Mumbai mid-range restaurants tend to have an extensive menu. You could easily find 15 to 20 dishes under each category, and 8 to 10 categories of food. If the restaurant serves multiple cuisines or both vegetarian and non-vegetarian food, then the list is even longer.
When I am in mood for comfort food I typically order Dal Fry, Jeera Rice, and Hara Bhara Kabab. Sometimes, when mood takes hold, I order a variation of Dal Fry called Dal Palak, which is Dal Fry with Spinach.
Dal Palak literally means lentils with spinach. I made it this week because we had 4 bunches of spinach at home and I had to use all of it up in rush! Expect more spinach-laden recipes in the near future.
Time: 45 Mins
Serves: 4
Ingredients
- Spinach – 1 Large Bunch (Should yield 2 packed cups of chopped Spinach leaves)
- Tomato – 2 Medium
- Tuvar Dal or Pigeon Pea – 2/3 cup
- Grated Ginger – 1/2 tsp
- Garlic – 3 pods
- Red Chillies – 2
- Mustard Seeds – 1 tsp
- Turmeric – 1/4 tsp
- Ghee – 2 tsp
- Salt to Taste
Method
- Soak the dal in 1.5 cups water for 15 minutes.
- Pressure cook the dal till it is completely mashable.
- Retain the water in the dal and mash it completely.
- Wash and chop the spinach leaves into small pieces.
- Chop the tomato to fine pieces.
- Heat the ghee.
- Add the mustard seeds and wait till they splutter.
- Add the garlic pods and stir-fry till the garlic turns light brown.
- Break the red chillies in half and add to the ghee.
- Stir-fry for a minute.
- Add the tomato pieces and stir-fry till the tomato is completely stewed.
- Add the grated ginger and turmeric.
- Stir-fry for a couple of minutes.
- Add the finely chopped spinach leaves.
- Stir-fry till the spinach wilts and is cooked.
- Add the mashed dal and salt mix well.
- Bring to a boil.
- Serve hot with rice or rotis.
Nice variation to how I cook spinach in the south-Indian way. I need to try this!
Looks bright and yummy !
I love tis:)
Dal palak looks delicious.. 🙂
Pinning this to make it – I recently was thinking that I don’t know how to make daal palak!
Do try it and let me know how it turns out…. 🙂
Winter in, summer out. Perfect time for dal palak!
I wish I could say summer out. …. Mumbai is still scorching
Love love love dal Palak. Comfort food at its best :).
True true…. I am also coming round to this thought
:).
Mix in hot rice and be in comfort food heaven! 🙂
Don’t forget the ghee!
This is my go to side dish whenever I run out of ideas. Btw, Hara Bhara Kabab sounds very tempting. Aruna, please include it in a post if you have not done that before.
Hara Bhara lined up for the weekend
This looks like something I can try…but I shall browse first and choose. Thanks for sharing!