A super easy Spinach Dal made with bright and vibrant organic spinach leaves is perfect for a weekday dinner with your family and that’s what I have for you today! Spinach dal recipe is nothing but lentils cooked with spinach and supporting Indian spices to add aroma and flavor. But not just one type of lentil, but three different kinds to pack maximum protein in your meal. Prepare this nutritious vegan dal in 30 minutes or less!
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About this recipe
For this recipe, I combined three lentils together( toor dal, moong dal, and chana dal) with the spinach leaves. That’s a good balance of protein and fiber. The result is a heavenly dal palak that pairs very well with rice, rotis, and bread.
When you serve this dal with any vegetable stir fry, you would actually get two meals out of it for a family of four. I like to put one of these together on a Sunday afternoon and have leftovers for Monday.
The original dal palak is quite common in most Indian restaurants and one of the popular dal recipes. The recipe I have today is a variation in the way I have used different kinds of dal and I show you how to cook the dal with the Instant pot. It’s also vegan and gluten-free!
What goes into this recipe
I have listed all the ingredients in the recipe card below.
The main ingredients are
Lentils: I used Toor dal(split pigeon pea) moong dal(split yellow lentils) and chana dal(split chickpea lentils or Bengal gram dal)
Spinach: I used organic baby spinach but just about any kind of spinach will work well. Be sure it is clean and washed.
Spices: Spices like red chili powder, garam masala, turmeric will give a nice flavor to the spinach dal recipe. Be sure not to skip any of those spices listed 🙂
How to make this recipe
First, cook the dal with 2 cups of water or (add water until lentils are covered) in a pressure cooker up to 4 whistles. keep it aside.
If you choose an instant pot to cook the lentils: add water to the lentils until it covers completely or approximately 1 ¾ cup water. Cook for 15 mins at high pressure.
Place a pan over medium heat and drizzle 1 tablespoon of coconut oil. When the oil heats up, add cumin seeds, and cloves or lavangam. When they start to sizzle add chopped garlic, ginger and after 10-15 seconds, add green chilies(optional). Stir them for a few seconds.
Now, add chopped onions and continue to cook until the onions turn transparent. Add turmeric powder, garam masala, coriander powder (dhania powder), chili powder, and salt. Continue to stir them well and cover the lid for about a minute.
Now add the chopped spinach or add baby spinach without chopping them, add ¼ cup water and stir them well and cover the lid.
After about 3 minutes, add the cooked lentils and add water if it is too dry. When it starts to boil, add lemon juice, simmer down the heat and cook for about a minute. As the spinach cooks thoroughly, switch off the heat.
Prepare tempering: This step is optional but I never skip this as it gives extra flavor and aroma to the spinach dal. Place a small pan over medium heat and add cooking oil. As the oil heats up, add hing/asafoetida, kashmiri red chili powder, kasuri methi, 2 dried red chilis and saute for 15 seconds. Pour this tadka or tempering to the dal palak and let the flavors get spread to the entire dal.
That’s it! Spinach Dal recipe is ready! Serve it hot paired with rice or roti for the best tasting nutritious dinner!
Recipe FAQs
Ghee is used commonly in India to prepare tadka. I made a variation by using coconut oil to make it 100% vegan. It is also ok to use olive oil or corn oil.
Yes for sure! You can go with one variety of your choice. Addition of multiple lentils in dal gives nice texture and flavor to the dal recipe.
Yes! Prepare this ahead and store it in the freezer for up to 3 months! Just reheat it on a stove top or microwave and serve it warm.
Expert tips
- Always wash and rinse the lentils before you use them in the recipes
- For this recipe, I soaked the chana dal and toor dal for 30 minutes prior to cooking. That will reduce the cooking time. And lentils will be perfectly cooked.
- Use prewashed and organic spinach leaves to be sure that you get them free of fertilizers and pesticides free spinach leaves.
- If you use regular spinach or non-organic kind, be sure to wash them 2- 3 times.
- I used homemade fresh ground spices in this dal palak recipe. Fresh ground spices give a nice aroma to dal recipes that you don’t get in packaged spice powders.
- If you are using regular spinach, chop them finely and use 3 cups for this recipe.
If you like this spinach dal recipe why not try this:
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📖 Recipe
Spinach Dal Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 12 oz OR 14 oz spinach
- ⅓ cup toor dal
- ¼ cup chana dal
- ¼ cup moong dal
- 1 ¾ cup water - 2 cups water - stovetop pressure cooker
- 1 onion
- 2 garlic cloves chopped
- ½ inch ginger grated
- 1 green chili sliced - optional
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 3 cloves spice crushed
- Salt to taste
- 1 teaspoon coriander powder
- ½ teaspoon red chili powder
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
- ½ teaspoon garam masala
- 2 teaspoon lemon juice
- ¼ teaspoon Kasuri methi
- 2 teaspoon oil for tempering
Instructions
- First, cook the dal with 2 cups of water or (add water until lentils are covered) in a pressure cooker up to 4 whistles. keep it aside.
- If you choose an instant pot to cook the lentils: add water to the lentils until it covers completely or approximately 1 ¾ cup water. Cook for 15 mins at high pressure.
- Place a pan over medium heat and drizzle 1 tablespoon of coconut oil. When the oil heats up, add cumin seeds, and cloves or lavangam. When they start to sizzle add chopped garlic, ginger and after 10-15 seconds, add green chilies(optional). Stir them for a few seconds.
- Now, add chopped onions and continue to cook until the onions turn transparent. Add turmeric powder, garam masala, coriander powder (dhania powder), chili powder, and salt. Continue to stir them well and cover the lid for about a minute. Now add the chopped spinach or add baby spinach without chopping them, add ¼ cup water and stir them well and cover the lid.
- After about 3 minutes, add the cooked lentils and add water if it is too dry. When it starts to boil, add lemon juice, simmer down the heat and cook for about a minute. As the spinach cooks thoroughly, switch off the heat.
Tempering step:
- This step is optional but I never skip this as it gives extra flavor and aroma to the spinach dal. Place a small pan over medium heat and add cooking oil. As the oil heats up, add hing/asafoetida, Kashmiri red chili powder, Kasuri methi, 2 dried red chilis, and saute for 15 seconds. Pour this tadka or tempering to the dal palak and let the flavors get spread to the entire dal.
- That’s it! Spinach Dal is ready! Serve it hot paired with rice or roti for the best tasting nutritious dinner!
Process Shot
Check above for step-by-step pictures (most of my recipes include pictures)
Video
Notes
- Always wash and rinse the lentils before you use them in the recipes.
- For this recipe, I soaked the chana dal for 30 minutes prior to cooking. That will reduce the cooking time. And lentils will be perfectly cooked.
- Use prewashed and organic spinach leaves to be sure that you get them free of fertilizers and pesticides free spinach leaves.
- If you use regular spinach or non-organic kind, be sure to wash them 2- 3 times.
- I used homemade fresh ground spices in this dal palak recipe. Fresh ground spices give a nice aroma to dal recipes that you don’t get in packaged spice powders.
- If you are using regular spinach, chop them finely and use 3 cups for this recipe.
YOUR OWN NOTES
Nutrition
Nutritional information is an estimation only.
Ramona
This spinach dal palak recipe has me drooling whilst I write this comment! I am dying to make this for me and my family really soon as I know they will really enjoy it. Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Alex
My kid absolutely loves spinach. I totally need to try this for him! It sounds so easy and flavorful.
Erin
This looks wonderfully comforting! I look forward to trying it. I will definitely do the tempering step! I want as much flavor as possible, although this one already looks totally loaded with it. 🙂
Uma Raghupathi
Thank you, Erin. Yes, tempering is a must for a good flavored dal recipe.
Beth
I love the spices in this and how you have used more than one type of dal. It looks comforting and delicious.
FOODHEAL
I love making dal and especially with spinach, haven't made it like this before, with all the Indian spicies because of my kids. I hope one day to enjoy this recipe.
Amy Liu Dong
This looks so delicious and very good to all health cautious people. The yellow and green combination to food is a great tandem. I loved it!
Lori | The Kitchen Whisperer
Oh what a delicious looking and sounding recipe! I can't wait to try it! And thank you so much for all the great tips about making this dish!
Amy
Oh my how delicious does this look! I love spinach and dal but I have never thought to mix different dal together. Great tip about soaking the dal to make the cooking process faster. And love that you made your own spices too!
Uma Raghupathi
Thank you, Amy!
Heather Perine
I love trying new vegetarian dishes and my fiancé loves Indian food so he will be so excited when I try this!
Sharon
Healthy comfort food to get you through the winter. I love all the spices in it, gives it so much delicious flavor.
veggiesdontbite
I love spinach in just about anything!! Such a colorful recipe and great step by step directions!
Linda and Alex @ Veganosity
This looks and sounds delicious! Spinach is one of my favorite greens, and the spices in this dish are amazing.
Amy Katz from Veggies Save The Day
I love your step-by-step photo instructions!
Uma Raghupathi
Thanks Amy. This will help a lot while cooking:)
Melissa @ Vegan Huggs
This looks incredibly delicious and comforting. So perfect for the upcoming cooler weather. I love the simplicity of it, too. I see this in my future. Thank you for sharing 🙂 `
Uma Raghupathi
Thank you for lovely comment!
Strength and Sunshine
This is such a great healthy meal! So comforting too!
Uma Raghupathi
Thank you 🙂