Easy Paalak Daal (Spinach Daal)

Last Updated on January 22, 2016 by Babita

Easy Paalak Daal is one of those recipes that I make when I want something quick and easy. It also a recipe which is healthy and nutritious as it combines daal and spinach. My girls love spinach and when I make this dish, they do tend to gobble up their lunch/dinner quickly without any fuss.

I like the that fact that I can make this recipe also with any fuss. Other than soaking daal (3 hours), there is nothing much to it. For this particular recipe I use split toor daal (split pigeon peas). As you can see in the picture below it is yellow in color.

 

 

In many Indian households preparing and consuming daal daily is a must. For many of the vegetarian Indians, daal is also a major source of protein. Daal is a very generic name for lentils. It actually  includes several different varieties of it. It can also be prepared in hundreds of different ways depending upon the diverse regions and States in India. When paired or combined with other vegetables the possibilities are endless.

Daal is mostly consumed with rice (at least in my house). However, it can also be eaten with roti or chapatti (home made whole wheat tortillas). I personally like to pair up toor daal with spinach. I find my easy paalak daal recipe very comforting. It is my soul food. So if you are looking for something healthy and nutritious, you should try this recipe.  The fact that you can just plop everything into a big pot is what make this recipe so cool.

 

 

Ingredients

2 cups Toor Daal (Split Pigeon Peas)
1  packet of frozen spinach
6-8 curry leaves
1 tsp mustard seeds
2 whole dry red chilies
2-3 cloves of garlic (sliced)
1/4 tsp turmeric
1 chopped onion
1″ pc of ginger
1 chopped tomato
2 tbsp oil (either canola or vegetable)
Water as needed
Salt as per taste.

Preparations:

• Soak toor daal for three hours. When ready to use, rinse it 2 to 3 times with water. Drain all of the water and set aside.
• In a pressure cooker, heat oil. Add mustard seeds. Once the seeds have spluttered  add curry leaves, garlic and red chilies.
• Add chopped onions and ginger and saute them for few seconds.
• Next add tomato, turmeric, spinach, daal and salt. Mix them properly.
• Add about 3 cups of water. Close the lid of the pressure cooker securely and allow it to cook for 20 minutes on high or until it has let out 3-4 whistles.
• Take it off the flame and allow the pressure cooker to cool for 10 minutes. The spinach daal is ready.
• Serve hot with either rice or rotis.

Useful suggestions:

• Do not worry about the dry red chilies. Since they are added whole, they will not add any heat to this recipe. It is only add aroma and flavor.
• Some people prefer thick daal, however if you prefer a thinner consistency, you can add more water. It can be as thick as a stew or thin as a soup. It is a personal preference.
• If you don’t have a pressure cooker and want to cook in a regular pot, then follow the same steps above. However, you will have to increase the cooking time to about  1 1/2 hour and this takes away the easy part of it. Making this in a pressure cooker not only cooks the daal faster, it also makes the texture pulp like which is perfect for this recipe.