Dal Palak - Moong Lentils with Spinach

A traditional and Ayurvedic way of making Dal Palak - Moong lentils and Spinach - a grandmother recipe!

Ingredients

1kg        Spinach

100g      Moong Lentils, split and peeled

2tsp       Ghee

1 Pinch Asafetida

1tsp       Cumin

10g        Chickpea Flour or, if not available, Wheat Flour

100ml   Water

              Salt according to taste

How to prepare Dal Palak

First of all you need to wash the lentils as well as the spinach thoroughly. Cut the spinach leaves into halves and if they are very big, into three pieces. You don’t need to dry the leaves after washing, it is good if they are still a bit wet.

Heat up one teaspoon of ghee in a pot and when it is hot, turn the heat low. Now you put half of the spinach into the pot to create a bottom layer. After that you put the Moon Dal on top of the spinach, in the middle of the pot and cover it with the rest of the spinach, so that the lentils are covered by spinach on all sides. You can now sprinkle the salt on top and also sprinkle 50ml water on top of the spinach. Place the lid on the pot and let it cook at low heat.

When the spinach has started shrinking, you can turn the heat up as it will have left water and you don’t run the risk anymore that it will burn to the ground. When it starts boiling, you stir nicely and turn the heat a bit down again, so that you have it boiling at medium heat. This will allow the Moong Dal to cook and get soft while it is taking up the minerals of the spinach. When the lentils are cooked, you still see that the water, the lentils and the spinach are separate from each other, not mashed to one paste.

You can either put the asafetida into the dish now or at a later state. Putting it at this point will intensify the smell and taste of asafetida, so if you like that, you can add it now. If you decide to do it now, mix the asafetida with a few drops of water and give it into the pot.

You now mix the flour and the rest of the water together in a separate bowl. Make it a liquid sauce with the consistency of puree. Pour this mixture into the lentils and spinach, gently mix it and let it cook some more minutes.

In the meantime, you can heat up another teaspoon of ghee in a pan for preparing the tadka, the mix of spices. If you have not added the asafetida yet, you start the tadka by adding asafetida. If that is already in the pot, you right away add the cumin and fry it a bit in the pan. Let it develop a nice aroma and then add it into the pot of Dal.

And there you are – my grandmother’s recipe for making Dal Palak!

Enjoy!

Ayurvedic Benefits

Moong Dal is a very light Dal and easy to digest. It is given to everybody who has issues with digestion. It pacifies Vata and Pitta and slightly increases Kapha.

Spinach is a leafy vegetable that is very good for your health from the viewpoint of nutrition. It provides you with iron and calcium which is good for your bones, hair, nails and more. It is Vata and Pitta increasing but the Moong Dal will balance this effect. Additionally the Asafetida which we added helps to reduce Vata.

Dal Palak is thus a very balancing Ayurvedic dish, good for your digestion and complete body. Especially vegetarians should think about cooking this dish or other Dal recipes often, as the lentils provide the proteins for a balanced nutrition. Cook and eat wholesome vegetarian meals and your body will thank you!