There is something comforting about Spinach. Since childhood, the combination of spinach and dal (indian style lentils) has been a favorite comfort food. Today’s meal is Spinach dal and Rice, something I have consumed copious amounts of for as long as I can remember. No matter how many times i eat it, it never gets boring.
Perhaps you have a favorite food like that…
The ingredients for this meal can be found at your local indian grocery store, and for those of you that don’t have a pressure cooker, slow cooking the dal, while tedious, produces delicious results.
So without further ado, here is the recipe.
In a pressure cooker combine the following ingredients:
1 bunch of spinach, chopped
1 cup tuvar dal
1 tsp chilli powder
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 tbsp tamarind pulp
1 tomato, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
2 cups of water
After pressure cooking the above for 2 whistles, mash the dal well and proceed to dress the dal.
Heat oil in a pan and add the following:
1 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp chana dal
1/2 tsp urad dal
few curry leaves
few bits of red chilli
Add the tempering to the dal and boil for 10 minutes.
Let the spinach dal rest for 30 minutes for best taste.
Serve over fresh cooked basmati rice for a traditional home cooked indian meal experience. That’s it!
Lentils are a great source of protein and the spinach is packed full of antioxidants, calcium and folic acid. A truly well balanced and guilt free meal. So go ahead and grab some seconds, its good for you.
-Aarti
my food like that would be meatloaf
God, that sounds tasty, and I don’t even like spinnach….
Aarti, this recipe looks delicious. Can’t wait to try it out!
@Jim: meatloaf sounds like a great comfort food!
@climbsquickly: this is one of those recipes that really transforms spinach:) My daughter laps it up..
@rambo: Let me know how it turns out!