Spinach Dal
This creamy spinach dal is packed with vibrant spices and bursting with flavor. The best part: it cooks up in one pot and is easy enough for a weeknight dinner!
Servings: 4
Calories: 306kcal
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons canola oil, or high-heat oil of choice
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- ½ teaspoon black mustard seeds
- 4 cups vegetable broth (use 3 cups for the Instant Pot method)
- 1 cup dried split pigeon peas
- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
- Pinch cayenne pepper, (optional) or to taste
- 8 ounces finely chopped fresh spinach
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- Salt and pepper, to taste
For Serving
- Cooked basmati rice
- Fresh cilantro
Instructions
Stove Top Method
- Coat the bottom of a medium pot with oil and place it over medium heat.
- When the oil is hot, add the onion. Sweat the onion for 5 minutes, until it becomes soft and translucent.
- Add the garlic, ginger, cumin seeds, and mustard seeds to the pot. Sauté everything for about 1 minute more, until the garlic is very fragrant and the cumin seeds begin to darken.
- Stir in the broth, pigeon peas, turmeric, ground cumin, garam masala, and cayenne pepper. Raise the heat and bring the liquid to a boil.
- Lower the heat and simmer, uncovered, until the pigeon peas are tender, about 40 minutes. Add water during cooking if the mixture becomes too dry.
- Stir in the spinach, a handful at a time, allowing each addition to cook down a bit before adding another handful.
- Allow the spinach to simmer until fully wilted, about 5 minutes.
- Remove the pot from heat and stir in the lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve with basmati rice and sprinkle with fresh cilantro.
Instant Pot Method
- Press the "sauté" button on your Instant Pot. Add the oil to the pot.
- Add the onion. Sweat the onion for 5 minutes, until it becomes soft and translucent, stirring frequently.
- Add the garlic, ginger, cumin seeds and mustard seeds. Sauté everything with the onion for about 1 minute, stirring constantly, until the mixture becomes very fragrant.
- Press the "cancel" button.
- Stir in the broth, pigeon peas, turmeric, cumin, garam masala, and cayenne pepper.
- Secure the lid on the Instant Pot and set the valve to the "sealing" position. Press the "pressure cook" or "manual" button and set the pressure to high. Set the Instant Pot to cook for 15 minutes. (Note 1)
- When the dal has finished cooking carefully more the valve to the "venting" position and allow the pressure to release completely.
- Remove the lid from the Instant Pot. The dal should still be simmering at this point.
- Begin stirring in the spinach, a handful at a time, allowing each handful to wilt before adding the next. If the dal cools down too much and stops simmering you can set the Instant Pot to the "soup/broth" setting just until the spinach has cooked.
- Allow the spinach to cook just until wilted, about 5 minutes, then stir in the lemon juice and season the dal with salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve with basmati rice and sprinkle with fresh cilantro.
Notes
- Note that the actual cook time will be longer than 15 minutes because it will take a few minutes for the pressure to build before timed cooking starts.
- Nutrition information does not include rice or cilantro.
Nutrition
Serving: 1cup | Calories: 306kcal | Carbohydrates: 47g | Protein: 12.3g | Fat: 8.1g | Saturated Fat: 0.8g | Sodium: 1115mg | Potassium: 959mg | Fiber: 14g | Sugar: 5.6g | Calcium: 130mg | Iron: 4.1mg