This humble yet flavorful lentil curry is the ultimate comfort food and is vegan and gluten-free to boot. It's highly nutritious and is packed with proteins, vitamins, and minerals!!!
Dal Palak or Spinach dal is one classic way of preparing lentils that combines the goodness of greens and proteins. There are so many variations with different combinations of lentils used, but after trying out every possible combination, we all settled on this one unanimously. It comes together real quick in an Instant Pot with minimal effort. It's on our weekly rotation, especially during colder weather. Enjoy by itself as a soup or with steaming rice or onion paratha with pickle and papad on the side!!!
Ingredients
- 2 cups chopped spinach
- ¼ cup toor dal (split pigeon pea), rinsed and drained
- ¼ cup whole masoor dal (whole red lentils), rinsed and drained
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1-inch ginger, finely chopped
- 1 finely chopped green chili
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 2 large tomatoes, puréed
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon garam masala
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
- salt as per taste
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- ½ cup cilantro or coriander, chopped
- 1 tablespoon oil
Additional tempering (optional)
- 1 tablespoon oil (or ghee if not vegan)
- 1-2 whole dried red chilies
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- ½ teaspoon kashmiri chili powder or paprika
Instructions
Instant Pot
- Turn Instant Pot to Sauté mode. Add oil to the inner steel insert. Once it's hot, add minced garlic and ginger. Sauté till light brown, about 30 seconds.
- Add onions and green chili and cook for another 2-3 minutes.
- Mix in all the dry spices except garam masala - salt, chili powder, turmeric powder and give it a good stir.
- Add tomato purée to the mix and stir till the oil leaves the sides.
- Now add both the dals followed by 2 cups of water. Mix well.
- Cancel Sauté mode. Change it to Manual and cook on High Pressure for about 12 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally.
- Adjust salt and consistency if needed.
- Stir in spinach, garam masala, and lemon juice. Simmer for 5-7 minutes.
- Garnish with cilantro.
- Serve hot with thepla, roti, crusty bread, onion paratha, or rice. Enjoy!!!
Additional tempering (optional)
- Heat oil/ghee in a small pan over medium heat
- Once it's hot, add cumin seeds, let them crackle, about 30 seconds. Then add dried red chilies, and kashmiri red chili powder.
- Turn off the heat. Pour the tempering over dal evenly and serve.
Stovetop
- If using a traditional Pressure Cooker, add oil.
- Once hot, stir in minced garlic and ginger. Cook for 30 seconds.
- Add onions and green chili and sauté for another 2-3 minutes.
- Mix in all the dry spices except garam masala - salt, chili powder, turmeric powder and give it a good stir.
- Add tomato purée to the mix and stir till the oil leaves the sides.
- Now add both the dals followed by 2.5 cups of water. Mix well.
- Close the lid and pressure-cook till 5 whistles. Let the pressure release naturally.
- Adjust salt and consistency if needed.
- Stir in spinach, garam masala, and lemon juice. Simmer for 5-7 minutes.
- Garnish with cilantro.
- Follow the above tempering process (optional)
- Serve hot with thepla, roti, crusty bread, onion paratha, or rice. Enjoy!!!
Recipe Notes
- Adjust the spice level as per your personal taste. Skip green chilies to keep it mild.
- To keep it vegan, don't temper the dal with ghee.
- You can use other greens like kale or dill instead of spinach too.
- You can use any combination of dals like moong and masoor or just use one of the dals if that is what you have at hand. Adjust the cooking time accordingly.
- I have used a lot of spinach here, but you can use less if you want.
