This easy to make spinach dal hails from Indian and Pakistan. As is custom from South Asian cuisine it is not shy on depth of flavour and spice and is one of my favourite lentil dishes from the region. I have seen recipes where it’s made from different types of dal, or lentils, but I have written my recipes using split yellow lentils because that is something I can easily get a hold of here in Sweden. You could also use split red lentils if that’s the only type of lentil you can get a hold of. If you do however find an Indian or Pakistani supermarket in your city feel free to make it with half toor dal and half moong dal as suggested in this recipe or half tuvar dal and half masoor dal as suggested here. These were the recipes that inspired and informed mine.

If yyou compare mine to the ones linked you will also see that I am using chili flakes in place of the dried and whole chili fruits. This is mainly for ease but also because I can’t quite handle the heat. Feel free to play around with the spice levels though and find what suits you! I have read that everyone has their own version of this dish in its place of origin and while there are of course main players in the dish that feels like a nice invitation to make it work in your kitchen.

Sometimes I eat this dish as soup which is not how it was intended but it is definitely delicious on its own. Otherwise I like to serve it over rice or scoop it up with some bread. You could also make it as a part of a feast of South Indian dishes, try my take on chana masala for example.

Hope you guys enjoy this take on a dal palak or spinach dal!

Malin x

Dal Palak

Serves 4.

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup split yellow lentils, rinsed and drained

4,5 cups water

4 cups fresh spinach

2 tbsp rapeseed oil (or other oil that has a high smoke point)

2 inch piece of ginger

2 tsp cumin seeds

A generous pinch of chili flakes

0,5 tsp ground turmeric

Salt and black pepper, to taste

METHOD:

Combine the lentils with the water in a pot and season with salt. Bring to a boil and then turn down to a simmer for roughly 15-20 minutes or until the lentils are cooked and starting to disintegrate.

In the meantime chop the spinach into half inch wide pieces. Peel the ginger and grate it on a microplane or chop finely.

When the lentils have about 5 minutes left to cook heat the oil in a pot over medium heat and then add in the cumin seeds. Allow them to brown a little and when it starts shimmering and popping add in the ginger and chili flakes. Cook for another minute, until fragrant, while you stir continuously. Add the spinach to the pot and allow it to wilt while you move it around gently.

When the spinach is mainly wilted pour in the cooked lentils. Season with ground turmeric and stir to combine. Simmer for a couple of minutes. Then taste and adjust the seasoning.

Eat over rice or if you wish as a soup.

curry dal dal palak dinner indian lentils lunch south asian spinach spinach dal stew