Whenever I’m in the mood for something that’s both healthy and full of flavor I look to Indian cuisine for inspiration. Why? Well, it really comes down to two main reasons for me personally. First is the simple fact that Indian cuisine is chock full of light and healthy vegetarian dishes. And secondly, is the heavy use of flavorful spices found in most dishes. Combine those two things together and you end up with a lot of meals that are good and good for you. And today I’d like to share my recipe for one such dish, spinach dal.
What is spinach dal?
Dal, or daal as it is sometimes spelled, is simply the word for lentils in a number of Indian languages. But in the context of cooking dal refers to a type of curried soup that is made out of lentils. However, don’t let that simple explanation fool you because dal can be prepared into a number of different dishes. You have dal tadka which incorporates a ton of spices fried in oil. Chana dal which uses split chickpeas instead of lentils. And of course, today’s recipe spinach dal, which you guessed it is lentils with spinach added to it.
But as you might suspect boiled lentils with spinach added to it would be pretty bland all by its self. Thankfully spinach dal also includes ingredients like diced tomatoes and diced onions, aromatics like garlic and ginger, and a number of different spices. So while it’s a fairly simple dish on paper the end result is something that’s deep and complex in flavor.
Tips, Tricks & Suggestions
- If you are into canning your own food then you should be happy to know that spinach dal cans well. So double this recipe, can the extra, and have tasty lentils anytime you want!
- Spinach dal is typically made out of red lentils, or “masoor dal”. However, if you can’t get your hands on red lentils then you can just as easily make this dish out of yellow or even green lentils. The only difference will be the color of the dish.
- What’s the best way to enjoy your spinach dal? Well, obviously you can enjoy it all by itself as a soup. That being said I find it best to serve with basmati rice and naan bread to help soak up all of the delicious broth.
Spinach Dal Recipe
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 40 minutes
Servings: 8
Ingredients
1 Cup of red lentils
2 Cups of spinach washed and chopped into strips
1 medium tomato, medium diced
1 Small red onion, medium diced
4 Cloves of garlic, minced
½ inch knob of ginger, minced
1 to 2 Thai chilis, minced (optional)
1 Teaspoon of cumin seeds
½ Teaspoon of garam masala
¼ Teaspoon of red chili powder
¼ Teaspoon of turmeric powder
2 Tablespoons of oil or ghee
Salt to taste
Instructions
- Cook the lentils: Wash your lentils and place them in a large pot with 3 cups of water. Place this over medium heat and let the lentils simmer for 30 to 40 minutes or until they are tender. You can also do this step in a pressure cooker like an instant pot. To do that simply use the same amount of water and let it pressure cook for 9 minutes. Once the lentils are cooked transfer them to a bowl and set them aside.
- Fry the aromatics: Add the 2 tablespoons of oil/ghee to a large pot and place it over medium-high heat. Once the pot is hot toss in the spices, ginger, garlic, and chili peppers.
Sautee all of these ingredients for 30 seconds. Then toss in the onion and continue to saute everything for another 3 to 4 minutes.
- Finish the dish: Pour the cooked lentils along with the liquid into the pot and stir. You might want to also add a cup or two of water depending on how thick or thin you prefer your dal. Then add in the tomato and spinach, and stir until everything is incorporated. Let everything simmer for 2 to 3 more minutes or until the spinach has wilted and cooked. Finally, add salt to taste.
- Ladle some of the spinach dal into a bowl and enjoy!
Spinach Dal Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 Cup of red lentils
- 2 Cups of spinach washed and chopped into strips
- 1 medium tomato medium diced
- 1 Small red onion medium diced
- 4 Cloves of garlic minced
- ½ inch knob of ginger minced
- 1 to 2 Thai chilis minced (optional)
- 1 Teaspoon of cumin seeds
- ½ Teaspoon of garam masala
- ¼ Teaspoon of red chili powder
- ¼ Teaspoon of turmeric powder
- 2 Tablespoons of oil or ghee
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Cook the lentils: Wash your lentils and place them in a large pot with 3 cups of water. Place this over medium heat and let the lentils simmer for 30 to 40 minutes or until they are tender. You can also do this step in a pressure cooker like an instant pot. To do that simply use the same amount of water and let it pressure cook for 9 minutes. Once the lentils are cooked transfer them to a bowl and set them aside.
- Fry the aromatics: Add the 2 tablespoons of oil/ghee to a large pot and place it over medium-high heat. Once the pot is hot toss in the spices, ginger, garlic, and chili peppers. Sautee all of these ingredients for 30 seconds. Then toss in the onion and continue to saute everything for another 3 to 4 minutes.
- Finish the dish: Pour the cooked lentils along with the liquid into the pot and stir. You might want to also add a cup or two of water depending on how thick or thin you prefer your dal. Then add in the tomato and spinach, and stir until everything is incorporated. Let everything simmer for 2 to 3 more minutes or until the spinach has wilted and cooked. Finally, add salt to taste.
- Ladle some of the spinach dal into a bowl and enjoy!
