Dal Palak ~ Spinach with Moong Dal

Hearty moong dal with the goodness of spinach along with a touch of ginger-garlic and spices, makes this a comforting bowl for any season!

Simple things are sometimes the most comforting things in life. Same goes with food too. Simple food is more often than not, the most comforting. It is either a memory or some warm feeling you get from eating it or just that the heartiness of it wraps you up in a huge good good hug!

Dal always takes that place for me along with a curd / yogurt rice and spicy pickle. I most always make a dal and some plain rice as soon as we get back home from a vacation, especially if it was a long flight. Nothing cures vacation hangovers, jet lag and tiredness like good old comfort food. And the bonus is that they are almost always easy to make.

This palak dal made with spinach and yellow moong dal is a two-in-one meal. We usually have a dal or some other saucier curry and one dry vegetable curry along with rice or rotis. That is just how it has always been, except for lazy days when it is just one or the other. This dal has some spinach in it, that kinda takes the guilt away from not making a vegetable sides on one of those especially lazy days. The kiddo loves it too, which is a bonus. It is one of the few food with any green leafy vegetable in it, that he does not make a face and say “leaf!” and move it away from his plate. Yup, the good eaters get picky too, sometimes!

V loves dal in any form and I think there is just a lot of spinach in it for him to pretest and pick it out. He would miss out on the dal, if he did. That is my theory but I am probably all wrong! Maybe he secretly loves greens and pretends to not like them so we think he is a normal kid. One can only dream

Without further ado, here is the recipe of one of my favorite dal preparations – Palak Dal! This recipe is adapted from the YouTube channel Food Junction.

Palak Dal ~ Spinach with Moong Dal – The Recipe

Ingredients:

• ½ cup yellow moong dal
• 2 –3 cups chopped Organic baby spinach
• 1 tablespoon oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 3 Thai green chillies, sliced (use less to reduce heat)
• 1 red onion, chopped
• 1 tomato, chopped
• ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1 teaspoon cayenne / red chillie powder
• ½ teaspoon coriander powder
• salt, to taste

Method:

Wash and cook the yellow moong dal with about 2 cups of water until mushy. Keep aside.

Heat the oil in a kadhai or heavy bottomed wide pan. Add the cumin seeds to it. Once they sizzle, add the onions, garlic and green chillies and sauté till the onions soften and turn to a light brown color. Now add the shopped tomato along with the turmeric powder, cayenne and coriander powder. Add salt. Sauté till the tomatoes soften.

Add the spinach to the kadhai and let it wilt completely. Keep cooking for a couple of minutes more. Now add the cooked dal to this. Add more water, if needed. Cover and cook for a few minutes until the dal, spinach and the onion-tomato masala comes together.

Serve hot with rotis or rice.