Palak dal | spinach dal

This is my take on another classic lentil dish! Whenever I need something warm, uncomplicated and comforting to eat, I think of lentils. They are healthy and a great carrier of flavour. For this recipe I used yellow spilt pea lentils & red lentils. This recipe couldn't be simpler - you simply add everything in a pressure cooker, add water and then finish of with a final tadka of your choice. In this case, I chose a simple tadka of ghee, cumin and mustard seeds. If you don't have a pressure cooker - don't worry, I have also shared how to do this recipe in a saucepan.

Ingredients

1/2 cup spilt yellow pea lentils (or chana dal)

1/4 cup red lentils (masoor dal)

1 clove garlic, finely chopped Small piece ginger, finely chopped

1 small onion, finely diced

1 tomato, finely chopped 2 large handfuls fresh spinach, finely chopped

Coriander (to garnish) Ghee or vegetable oil (as required)

Water (as required)

Salt to taste

You'll need these spices

1tsp mustard seeds 1 tsp cumin seeds

1/2 tsp turmeric

1/2 tsp coriander powder

1/2 tsp garam masala

1 tsp kashmiri red chilli powder

Pinch asafoetida

Method

• In a pressure cooker, add the yellow & red lentils, tomatoes, garlic, onion, ginger, asafoetida & turmeric. Add around 1 1/2 cups water and cook for 6-7 whistles. Let the pressure release naturally, then open and mix with a whisk or wooden spoon until a nice smooth consistency.
• Once mixed, add around another 1 cup water* to thin out the dal (or adjust the consistency to your preferences). Turn the heat to low and simmer for a few minutes before adding the coriander powder, garam masala and kashmiri red chilli powder. Mix well and then add the chopped spinach, and let wilt. This shouldn't take long at all. Also add salt to taste.
• Whilst the dal is simmering, make the tadka. In a small saucepan or frying pan, heat around 1/2 tbsp of ghee. Once hot, add the cumin and mustard seeds and let them crackle. Once the mustard seeds start to pop and the cumin seeds have browned, pour the hot tadka straight into the simmering dal and mix well.
• Garnish with fresh coriander and serve with fragrant basmati rice.

Stove top instructions: instead of adding the ingredients to a pressure cooker in step 1, add them to a large saucepan and cover with about 4 times the amount of water. Bring to the boil, and then let the lentils simmer for around 40-45 minutes until completely soft and mashable, adding water if necessary. Steps 2 and 3 remain the same, however, you may find you do not need to add 1 cup of water to thin out the dal, depending on the final consistency of the cooked lentils after step 1.

*Tip: use boiling water to avoid bringing down the temperature of the dal.