Dal Palak Recipe

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Dal Palak recipeLet’s start off with a disclaimer: I do not really have a specific recipe for Dal Palak; and don’t really have a fixed set of ingredients that I use. Oh yes, I do use Dal and I do use spinach, or Palak as it is called in India, but those are the only two constants.

The truth is I normally make up the recipe for the dish as I go along depending on what provisions I have at home. When I made it last week the house was groaning under the weight of sweet corn tins – remember the husband’s Costco phase? So that is what you will find in this recipe.

My paternal grandmother made Dal Palak a lot – the conventional one that is and I used to groan every time it made an appearance in our lunch tiffin at school as I shared the son’s (and every other normal kid’s) allergy to all green substances. Well, thankfully I have grown out of this “allergy” and love all things green – although I have absolutely no knowledge of her conventional Dal Palak recipe since I prefer mine from the dark side.

Dal Palak Recipe

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Dal Palak Recipe
Serves 4
Prep time 10 minutes
Cook time 15 minutes
Total time 25 minutes
A yummy recipe of spinach and lentils and any vegetables you can lay your hands on.

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup red dal
  • 500 gms. spinach
  • 200 gms. tinned sweet corn
  • 1 tin of tomatoes
  • 1 onion (cut into small pieces)
  • 3 cloves garlic (cut into small pieces)
  • 1 dried red chilli or green chilli (whole)
  • 1 tsp. cumin seeds
  • 1 tsp. turmeric
  • 1 tsp. chilli powder
  • 1 tbs. garam masala
  • 1 tbs. sunflower oil
  • 1 cup of hot water
  • salt to taste

Note

Add a couple of potatoes to the ingredients and the dal palak becomes a meal in itself, eaten with bread on the side.

Directions

Step 1
Heat up the oil in a saucepan and when it is hot, add in the garlic and the red chilli.
Step 2
When the garlic becomes brown add in the cumin seeds, wait for them to sizzle and then put in the onions. Stir until the onions are soft and brown
Step 3
Add in the tomatoes, the garam masala, turmeric, chilli powder and salt. Stir until the mixture becomes thick – in fact, ideally you should be able to see the oil separate from the mixture.
Step 4
Now add in the spinach and mix thoroughly.
Step 5
Add in the dal and the sweet corn, stir and pour in the hot water.
Step 6
Cook on simmer until the dal is completely cooked.
Step 7
Serve hot with rice and salad.