Warm, richly spiced, and built for a satisfying meal, Dal Palak (Spinach Dal) is a Indian entree made with toor dal/arhar dal, masoor dal, and water in about 40 minutes. The recipe lays out the ingredients and each cooking step clearly, so you can adjust seasoning, texture, and serving size for your own kitchen.

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 15 minutes
  • Cook time: 25 minutes
  • Total time: 40 minutes
  • Yield: 4
  • Category: Entree
  • Cuisine: Indian

Ingredients

To pressure cook

  • 1/2 cup toor dal/arhar dal (also known as split pigeon peas lentil)
  • 1/2 cup masoor dal (also known as split red lentil)
  • 3 + 1/2 cups water (24 oz + 4 oz, divided)
  • 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt

For the tempering

  • 1 tablespoon oil (I used avocado oil)
  • 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
  • 1/4 teaspoon hing (asafoetida)
  • 4-5 large garlic cloves (chopped)
  • 1 inch ginger (chopped)
  • 1-2 green chili (chopped, to taste)
  • 3-4 cups chopped spinach
  • half lemon (juice of or add more to taste)
  • garam masala (to sprinkle, optional)

Method

  1. To the inner steel bowl of the Instant pot add the toor dal (pigeon pea lentil) and masoor dal (split red lentils) and 3 cups water. Add 1/2 teaspoon turmeric and 3/4 teaspoon salt. Give a stir. Close the lid and press the pressure cook or manual button. Cook on high pressure for 8 minutes with the pressure valve in the sealing position. Let the pressure release naturally. Stove-top pressure cooker: cook on high heat for 2 whistles, then lower the flame and cook for another 7 to 8 minutes or until the lentils are completely cooked. Let the pressure release naturally.
  2. This step is optional, but if you want you can blend the dal a little at this point using a wooden spatula or immersion blender. This way you won't have any dal particles in your final spinach dal but as I mentioned, it's completely optional. Set this aside.
  3. Heat oil in a pot over medium heat. Once hot add cumin seeds and let it sizzle for a few seconds. Then add 1/4 teaspoon hing and stir.
  4. Add the chopped ginger, garlic and green chili. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes until the garlic and ginger start turning brown in color.
  5. Then add in 3 to 4 cups of chopped spinach. Cook the spinach for 3 to 4 minutes stirring often. The leaves will wilt as the spinach cooks and volume of the spinach will reduce.
  6. Add the boiled dal into the pot now. Give a good stir until everything is well combined. Now, let the dal come to a boil. I added additional 1/2 cup water at this point as the dal was too thick for my liking.
  7. Let it simmer for 2 to 3 minutes, then squeeze in some lemon juice. You can also sprinkle some garam masala if you like at this point. I didn't add anything and kept it simple. Serve hot with rice or roti.

Kiyaan Singh’s Kitchen Note

Keep this recipe as a working base: cook once as written, then adjust spice, texture, and serving style for your own table.