Palak Chana Dal is a healthy, delicious and filling Indian dal made with spinach and lentils. Spinach dal is something I feel good eating because I know it’s good for me. Just ladle a helping of Palak Dal over hot cooked rice, with a generous drizzle of desi ghee. Unbelievably good!
Palak Chana Dal can be prepared in two ways – one, just boil the chana dal (split Bengal gram), prepare a tadka with chopped onions, tomatoes, spinach and spices, and then mix in the cooked dal. Or, boil the dal with chopped spinach, onions, green chillies and tomatoes and then add it to a tadka of mustard, cumin seeds, dry chillies, hing, curry leaves, ginger and garlic.
Whichever way you prepare it, this comforting vegan iron-rich, low-fat, low-cholesterol dish is bound to become a firm favourite.
Palak Chana Dal Recipe:
Palak pappu (dal) is a healthy vegetarian dal that tastes great. The Andhra dal recipe is wholesome, yummy and full of traditional Indian flavours. I love adding leafy greens to my diet and dal palak is my favourite comfort food.
This spinach dal recipe is just right for these last few chilly days of winter. Thick and filling with warm flavours, the spinach lentils dish pairs perfectly with steamed rice or garlic naan.
- To make Andhra palakura (spinach) pappu, wash and soak chana dal for 30 minutes. Rinse well.
- Pressure cook the lentils with turmeric and 1 ½ cups water for 8 whistles. Once the pressure releases, mix in 1/2 tsp salt and keep aside.
- Wash and finely chop spinach, onion and tomato. Slit the green chilli and grate the ginger.
- Heat oil in a sauté pan over medium heat. Put in cumin and mustard seeds. Once they start to pop, add the asafoetida, curry leaves and dry red chilli. Sauté for 10 seconds.
- Add the chopped onions and green chilli. Fry till the onions turn light brown. Add the chopped ginger and garlic. Sauté for a few minutes.
- Tip in the chopped tomato.
- Cook on low heat till the tomatoes turn soft.
- Add the chopped spinach and mix well. Cover and cook till the palak wilts. Add ½ tsp salt and stir well. (You can add a little red chilli powder for extra spiciness).
- Mix in the cooked chana dal and simmer on a low-medium flame for 5 minutes.
- If there is excess water, cook the spinach leaves dal on a high flame for a further 5 minutes for the water to evaporate.
- Remove and serve Andhra Palak Chana Dal with rice and papad.
If you are searching for more palakura recipes, then do try out Palak Dip
Lentils And Spinach Dal Recipe details below:
Palak Chana Dal Pappu Recipe
Ingredients
- Boil together:
- ½ cup Chana Dal/Split Bengal Gram
- ½ tsp Salt
- 1/2 tsp Turmeric
- 1½ cups Water
- For tadka:
- 1 cup Palak/Spinach, packed
- 1 small Onion, chopped finely
- 1 Green chilli, Slit
- 1 small Tomato, chopped
- 2 cloves Garlic
- 1/2 inch Ginger, grated
- 1 Dry red chilli
- 1 sprig Curry leaves
- ¼ tsp Mustard seeds
- ¼ tsp Cumin seeds
- ⅛ tsp Asafoetida
- 1 tbsp Oil
Instructions
- To make Palak Pappu with chana dal, wash chana dal well and soak for 30 mins.
- Drain the water; take a pressure cooker and add chana dal, turmeric, and one-and-a-half-cups water. Cook for about 7-8 whistles or until the dal is tender. Keep aside. When it cools down sufficiently, add ½ tsp of salt to the cooked dal and mix well.
- Heat oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Sizzle mustard and cumin seeds.
- Then add curry leaves, red chilli and hing. Sauté for a few seconds.
- Add the onion and green chilli. Fry till the onions turn translucent.
- Put in the chopped tomatoes and cook till the tomatoes soften. Add salt to taste.
- Add chopped palak and combine all the ingredients well.
- Cover and cook till the spinach wilts and all the ingredients are well incorporated.
- Remove the lid and stir in the cooked lentils.
- Simmer the spinach dal for about 5 minutes on low-medium flame, allowing all the flavours to mingle.
- Remove and serve Palakura Pappu hot with white rice or roti.
Recipe contributed by M. Komatineni
