Could you believe that making Winter Greens would be an easy task?
This Spinach Dal Recipe is a one-pot Healthy Palak Chana Dal made super easy for busy you. A protein-rich and healthy lentil made with Spinach leaves is a total comfort meal when teamed with Paratha or Chapati.
Dal Palak is a traditional winter recipe for Indians. This Palak Chana Dal is a great way of having lentils in your meal. I have used fresh spinach leaves along with Chana Dal (Split Chickpeas Lentils). I also love Moong Dal Palak and the same recipe can be used with Moong Dal. Flavorful, mildly spicy, and fragrant, palak dal curry is super hit in the family and the best thing is that it can easily be made in a stovetop pressure cooker or instant pot.
The recipe of palak dal involves using sorted fresh spinach leaves. One may chop them finely or ground them as a paste. The kids are picky eaters when it comes to winter greens. I prefer using the paste of spinach leaves made with fresh sorted leaves, washed and rinsed. This way the gravy of lentils has a light green shade and the desi-ghee Mirch tempering would take the taste to another level.
Spinach is best eaten in winters and I love including these green beauties in daily meals. More Spinach Recipes from my collection include Spinach Paneer (Palak Paneer) Curry or Roasted Pumpkin Spinach Salad.
Ingredients Overview and Substitutes
- Fresh Spinach leaves
- Chana Dal
- Desi Ghee
The chana dal can be easily substituted with split green moong dal. I have tried this dal palak with both the lentils and they both taste amazing. In fact, I make them alternate to change the taste.
If you wish to have any other lentils, this recipe works the same without any changes. The idea is to have lentils in a new taste and form. As such, there is no substitute for desi ghee, simply because I love desi ghee tempering in all the lentils.
If spinach is not available, you may try this recipe with fenugreek (Methi) as well.
The common ingredients for spinach dal curry include onion, tomato, garlic, green chilly, red chilly, etc.
Why Would You Love This Dal Palak Recipe?
- Super Healthy recipe.
- Low in carbs and Rich in Protein, calcium, Iron and Vitamin A.
- Easily convertible to Vegan.
- One-pot pressure cooker recipe.
- Gluten-Free.
- Easy recipe.
- Low Calorie & weight-loss friendly.
- Perfect for Picky eaters.
- This is the most delicious recipe of Spinach Lentil Curry!
How Can I Make Vegan Spinach Dal?
The desi ghee used in this recipe of dal palak can be replaced by any vegan oil.
What To Serve With This Spinach Lentil?
Being North Indian, I prefer Chapati or Paratha with lentils. Rice lovers can definitely team this flavourful dal with rice.
How to make Dal Palak in Instant Pot?
For making Dal Palak in an instant pot, add oil/ ghee and saute onion, garlic, tomato, chopped or paste of spinach leaves, washed lentils, add water along with salt and turmeric. Pressure cook on high for 10 minutes. Wait for the pressure to release and add jeera, lemon juice, red chilly with little ghee tempering.
Is This Spinach Lentil Curry Spicy?
This is mild spicy spinach dal curry. This recipe adds a desi ghee tempering with green chilly. Being an Indian, my definition of mild spicy may be very spicy for those who prefer bland flavors. Also, the green chilies are super hot during the winter season. I would suggest you reduce the chilly amount first and add later if need be.
Recipe Overview
Blend the fresh spinach leaves along with garlic. Add the spinach paste to the pressure cooker with washed chana dal (soak chana dal for 20 min), chopped onion, tomato, green chilly, salt, and turmeric. Add water to soak it 1 inch deeper. Pressure cook for two whistles on full and simmer for 5 min. Add desi ghee tempering of Heeng, Jeera, Red chilly.
Can I Add Chopped Spinach Leaves in Dal?
Yes, Dal Palak tastes amazing with chopped leaves. I had skipped as kids are fussy to have dal with leaves. When I blend and add it to Dal, kids don't come to know what went in cooking and they see green color in gravy.
Stories From Kitchen
As a kid, I would stay away from winter greens as I didn't like leaves in my food. That continued for long, in fact so long that I had started having these greens after marriage. My mother-in-law not only made me learn how to cook but also shared such quick tips that worked like a charm for a fussy eater like me. For your picky eaters, this recipe rich in proteins would be a perfect choice!
FAQ on Spinach Dal Curry
Palak/ Spinach is low calorie, nutrition-rich food. It's high in fiber and when added to lentils, it becomes a perfect food for weight loss.
One serving (one bowl) of spinach dal is approx 205 calories.
In general, palak can be cooked easily in a few minutes. You can boil it in a pressure cooker for 2 whistles or in an open pan for 5 min. In this chana dal palak recipe, we boil the spinach along with dal.
Detailed Step By Step Recipe Of Spinach Dal
- Wash the chana dal thoroughly under the tap and soak it for about 20 minutes. Also wash the spinach leaves and chop them as desired.
2. While the dal is soaked, you may gather the ingredients and chop the onion, tomato, green chilly. Take spinach leaves and blend them with garlic to a smooth paste.
3. Drain water from chana dal and wash again. Add Spinach paste, onion, tomatoes, and raw chana dal to a pressure cooker. Add water to soak dal one inch deep (as spinach would also leave the water) along with salt and turmeric powder.
5. Boil for two whistles on full. Simmer for 5 min. Once it cools off, adjust water if needed. Check if dal is cooked. Add Desi Ghee Heeng Jeera Red chilly tempering to the dal. You may also add lemon juice or raw mango powder in the last.
6. The Delicious Dal palak is ready! Serve it with Paratha or rice.
If you make this recipe, share the image of it on our instagram account @veg.buffet or twitter account @vegbuffet
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Chana Dal Palak | Spinach Dal Easy Recipe
Equipment
- 1 Pressure Cooker
- 1 Blender
- 1 Tadka Pan
Ingredients
- 2 cup Spinach leaves fresh sorted washed
- 2 cup Chana Dal / Split Chickpea Lentil
- 1 large onion
- 1 large tomato
- 1 tablespoon Desi Ghee
- 1 small green chilly
- 1 teaspoon Jeera (Cumin)
- ½ teaspoon Heeng (Asafoetida)
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 tsp Turmeric powder (Haldi)
- 2 teaspoon Red Chilly powder can adjust this
- 1 teaspoon Lemon juice or Amchur Powder optional
- 4 cups water, adjust to soak dal one inch deep
- salt as per taste
Instructions
- Wash the chana dal thoroughly under the tap and soak it for about 20 minutes. Also wash the spinach leaves and chop them as desired.
- While the dal is soaked, you may gather the ingredients and chop the onion, tomato, green chilly. Take spinach leaves and blend them with garlic to a smooth paste.
- Drain water from chana dal and wash again. Add Spinach paste, onion, tomatoes, and raw chana dal to a pressure cooker. Add water to soak dal one inch deep (as spinach would also leave the water). Add salt and turmeric powder.
- Boil for two whistles on full. Simmer for 5 min. Once it cools off, adjust water if needed. Check if dal is cooked. Add Desi Ghee Heeng Jeera Red chilly tempering to the dal. You may also add lemon juice or raw mango powder in the last.
- The Delicious Dal palak is ready! Serve it with Paratha or rice.
Notes
- The Chana dal shall be soaked ideally for at least 20 min. If you are in hurry you may skip that step. In that case, you may pressure cook on simmer for an extra 5-10 min.
- The Moong Split Green Dal can be used instead of Chana dal. The recipe remains the same with no changes.
- If you wish to use any other lentils, if it's not the whole lentils, you may keep it on simmer for a maximum of 5 min as split lentils tend to cook faster.
- You may also use finely chopped spinach leaves instead of spinach paste. That also tastes amazing. The leaves become tender when boiled with Dal and they give a great texture to Dal palak.
| Nutrition Facts | |
|---|---|
| Serving size: 1 bowl | |
| Servings: 5 | |
| Amount per serving | |
| Calories | 205 |
| % Daily Value* | |
| Total Fat 7.7g | 10% |
| Saturated Fat 1.5g | 8% |
| Cholesterol 3mg | 1% |
| Sodium 51mg | 2% |
| Total Carbohydrate 28g | 10% |
| Dietary Fiber 5.4g | 12% |
| Total Sugars 2.4g | |
| Protein 20.4g | |
| Vitamin D 0mcg | 0% |
| Calcium 215mg | 17% |
| Iron 14mg | 77% |
| Potassium 581mg | 12% |
| *The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calorie a day is used for general nutrition advice. | |
Anonymous says
I had been wondering how to make my kids eat green veggies. They don't like leafy vegetables. This is really a superb idea of making them eat without any fuss. thanks!
Deepti says
Yes, indeed. Thanks for stopping by and keep visiting fro more kid friendly recipes!