What can be said about this Bengali dal and spinach dish?

Creamy, nutritious, protein-rich, iron and mineral-rich, fibre-rich, dal palang or palak dal is probably the healthiest recipe in this cookbook.

This is a dal dish, with spinach. It is not a thick spinach dish with some dal, such as the Punjabi version. This is from the Bengali cuisine and is much, much simpler to prepare.

It is one of our favourite go-to recipes for a quick evening meal. This can be prepared very quickly and needs a minimum of effort to cook. A great dish to serve to your vegetarian friends.

We serve this just with plain rice and one of our favourite pickles.

the recipe

preparation: 10

cook: 30

soak: 1

total: 1 40

yield: 4 servings

calories: 406 kcal

diet: gluten free

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ingredients

200 g split pigeon peas - (toor dal)
100 g split red lentils - (masoor dal)
1 tsp ground turmeric
½ tsp salt
250 g spinach leaves - coarsely chopped

to temper

3 tbsp mustard oil
1 tbsp panch phoran - (see recipe)
1 red onion - halved and sliced
½ tsp salt
50 g ginger - finely chopped
1 red chilli - finely sliced

to serve

1 red chilli - split lengthwise
1 tbsp coriander leaves - coarsely chopped

instructions

Thoroughly wash the pigeon peas, then set aside to soak for one hour.
Thoroughly wash the red lentils, drain, then place into a pot with 750 ml of water. Drain the pigeon peas and add to the pot. Add the turmeric and the salt.
Bring the lentils gently to the boil, remove any foam that appears, then reduce the heat to a low simmer. Cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. If the lentils start to dry out, add a little more water – do not add too much as you do not want a watery dal.

to temper

Whilst the dal is cooking, heat the mustard oil in a pan over medium heat and add the panch phoran. When the seeds start to pop add the onions and salt and mix well.
Fry the onions for about ten minutes, or until they have softened and taken on a golden colour.
When the onions have coloured, add the ginger and red chilli and fry for two minutes.

to finish

Check the consistency of the dal and add a little boiling water, if required. Mix gently – or if you prefer a smooth dal, vigorously whisk the dal, adding water as required. Be cautious adding water as you can easily go too far and have a dal that is more like a soup.
Add the spinach to the dal and mix. Cook for another two minutes to allow spinach to wilt.
Add the oil and onion mix and the split red chilli to the dal. Mix gently. Check seasoning and cautiously add salt if required.

to serve

Turn the dal into a serving bowl and garnish with the coriander.

notes

The more you stir the lentils, the more they will break down. We like our lentils with texture, but if you prefer a smoother dal, use a whisk to break down the grains before adding the spinach.
One metric cup of lentils is about 200g.
Baby spinach leaves work well in this dish.

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nutrition

dal and spinach