oil or ghee or butter
- ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
- ⅓ cup chopped onions or sliced shallots or 1 medium onion, chopped
- ⅓ cup chopped tomatoes
- ½ inch ginger , crushed or 1 teaspoon crushed ginger
- 3 to 4 garlic , crushed with peels
- 1 green chili sliced or chopped
- 1.5 cups chopped spinach or 75 to 100 grams spinach
- 1 pinch asafoetida (hing)
- ¼ teaspoon red chilli powder
- ½ teaspoon coriander powder
- ½ teaspoon kasuri methi (dry fenugreek leaves), optional
other ingredients
- ½ cup water
- ¼ teaspoon garam masala optional
- a few drops of lemon juice optional
- salt as required
INSTRUCTIONS
cooking lentils
- pick and then rinse 1/2 cup arhar dal (pigeon pea lentils) a couple of times in water.
- drain very well and add the lentils in a pressure cooker along with turmeric powder and 1.5 cups water. stir well and pressure cook the lentils for 8 to 9 whistles or for 14 to 15 minutes on a medium flame.
- when the pressure settles down on its own, check the lentils to see if they are cooked well. mash them with a spoon and keep aside.
tempering and making creamy spinach dal
- in another pan, heat oil or ghee or butter. add the cumin and saute them till fragrant and brown.
- add the sliced shallots and saute till translucent. you can also use chopped onions instead of sliced shallots.
- next add the crushed ginger and garlic along with 1 to 2 green chilies (sliced or chopped).
- saute till the raw aroma of ginger and garlic disappears, about 20 to 30 seconds.
- now add asafoetida, red chili powder, coriander powder and stir well.
- then add chopped tomatoes.
- next add 1/2 tsp kasuri methi. kasuri methi is optional and you can skip it.
- mix everything very well.
- saute till the tomatoes soften and you see oil releasing from the sides of the mixture.
- add the spinach and mix very well again. saute till the spinach wilts.
- add the cooked and mashed dal. stir well.
- then add 1/2 cup water or as required. for a thicker dal, you can even skip the water or add less. for a thinner dal, add some more water.
- mix and stir well. season with salt and mix again.
- continue to simmer for 5 to 6 minutes or till the dal reaches the desired consistency. lastly sprinkle garam masala powder, lemon juice and stir. you can even skip the garam masala and lemon juice.
- serve hot with rotis, parathas or steamed rice.
Amazing palak dal recipe, Dassana!! I used a combination of toor dal and moong dal . I served this dal with steamed basmati rice and sabji. Thanks again for sharing !
Best wishes,
Angela
thank you angela for sharing this lovely feedback. any combination of split and husked lentils can be used. even with moong lentils spinach dal tastes good. sometimes i only make spinach dal with moong lentils. most welcome and best wishes.
Hi Dassana
Your website is a blessing for me , I started cooking only after marriage because of prior lack of interest and I was a true rookie. I could never understand a recipe just by one narration, and asking over and over again used to get embarrassing. So your simple and detailed notes , providing ample options and the photos helped me a great deal. Today the same rookie is now considered a good cook and its to quite an extent due to you .
Thanks a million , god bless you , lots of love !
so glad and happy to read your comment ritika. thanks a lot. hugs to you and stay blessed.
Very nice recipes explained with pics I usually check your website for veg recipes .
thank you shruthi.
Tried this recipe without adding onions and all the spice powders…Just turmeric..It tasted good that way too. Thanks for the recipe.
Welcome Nisha. Thanks for sharing this info. I am sure it will help others readers.
I have referred to other recipes of ‘palak dal’ in the past. But this turned out to be the best recipe to date! Definitely the yummiest palak dal I’ve ever tasted! Keep up the good work….
thanks prajakti for positive views 🙂 glad you liked the palak dal recipe.
Loved it… Thank u so much 🙂
welcome aarti and thanks for the feedback.
Hi love your site. Can i use yellow moong dal for this recipe?
yes pari, you can use moong dal.
i love your site and have just downloaded the app. ur efforts in writing and maintaining the same standard are clearly visible. both printable version and photographs are available..
and it has definitely made me a cook if not as good as anyone else.. but i am very happy about it. it gives me the courage to try new things.
pleased to know this aakanksha 🙂 thankyou so much for your kind, positive and encouraging words. glad we could help you in boosting your cooking skills and wish you all the best.
Thank you for all the wonderful recipes Dassana. I have become a fan of my own cooking after following your recipes. Will make palak dal today and am sure this will taste yumm just like your rajma or palak paneer.
Thanks again
Ipsita
pleased to know this ipsita 🙂 surely try the palak dal and let us know how they turned out.
Loved it dasana….dal was superrrrr….I tried so many recipe’s all of them came out very tasty….thank you so much
Don’t have words to express…awesome blog.
welcome hema. nice to know this. thanks for your encouraging words.
Dear Dassana,
I never write comments for any one. But this recipe is really good. I never use to like dal palak but this one is really good. Thanks for sharing such a wonderful recipe. I have started trying ur most recipes, they are all good.
welcome tressia. glad to know this. thanks for sharing your positive review on recipes.
Dear Dassana , another winner of a recipe. Instead of making the lemon juice optional (and in fact anytime you make spinach greens solo as in palak paneer or in combination with dal) , you should always add 1 tbsp lemon juice since not only does it impart a nice tang , but more importantly, it aids in absorption of iron from iron-rich foods. I think this holds true for dal as well. Else these will just pass harmlessly through the system without leaving the benefits! I’m sure you are aware of this , just thought i’d share
Regards
thanks anusha. i am aware of this. i learnt in my nutrition class. i kept it optional as some people do not like lemon juice to be added. i have a few family members too. even when i tell them to add lemon juice in palak paneer or any palak based dish giving the reasons, they just don’t agree. so as it is with my family, i though there will be people who do not like lemon or lime juice. hence i added it optional.
Hi Dassana
I am an ardent fan of all ur recipes and have tried many of them…my husband who never liked Palak paneer started loving the dish after I followed ur style of preparation..I am writing this post in the middle of preparing the Palak dal and am very sure it will turn out yummy…
I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for sharing ur wonderful recipes n tips. .I have recommended ur blog to my cousin who is a beginner ..she’s a student in the US n her friends are loving all the dishes that she has been preparing following ur advice
thank u once again ☺☺
Regards
sharada
Dubai,Uae
welcome sharada. thanks for sharing positive review on recipes. glad for referring the blog to your cousin. glad to know this.
At which stage hav u added Tomato ..
thanks tina for asking this question. add tomatoes after you add ginger+garlic+green chili paste. i have updated the recipe.
what if i boil the palak with the dal?
will it make any diffrence.
the taste will be a bit different.
Dassana, thanks again for posting this recipe. Your recipes are the most (from any blog) that I have tried and they never fail to impress me.
thanks a lot famcook… thats a great compliment for me 🙂
perfect recipe!!
perfect recipe , turned out delicious !