Dal palak is a delicious, protein-rich lentil curry recipe from India. It is made by cooking lentils with spinach and is flavored with Indian spices. This simple Indian dish can be enjoyed with rice as well as roti.
Like most Indians, dal-chawal i.e. lentils with rice is my comfort food. And, in India the lentil is cooked in so many different ways that it's very hard to get bored of it even after eating it daily.
Today, I am sharing one of my favorite dal recipes- dal palak. It's very easy to make, tastes delicious, and is very nutritious too.
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What is dal palak?
Dal is the Hindi word for lentil and palak for spinach. So basically, dal palak is lentil spinach curry.
It's made by cooking lentils with spinach and flavoring it with Indian spices.
What goes into this lentil curry?
To make moong dal palak, you will need the following ingredients:
- Dal- Split mung beans also called yellow lentil or dhuli moong dal in Hindi.
- Spinach- Fresh and frozen both are fine. Baby spinach can be used too. If you don't have spinach or don't like it, use any other leafy green of your choice like fenugreek leaves or mustard greens. Of course, it won't be called dal palak then because there won't be any palak (spinach) in it. You can call it dal saag (lentil with leafy greens).
- Onion- Preferably red
- Tomato- Use a juicy red variety.
- Green chili pepper- Jalapeno or Thai green chili can be used too. Skip if your heat tolerance is low.
- Lime juice
- Ginger
- Garlic
- Fresh cilantro
- Spices: Cumin seeds, dried red chilies, coriander powder, red chili powder, turmeric powder, salt, and asafoetida. If you are on a gluten-free diet, make sure your asafoetida is gluten-free or just skip it.
- Cooking oil- preferably mustard oil. Non-vegans may use ghee too.
- Water
Which lentil to use?
In this recipe, I have made dal palak using moong dal i.e. yellow split mung beans. But, it can also be made using any other lentil.
The other most commonly used lentils in lentil and spinach curry are arhar dal (split peigon pea) and dhuli masoor dal (red lentil)
Feel free to use any lentil of your choice.
How to serve?
Dal palak can be served with rice as well as roti or any other Indian bread.
You can also enjoy a bowl of it as a comforting soup.
Freezing tips
In India, freezing cooked food is not a common practice and people prefer eating freshly cooked food so you will hardly find anyone making this dal palak and freezing it.
However, since most of my readers are from other countries who regularly ask me for freezing tips, I try to include them in my posts.
This lentil curry freezes well. After cooking, allow it to cool down then put in a freezer-safe air tight container and freeze. It will be fine for 3-4 months.
I would suggest, for a fresh taste of frozen spinach lentil, after re-heating it, temper it with some cumin seeds and garlic sauteed in hot oil.
Frequently asked questions
Whether you need to soak lentil or not depends on which lentil you are making, the utensil you are using to cook it, and also how much time you have to get the dish ready.
Generally split and skinned lentils like yellow mung bean, red lentil, pigeon peas are not required to be soaked. But, the thicker lentils like brown lentil, black lentil, chana dal, etc. are recommended to be soaked otherwise they take a lot of time to get cooked.
Also, some lentils like brown lentil and chana dal can be directly cooked without soaking if you are using a pressure cooker or instant pot but have to be soaked if cooking in a regular pot.
Soaking basically, reduces the cooking time.
Generally, in India lentils are first cooked and then tempered with spices and other ingredients to make a curry. However, you can also saute spices, onion, tomatoes, etc first, then add uncooked lentil and water, and finally, cook the lentil until it turns soft.
Personally, I feel the lentil curry made by using the first method i.e. by tempering cooked lentil with spices, tastes a lot better than the latter.
Yes, lentils can also be cooked without a pressure cooker but will take a longer time to get cooked in a regular pot. To reduce that time soak lentils in water/ hot water for a few hours.
You can also use an instant pot to cook lentils.
Some lentils like yellow mung beans or red lentil are better to be cooked in a regular pot. If cooked in a pressure cooker, they turn mushy.
Recipe tips and tricks
- Soak the lentil for a few hours to reduce the cooking time.
- If using mustard oil, heat it till the smoking point then switch off the gas. Allow it to cool down to a more manageable temperature before adding spices.
- Ground spices can get burned very easily so keep the next ingredient ready before adding them to the pot and saute for a few seconds only. You can also mix them with around a tablespoon of water before adding to the pot.
- Though traditionally water is used to cook lentils in India. If you want you can use vegetable stock too.
- To add extra heat or flavor to dal palak, drizzle some chili oil or oil of any Indian pickle on top.
- If you want to add red chili powder only for color, use Kashmiri red chili powder. However, if want to add both heat and color to your dish add deggi mirch.
- If you are on a gluten-free diet, either skip asafoetida or make sure it's gluten-free. Though naturally, asafoetida is gluten-free, a lot of brands add flour to it while processing making it unfit for people on a gluten-free diet.
Step by step photo instructions
More easy lentil curry recipes
If you like Indian food and looking for more ideas to add lentils to your diet in the Indian style, don't miss to check the following lentil curry recipes:
If you try any of my recipes, please rate it in the recipe card and also leave your feedback in the comments section below. You can also follow me on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, and subscribe to my youtube channel.
Recipe
Dal Palak
Equipment
- Cooking pot
Ingredients
- 1 cup split mung beans
- 2 cups spinach roughly chopped
- 1 medium-sized red onion finely chopped
- 1 medium-sized tomato finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- ½ teaspoon grated ginger
- 1 green chili pepper finely chopped
- ¼ cup chopped cilantro
- 3 dried whole red chili optional
- ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
- ½ teaspoon coriander powder
- ½ teaspoon red chili powder adjust as per taste
- ⅛ teaspoon Asafoetida
- Salt as per taste
- ½ tablespoon any cooking oil of your choice
- 4.5 cups water adjust to get the desired consistency
Instructions
- Rinse mung beans and put in a pot with water, salt, and turmeric. Cover the pot and cook on a medium flame for around 30 minutes or until the beans get cooked.
- While the beans are getting cooked heat oil in another pot. Add dried red chilies, cumin seeds, and asafoetida. Saute for a few seconds or until the spices turn fragrant.
- Add chopped onion, ginger, and, garlic. Cook until the onions start turning brown.
- Add coriander powder and red chili powder. Saute for a few seconds on low flame.
- Next, add tomato and green chili. Cook until the tomatoes turn mushy.
- Add chopped spinach and mix. Cook until the spinach gets wilted.
- Add cooked mung beans and cook for around 2 minutes.
- Finally, add lime juice and cilantro. Mix.
- Serve hot with rice or any Indian bread like roti, paratha, or naan.
Notes
- You can use a pressure cooker to cook split mung beans. It will get cooked faster. However, if cooking in a pressure cooker add less water (around 3 cups).
- To add extra heat or flavor to dal palak, drizzle some chili oil or oil of any Indian pickle on top.
- If you want to add red chili powder only for color, use Kashmiri red chili powder. However, if want to add both heat and color to your dish add deggi mirch.
- If you are on a gluten-free diet, either skip asafoetida or make sure it's gluten-free.
- More detailed recipe tips and tricks are given in the post above. Please follow them to make this recipe.
Nutrition
There is something so comforting about dal and palak combination. Love it with my rice. Easy, nutritious comfort food.
Thanks Mayuri 🙂