Spinach Dal aka Palak Dal 🥬

Sez
Aug 30, 2019
2 min read

We've always fancied dals or dahls whenever we go to an indian restaurant and I honestly thought it was complicated to make. Since we had a lot of spinach and red split lentils, I thought I would give it a try and I was shocked at how easy it was! Obviously the spinach makes it high in iron so this is a healthy dish guys don't worry. Give it a try this weekend and let us know what you think 😌

Serves: 7 (as a side)

Difficulty: Level 1

Wow factor: 🤯🤯🤯

Ingredients

1tbsp sesame oil
1 red onion, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, crushed
1 thumb-sized ginger, finely chopped
1.5tsp ground turmeric
1tsp cumin seeds
1/2tsp ground cumin
1/2tsp medium curry powder
Dash of chilli flakes
1 vegetable stock cube (I used the stock pot version)
600ml of water
250gr red split lentils
100gr of spinach
Finely sliced spring onions to serve
Dash of smoked paprika
Dash of salt and pepper

Instructions

In a large-based pan, heat the sesame oil
When it is hot enough, add your red onion and cook over a low heat for 10 minutes until it is soft
Add your garlic, ginger, turmeric, cumin seeds, ground cumin, curry powder and chilli flakes to the pan. Cook for 1 minute
Turn up the heat to medium and add the water, stock pot/cube, and lentils to the pan
Bring to boil then reduce the heat back to low. Cover and cook for 15-20 minutes not forgetting to stir occasionally so the lentils don't stick to the bottom of the pan
When the lentils are soft, season with salt and pepper to taste
Take it off the heat and stir in the spinach
Top with spring onions and a dash of smoked paprika
THAT'S IT. EASY RIGHT? You're welcome 👩🏻‍🍳Serve with cumin rice, a dollop of greek yoghurt, some curry and a piece of naan bread. You've just nailed your Indian banquet at home!

Alternatively, you can also add potatoes or sweet potato chunks to this recipe just before step 4 to make this more of a hearty dish to fill you up instead of having it as a side dish