PARUPPU KEERAI MASIYAL (Dal Curry with Spinach)

Paruppu Keerai Masiyal is a warm and hearty south Indian stew; a pressure cooker masoor dal (red lentils) and spinach curry with simple aromatics; pairs well with rice/any Indian flat bread or can be enjoyed as a soup too!

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Coming from the southern part of India, my taste buds are mostly honed to enjoy south Indian dishes like sambar, Konkani style food (from the southern city of Mangalore) and of course breakfast gems like idli (steamed savory rice-lentil cakes), dosas (savory rice-lentil crepes) etc. although I like variety in my daily meals; ( hence the versatility of my blog with various International delights too)!

This simple south Indian style “Paruppu (lentils) Keerai (greens) Masiyal (mashed)” curry is a comforting bowl of mildly spiced mashed masoor dal/red lentils and spinach (lots of it!) in a simple tempering of onions, mustard seeds and cumin.

Tamilnadu (southern state of India) food conjures up images of sambar and rasam, but keerai masiyal with some dal (masoor/red lentils, toor/split pigeon peas or moong dal) is right up there as a favorite in many a kitchens! It is the perfect side dish with any rice or parathas!

When trying to decide what to make for lunch, this big bunch of spinach was all I saw that needed to be used right away and nothing like a simple dal palak (like this north Indian flavored dal palak I had made a while back). Today, it was going the south Indian way!

My choice today is palak/spinach leaves; you can use any kind of greens you have.  I have even used salad greens sometimes.

Just dump and cook dal, palak (whole baby spinach or chopped), onions, tomatoes, garlic and chilies in a pressure cooker (or stove top) until well cooked. Mash using a pav bhaji/potato masher and mildly temper/season with onions and cumin with some mustard seeds in oil/ghee. If vegan, use only oil.

If you like a textured curry, you can avoid using the masher. Just stir well and enjoy!

This is one of those super duper easy "dump and cook" dishes I love to make!

Key Steps to this amazing south Indian delight:

• Layer ingredients in pressure cooker
• Add water and cook until soft
• Stir in greens and seasonings.
• Temper/season with fried onions and curry leaves
• Mix and enjoy!

If you are a one pot kinda cook, just temper or make the seasoning first and then dump the rest of the ingredients and pressure cook. I would prefer the first method as adding the tempering after the dal is cooked adds oomph and flavor to the curry which might get lost if added in the beginning.

Instead of masoor dal or red lentils, you can use toor/arhar/split pigeon peas or even moong/mung bean dal. This simple paruppu keerai masiyal can be made over a stove top in a saucepan (takes a longer time) or is easily made in a stove top pressure cooker or electric instant pot for a quicker and faster meal.

INSTANT POT PARUPPU KEERAI MASIYAL, UPDATED JANUARY 4, 2021:

Made my favorite dal and greens curry using fresh baby spinach which I chopped a bit in an Instant Pot!

If you want, you can make PIP (Pot in Pot) method to make rice too! Just layer the dal ingredients, add required amount of water and place a trivet on top.

In a pot that fits on top of the trivet, place 1 cup of rice (washed and drained) with 2 cups water.

Place on the trivet and proceed to pressure cook on high for 5 minutes, NPR 5 minutes and quick release after that.

Adjust the consistency of the dal curry to your liking and enjoy with hot steamed rice, chapatti, parathas, rotis etc.!

Slightly dilute it and enjoy this delicious dal curry as a soup too!

Sounds easy and super tempting, doesn’t it? My family (especially my husband) loved it so much; it has just been added to my must-make-often list in my recipe repertoire! Husband approved is blog approved!

If you try this recipe, do let me know….leave a comment below, rate it and share on my Instagram with the tag #curryandvanilla16 or on my Facebook page.

Enjoy and Happy Cooking!

Here are some more dal curries you can enjoy with rice or flat breads:

• Tadkewali Masoor Dal Curry
• Sookhi Chana Dal
• Gujarati Khatti Meethi Dal

My favorite flatbreads to dunk in this luscious and easy to make dal curry are:

• Kale Parathas
• Sweet Potato Parathas
• Gobi Parathas
• Tomato Puris

Time to make us some Paruppu Keerai Masiyal now:

5 from 1 vote

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PRESSURE COOKER PARUPPU KEERAI MASIYAL | MASOOR DAL WITH SPINACH

This warm and hearty south Indian stew is a pressure cooker masoor dal (red lentils) and spinach curry with simple aromatics; pairs well with rice/Indian flat bread or can be enjoyed as a soup too!

Ingredients

• 1 cup masoor dal/split red lentils
• 1 cup onion roughly chopped
• 1/2 cup chopped tomatoes
• 5 cloves garlic peeled (or 2 tbsp chopped garlic)
• 1 tsp haldi/turmeric powder
• Dash of black pepper powder
• 2 dry red chillies or green chillies
• 4 to 5 cups chopped spinach/palak or any greens you prefer
• Salt to taste

TEMPERING/SEASONING:

• 2 tbsp ghee/oil
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 1 tsp jeera/cumin seeds
• ½ cup sliced or chopped onion
• Few Curry leaves
• ½ tsp Hing/Asafetida powder; optional
• 1 to2 dry Red chilies whole or cut into 2 pieces

Instructions

TO MAKE IN A STOVE TOP PRESSURE COOKER:

1. In a pressure pan, layer washed and drained masoor dal, onions, garlic, chilies, turmeric and tomatoes.
2. Add 2 ½ cups water and give it a good mix. Same can be done on a stove top in a saucepan too.
3. Pressure cook for 2 whistles.
4. Once the pressure drops, open the pan and stir in palak leaves (whole if baby spinach or chopped otherwise).
5. Mix well and cook on medium heat for about 5 minutes or until the leaves become soft and are slightly cooked.
6. Stir in salt to taste and while on the stove, mash using a pav bhaji/potato masher until the mixture is pulpy, and the dal and greens have mixed well. This step is optional if you want a chunky kind of dal.
7. Add more water (1/2 to 1 cup) depending upon how thick or thin you want your curry. Mix well.
8. Keep simmering on medium low heat.
9. Meanwhile, make the tempering or seasoning.

TO MAKE IN AN INSTANT POT:

1. Layer all the ingredients; red lentils, tomatoes, onions, jalapenos, chopped garlic, turmeric, black pepper powder and red chili if using.
2. Add 2 1/2 cups hot water and mix well.
3. Close the IP and press manual. Pressure cook on high (seal) for 5 minutes.
4. After 5 minutes, NPR (naturally pressure release) for 5 minutes and then release pressure manually. Open the IP.
5. Add chopped or whole baby spinach leaves, salt to taste, stir and bring to a boil. Simmer for 5 minutes and adjust seasoning and consistency.
6. You can mash here if you like a smooth dal curry.

TO MAKE THE SEASONING:

1. Heat oil/ghee in a small saucepan; once hot, add mustard seeds.
2. As soon as the seeds splutter, stir in jeera and onions; saute on medium heat until the onions are lightly brown.
3. Add the curry leaves, hing and red chilies and fry for a few seconds.
4. Add this tempering to the simmering dal and mix well.
5. Serve hot with freshly steamed rice and a vegetable stir fry or even any Indian flat bread like roti, parathas, naan etc.!

Recipe Notes

Instead of masoor dal, you can use toor/split pigeon peas dal or even moong/mung bean dal.
Use your favorite green leafy vegetable instead of palak.
Adjust spices and consistency of curry according to personal preference.

STEP-WISE INSTRUCTIONS TO MAKE PARUPPUR KEERAI MASIYAL:

TO MAKE IN A STOVE TOP PRESSURE COOKER:

In a pressure pan, layer washed and drained masoor dal, onions, garlic, chilies, turmeric and tomatoes. Add 2 ½ cups water and give it a good mix.

Pressure cook for 2 whistles.

Once the pressure drops, open the pan and stir in palak leaves.

Mix well and cook on medium heat for about 5 minutes or until the leaves become soft and are slightly cooked.

Stir in salt to taste and while on the stove, mash using a pav bhaji masher until the mixture is pulpy, and the dal and greens have mixed well. You can also blitz with an immersion blender (or regular blender)  but I love to see flecks of greens in my curries!

Add more water (1/2 to 1 cup) depending upon how thick or thin you want your curry.

Keep simmering on medium low heat.

Meanwhile, make the tempering or seasoning.

TO MAKE IN AN INSTANT POT:

Layer all the ingredients; red lentils, tomatoes, onions, jalapenos, chopped garlic, turmeric, black pepper powder and red chili if using.

Add 2 1/2 cups hot water and mix well.

Close the IP and press manual. Pressure cook on high for 5 minutes with seal.

After 5 minutes, NPR (naturally pressure release) for 5 minutes and then quick release pressure manually.

Open the IP.

Add chopped or whole baby spinach leaves.

Bring to a boil. At this stage, you can mash the dal and spinach using a potato masher if you need a smooth dal curry. If you like it with a bit of texture, then need not mash.

Simmer for 5 minutes and adjust salt, spices and consistency.

TO MAKE THE SEASONING:

Heat oil/ghee in a small saucepan; once hot, add mustard seeds.

As soon as the seeds splutter, stir in jeera and onions; saute on medium heat until the onions are lightly brown.

Add the curry leaves, hing (if using) and red chilies and fry for a few seconds.

Add this tempering to the simmering dal.

Serve hot Paruppu Keerai Masiyal with freshly steamed rice  and a vegetable stir fry or even any Indian flat bread like roti, parathas, naan etc.!

Winters call for a warm, soothing and comforting soup. This red lentil thick stew like curry can serve that purpose too! Just dilute it a bit and enjoy with a side of crusty bread or salad!

Enjoy!!!

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