Dal palak is a simple, highly nutritious and comforting bowl of Indian spiced lentil curry/soup with added spinach for wholesome goodness. Paired with a hot steaming bowl of rice or any Indian flat bread, it is a soothing and a tasty side dish for lunch or dinner!
I love dal or lentil/dried bean curries and can have bowls of them any time! Dal curry is an all-time favorite in our family, especially my sons who love this creamy, mildly spiced curry. Come dinner time, and when I needed something nutritious to have with some chapattis or rotis, dal curry was the most in demand.
Spicy dal curry can be made with toor dal/split pigeon peas or even masoor dal/red lentils, but my favorite is moong dal or split mung bean dal. Today, to amp up the nutrition quotient ( and I had a lovely fresh bunch of spinach in my fridge), I decided to stir in some finely chopped spinach in the cooked dal . I love greens any time and adding spinach to soups and pulaos is my way of enjoying this “Popeye’s favorite” to any meal!
Just sauté some onions with a few spices like cloves, cumin, hing etc.; add chopped tomatoes along with some spice powders like coriander powder, chilli powder and my all-time favorite curry powder – Kitchen King Masala powder (you can find these in Indian grocery stores or even online). If you do not have this, no need to rush to the grocery store, sprinkle any curry powder you have in your pantry.
Add the cooked and mashed dal (a pressure cooker will minimize the cooking time drastically) and once the curry has simmered for a few minutes to allow all the spices and flavors to blend, mix in some chopped spinach (as much or as little as you want) and give it one boil.
Stir in some dried fenugreek leaves and you are done! Hot, soothing and comforting bowl of mung bean dal curry with lots of “Popeye’s favorite” spinach (full of iron, vitamins, minerals and fiber) is ready. This is a good way for kids to have their greens too!
Enjoy this curry with rice, rotis, parathas etc. and if you do make this, try and share it on my Facebook page, leave your comment in the box below or Pin it to try later.
Happy Cooking!
Step-by-step method to make Dal Palak Curry:
Soak moong dal or mung bean dal in water for 15 minutes and then cook in a pressure pan until soft and well cooked. Mash and keep aside. If you are short on time, you can skip the soaking.
In a large deep kadai or saucepan, heat oil/ghee and once hot, stir in cumin seeds, cloves and hing powder.
Sauté until aromatic and add onions, garlic, ginger and slit green chilies.
Fry on medium heat until the onions are soft and translucent.
Tip in the chopped tomatoes and cook again until they are slightly soft.
Add the dry powders; coriander, kitchen King, red chilli and turmeric powders and mix well. Sauté on medium heat until the spices are well fried and you can see oil or ghee starting to separate.
At this stage, stir in the cooked and mashed dal along with 1 ½ to 2 cups of water until you get the desired consistency you want.
Season with salt, mix well and bring to a boil. Once it comes to a boil, stir in the finely chopped spinach leaves and give it a good stir.
Simmer on medium low heat for about 5 minutes. Just before removing from heat, add garam masala powder and amchur/chaat masala powder, mix well. Garnish with finely crushed fenugreek leaves.
Serve hot with a squeeze of lemon/lime juice, and dunk your rotis, parathas in it or even mix into some hot rice for a heavenly Indian meal!
Some more dal curries you can try:
Gujarati Khatti Meethi Dal Curry
Dal palak is a simple, highly nutritious and comforting bowl of Indian spiced lentil curry/soup with added spinach for wholesome goodness. Paired with a hot steaming bowl of rice or any Indian flat bread, it is a soothing and a tasty side dish for lunch or dinner!
Ingredients
- 1 cup split moong dal/mung bean dal
- 1 small bunch of fresh spinach leaves/palak
- 1 tsp jeera/cumin seeds
- ½ tsp hing/asafetida powder
- 4 cloves
- 1 tsp grated or finely chopped ginger
- 1 tsp finely chopped or grated garlic
- 2 large green chilies slit
- 1 medium red onion, finely chopped
- 2 small tomatoes, finely chopped
- 1 tsp red chilli powder
- 1 tbsp coriander powder
- ½ tsp turmeric powder
- 1 tsp MDH Kitchen King masala powder (or any other curry powder you have)
- Salt to taste
- ½ tsp garam masala powder
- ½ tsp Chaat masala powder/amchur powder
- 2 tbsp oil or ghee (or a combination of both)
- 1 tbsp crushed kasoori methi/dried fenugreek leaves
- Coriander leaves/cilantro for garnishing (optional)
- Lemon wedges
Instructions
- Soak moong dal or mung bean dal in water for 15 minutes and then cook in a pressure pan until soft and well cooked. Mash and keep aside.
- Wash, clean and finely chop spinach leaves.
- In a large deep kadai or saucepan, heat oil/ghee and once hot, stir in cumin seeds, cloves and hing powder.
- Sauté until aromatic and add onions, garlic, ginger and slit green chilies.
- Fry on medium heat until the onions are soft and translucent.
- Tip in the chopped tomatoes and cook again until they are slightly soft.
- Add the dry powders; coriander, kitchen King, red chilli and turmeric powders and mix well. Sauté on medium heat until the spices are well fried and you can see oil or ghee starting to separate.
- At this stage, stir in the cooked and mashed dal along with 1 ½ to 2 cups of water until you get the desired consistency you want.
- Season with salt, mix well and bring to a boil. One it comes to a boil, stir in the finely chopped spinach leaves and give it a good stir.
- Simmer on medium low heat for about 5 minutes. Just before removing from heat, add garam masala powder and amchur/chaat masala powder, mix well. Garnish with finely crushed fenugreek leaves and serve hot with a squeeze of lemon/lime juice, and dunk your rotis, parathas in it or even mix into some hot rice for a heavenly Indian meal!
- Enjoy and Happy Cooking!
Notes
You can use toor dal or masoor dal too; the cooking time may vary.
Adjust the amount of spices and consistency of dal according to personal preference.
For a vegan option, use only oil and omit the ghee.
By, Vanitha Bhat
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Sharing this lip-smacking curry with #RecipeoftheWeek | Angie's #FiestaFriday along with cohost Jhuls @ The Not So Creative Cook.
Can have this dal palak anytime with a bowl of steamed rice. This looks tempting 🙂
Thanks dear 🙂 Me too...
Excellent recipe, so delish! On my 2nd helping as I write this.
Thank you so much 😍❤️ I am so glad you loved it! Appreciate you stopping by to share your thoughts and love for our favorite dal too☺️🥰
This sounds so good!! I want to dig in right now! ? Thanks for sharing at Fiesta Friday party!
Thanks Jhuls 🙂 Always excited to be part of Fiesta Friday!
Thank you so much dear 🙂 🙂
Though usually I make Dal palak with toordal, sometimes I use moong Dal too..this is one easy , healthy and Yummy dish
Thanks so much Lathiya 🙂 I do that too; sometimes a mixture of three dals with masoor dal also!
Love Dal Palak. Bowl full of nutrition and taste .totally Yummm
Thanks so much Jyoti 🙂 Do try adding some chaat masala in your next dal curry; gives a lovely subtle tang!
Thank you so much 🙂 I have noticed that adding some chaat or amchur lends a nice slight tang to any dish! Thanks so much for stopping by 🙂
I make palak with moong or sometime chana dal. Yours looks so creamy and tasty and perfect to pair with some hot rotis.
Thanks Sapana 🙂 Making it with moong dal adds creaminess and lovely flavor to the dish 🙂 Next time, I will try with chana dal.
Beautiful, love the way you have taken the images.
Thanks so much Seema 🙂
My all time favorite dal. My kids loved this with rice and chapathi. Nothing can beat a healthy dal and rice:)
Absolutely!! Dal and rice any time 🙂 My favorite too 🙂 🙂
Just looking at the picture, it's making me hungry! One of my most favourite lentils and vegetable combo. We call it daal saag here and make with whole green mung daal. This time I'll try your recipe. I'm loving the idea of adding chaat masala or amchur powder to it!
Thank you so much 🙂 I have noticed that adding chaat masala or even amchur powder, lends a lovely subtle tang to any dish!
Dal palak is one comfort meal, would love it with hot phulkas.
Me too!! Thanks so much Jayashree 🙂
This is my kind of dish, love spinach in any daal. It is so healthy, tasty and filling dish. It goes well With hot steaming rice and phulka roti 🙂
Thanks so much Jagruti 🙂 Spinach is my favorite too; love to add it to even Ramen noodles and of course salad 🙂
I too make palak and moong beans together. such a protein rich dish. addition of chat masala and kasuri methi is something I do not do. will try adding next time
Thanks so much Jyoti 🙂 Do try adding chaat masala to your next dal curry; it gives it a lovely subtle tang.
Such a comfort dish to serve with hot rice and ghee. Yummy share !
Mmmm, ghee sounds lovely! Thanks so much Priya 🙂 🙂
This bowl of dal looks so comforting, such a healthy and yummy recipe.
Thanks so much Soma 🙂 🙂
Dal Palak is my dinner option atleast once a week minus any carbs. It is filling and delicious too. I loved the addition of Kitchen King Masala. I normally dont add anything much but should try doing this the next time, will increase the flavour and the taste too. Spinach is my fav and glad Popeye promoted healthy greens to kids unlike todays cartoons. Haha..
Thanks so much Vidya 🙂 When my kids were small, I used to add boxed masala powders, changing the variety every time I made their lunch box, to keep them hooked onto dals, curries and vegetables! Worked every time and Kitchen King masala powder was their favorite spice mix 🙂 🙂
Oh that is a very smart thing to do.. Little things go a long way to their health. Thank you for sharing it with me dear. God bless them.
Thanks Vidya 🙂
I use moong dal and palak ina whole lot of combinations and your dal recipe is yet another variation I can try. I liked that you added palak at the end without cooking it first. The amchur must lend a tangy flavour while the kasuri methi must add a lovely aroma and elevate the flavour profile.
Thanks so much Aruna 🙂 Adding palak at the end retains the nutrition to some extent and addition of chaat masala or amchur powder lends a subtle tang to the curry; always loved it 🙂 🙂
Such a comforting dal palak, just cant take my eyes from that bowl. My kind of food..
Thanks so much Priya 🙂
I love the combination of moon dal and spinach. I often make a sabji using both, but with more spinach than dal. Ans sometimes I make the dal. Though the spices may vary a bit from what you've used, it definitely is comfort food.
Thanks Mayuri 🙂 I love the idea of adding more spinach, but unfortunately, this time, I had only a small bunch. I agree, a comfort food for any time.
Palak dal is my all time favorite food. This version sounds great to me. I always made with toor dal, but i’ll try this moong dal version too. Thanks for this great share..
Thanks so much Jolly!! Do try with moong dal, gives a lovely flavor and texture.
Healthy one.. I like palak with any dal.. In Sindhi cuisine we cook it with chana dal.
Thanks Shobha 🙂 I must try with chana dal the next time 🙂
I have always made methi toor dal this sounds yummy.
Thanks so much 🙂 Toor dal sounds heavenly and that too with methi!
Made dal palak with tuar dal. Your mung dal with palak sounds great. Tempting to try it soon. Lovely share ?
Thanks so much Sujata 🙂 Moong dal lends a lovely flavor and texture to the dish; I must try with toor dal next time...
Welcome dear ?
I generally make dal palak with chana dal. Wil try with moong dal next time.
Do try it with moong dal next time, gives the curry a lovely texture! Thanks so much for stopping by 🙂 🙂
looks delicious. Dal-palak is our favorite weeknight meal.
Thanks so much Dhwani 🙂 This is our favorite side dish too.. 🙂
Wonderful recipe .We tried it.
Thank you so much for the try and sharing your appreciation 🙂 I am glad you liked it....Thanks again for stopping by and leaving your positive feedback.