Easy Dal Palak
This traditional Indian-inspired Dal Palak is prepared with split chickpeas, red lentils, spinach, tomatoes, and a lot of flavorful spices. It is comforting, perfectly spiced, and easy to prepare. Serve it with white rice or naan!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup split chickpeas also known as chana dal
- 1/4 cup red lentils
- 2 and 1/4 cup water
- 2 tbsp oil
- 1 medium onion diced
- 3 cloves of garlic minced
- 1 tsp minced ginger
- 1 tsp each: turmeric, coriander, garam masala, fenugreek
- 1/8 tsp chili or more if you like it spicy
- 1 medium tomato finely chopped
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 tsp nutritional yeast
- 1 tsp salt
- 9 cups baby spinach or regular spinach
- 1/4 cup coconut cream or your favorite plant-based cream
- for serving: fresh cilantro, lemon juice
Instructions
Cook the chickpeas and lentils
- Rinse them. Start by rinsing the split chickpeas and red lentils a few times under cold water. Drain them well.
- Cook until tender. Transfer the chickpeas and lentils to a medium saucepan and cover with 2 and 1/4 cups of water. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer for 25-27 minutes uncovered or until the chickpeas are al dente and almost no water remains. They should not be hard but not mushy, either.
Make the Tadka
- Sauté the aromatics. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a deep pot or large skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add the diced onion, garlic, and ginger. Sauté for 3-5 minutes or until the onions are soft.
- Add the spices. Next, add all of the spices and stir to combine. Sauté for 1 more minute.
- Add the tomato. Add the chopped tomato, tomato paste, nutritional yeast, and salt. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring regularly, until the tomatoes are soft.
- Blend the spinach. While the tomatoes are cooking, wash and drain the spinach well. Place about 6 cups of spinach in a blender with 1/2 cup of water. Blend until smooth and set aside.
- Chop the spinach. Roughly chop the remaining 3 cups of spinach.
- Add the chopped spinach. To the pot, add the chopped spinach and sauté for 2 minutes.
- Add the chickpeas and lentils. Next, add the cooked split chickpeas and red lentils and stir to combine. Add the blended spinach as well and bring to a simmer. Let simmer for 5-7 minutes, stirring regularly to prevent the dal from sticking to the bottom of the pot.
- Finish with a splash of cream. Finally, stir in the coconut cream (or your plant-based cream of choice) and stir to combine.
- This Dal Palak can be stored for up to 3 days in the refrigerator.
Notes
Cook in vegan butter.
Instead of using oil to sauté the aromatics, use one tablespoon of oil and two tablespoons of butter. This will give your dal an even richer taste and a delicate butter flavor!Stir, stir, stir.
Once you have added the spinach, stir very regularly to prevent the spinach from sticking to the bottom and burning.Adjust the consistency.
I like my dal on the thicker side, but if you prefer your dal to be more soupy, add an extra 1/2 cup of water and adjust the salt accordingly.Nutrition
Serving: 1 serving | Calories: 334 kcal | Carbohydrates: 32.6 g | Protein: 12.1 g | Fat: 18.7 g | Saturated Fat: 9.3 g | Sodium: 650 mg | Potassium: 853 mg | Fiber: 7.9 g | Sugar: 6 g | Calcium: 108 mg | Iron: 4 mg