Dal Palak Recipe | Spinach Dal (Stovetop & Instant Pot)

Dal palak is an Indian dish made with spinach, lentils, spices and herbs. This traditional delicious, healthy and protein rich spinach dal is one of the many ways lentils are consumed in India. There is nothing more comforting than a bowl of hot dal palak served with rice, roti or bhakri. Made with minimal amount of spices, this spinach dal is super flavorful, tasty, low-calorie, fiber and protein rich that suits everyone. It can be made in a stovetop cooker, instant pot or even in a sauce pot.

About Dal Palak

Dal palak also known as Spinach dal is a nutritious Indian curry where toor dal (split pigeon peas) is cooked with spinach, spices and herbs. It is a staple across India that is made in many ways and in fact everyone has their own way of cooking it.

Traditionally a lot of people would make dal palak simply by pressure cooking lentils, spices, onions, tomatoes and chopped spinach all at once in a pressure cooker and then just temper it.For some reason my family, especially my kids were never happy with that taste because the spinach gets overcooked. Palak is one of those leafy greens that cooks faster so it can just be included once the lentils are soft cooked.

Dal palak tastes best when made with minimal ingredients otherwise the buttery taste & flavor of cooked palak is lost. So you won’t need a lot of ingredients here.

In this post I share 2 recipes to make dal palak. The first recipe is without tomatoes and the second one is with tomatoes.

A lot of people avoid cooking tomatoes and spinach together due to the high oxalate content in both of them. So if you are on a low oxalate diet, always skip tomatoes in the dal palak.

At home, we believe moderate consumption of tomatoes with spinach is okay for healthy people so I do cook this combination but not very often. I use them together in this dal palak, sambar, palak paneer and a few more dishes.

Since I use tomato in the second recipe, the quantity of spinach used is less. So both the ingredients, tomatoes and spinach are used in moderate quantities. This recipe is our absolute favorite, so delicious and super quick to make as there is no sautéing of onions or tomatoes and is also easy.

Both the recipes can be made in a stovetop cooker or in the instant pot or sauce pot. I have included the instructions.

More Dal recipes
Moong dal recipe
Chana dal
Masoor dal
Dal makhani
Dal fry recipe
Khichdi

How To Make Dal Palak Without Tomatoes

You can find the instant pot instructions in the recipe card below.

1. Add half cup dal to a pot or pressure cooker and rinse it well a few times or until the water runs clear. I use toor dal and moong dal in equal proportions. You can use any kind of dal you prefer.

The taste of dal palak enhances with the use of moong dal, so even a little is enough for that great taste. You can optionally chop a large tomato and add it to the dal.

If you do not own a cooker, you can soak the dal for about 15 mins to 1 hour to quicken the process.

2. Pour 1¼ cups water to the cooker and secure the lid. Pressure cook on a medium heat for 2 whistles. If cooking in a pot, keep adding more water and cook until the dal turns soft.

3. While the lentils cook, clean spinach and rinse it well a few times. I usually spray some vinegar and sprinkle salt over the leaves first. Leave them for 5 to 10 mins. Then rinse them off in a large pot a few times. This gets rid of all the pesticide residue and any bugs.

Drain the leaves to a colander. When the water drains, chop them. Also chop 1 to 2 green chilies and some ginger garlic. We need 1 tsp of the same.

4. When the pressure releases naturally, open the cooker and mash the dal slightly. You can skip mashing if you like to retain the same texture. It must be soft cooked and not remain al dente.

Tempering

5. Heat 1½ to 2 tablespoons ghee in a kadai/ pan. To keep the recipe vegan, you can use oil. When the ghee turns hot, add ¾ teaspoon cumin seeds and 1 to 2 broken dried red chilies (optional).

6. When the seeds begin to crackle, add 1 teaspoon chopped ginger garlic and 1 to 2 chopped green chilies. We are not using red chilli powder in this recipe so use enough green chilies for the heat. Saute just for a minute and add 1/8 teaspoon hing.

7. Add 2 cups chopped spinach/ palak. You can use more or less to suit your taste.

8. Saute for 3 to 4 mins on a medium heat. Spinach will wilt and begin to sweat.

9. Add the cooked dal, 1/8 teaspoon turmeric and half teaspoon salt. Mix well.

10. Pour water as needed to bring the dal palak to a consistency and cook until the spinach wilts completely. Palak doesn’t require long cooking, so a few minutes will be good enough. If you like to use amchur you can add it at this stage. I prefer lemon juice so I don’t add it.

11. When it reaches the desired consistency, turn off the stove. Taste test and add more salt. When the dal palak cools down slightly, squeeze in lemon juice if you have not used amchur. Do not squeeze the lemon over boiling hot dal. If you have used oil for tempering, add a tbsp of ghee now.

Serve dal palak with rice or roti or naan.

For more palak recipes, do check
Palak paneer
Spinach curry
Easy palak paratha
Hara bhara kabab
Palak rice

Pro Tips

To make dal palak, I have used toor dal also known as split pigeon peas and moong dal also known as split skinned mung beans. You can use any lentils that you prefer.

Spices: Cumin and dried red chilies are the only 2 whole spices I have used. You may add a pinch of mustard seeds if you like.

Ground spices: I have not used any ground spices here. If you prefer you may add a pinch of garam masala along with turmeric. But in my opinion, this spinach dal does not need it at all.

Tempering it in desi ghee or butter enhances the flavor and aroma of the dish. If you are a vegan, just use any cooking oil.

Preparing palak for any palak recipe: Fill a large pot with water. Pluck each palak leaf and check for infestations etc. Add them to the pot. Allow them to rest for 3 to 5 mins. Repeat the rinse. I usually spray vinegar & salt over palak & leave for a while before rinsing them.

Related Recipes

Recipe Card 1

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Recipe 2

How To Make Spinach Dal with Tomatoes

I have made this in the instant pot but it can also be made in the traditional stovetop pressure cooker following the same recipe and method.

Pour 1 tablespoon oil or ghee to a pressure cooker (stovetop or instant pot). If using Instant pot, press the saute button and then pour oil. When the oil turns hot, add ½ teaspoon cumin seeds, 1 to 2 sliced garlic and 1 chopped green chili. (skip green chilli if you have kids at home).

Add ¾ cup chopped tomatoes, ½ cup chopped carrots or pumpkin (optional), ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ to 1/3 teaspoon red chilli powder, 1/8 teaspoon turmeric.

Saute for 1 minute.

Add half cup rinsed dal. Here I used 1/4 cup toor dal and 1/4 cup masoor dal. You can use just toor dal too or just masoor dal or a combination of any.

Pour 1 ½ cups water and give a good mix. Close the pressure cooker and cook on a medium heat for 3 whistles. If using Instant pot, Press cancel button, close the lid, position the steam release handle to sealing and press pressure cook button. Set the timer to 9 to 10 minutes. You can also cook your rice in the same IP by placing the rice bowl over a long legged trivet.

While the dal cooks, clean, rinse and chop the spinach. You will need about 1.5 cups chopped palak. When the pressure drops, open the pressure cooker lid and give a stir.

Add the chopped spinach and mix. Turn on the stove heat to medium and cook until the palak wilts. This just takes a few minutes. If using Instant pot, press the saute button and cook for 2 to 3 mins.

When you see the palak has wilted completely, add crushed kasuri methi and garam masala (optional). Taste test and add more salt if required.

Turn off and keep the cooker covered with the lid so the palak cooks completely with the residual heat. If you want you may pour 1 to 2 tsps of ghee over the hot dal or do a tadka following my moong dal recipe.

Squeeze some lemon juice over dal palak and serve with rice or roti.

Recipe card 2

This Dal palak recipe is from the Archives. First published in March 2017. Updated and republished in November 2021.