Palak dal

What could be healthy, filling, have a protein and veggies combined in a single dish and get cooked in less than half an hour? Well, this greens dal fits the bill just right! Of course, pressure cooking the rice along with the dal saved me cooking time and I had this soul food ready in under 40 minutes-quite a treat for hungry kids when served with homemade ghee! 


You need

1. Tur dal (red gram dal) -150ml
2. Paruppu keerai (called kari cheera,pappu koora) /palak - chopped, 3 cups
3. Onions-2 medium, finely chopped
4. Tomatoes-2 medium, diced
5. Green chillies-3 big, finely chopped
6. Fresh root ginger-1 tsp chopped
7. Curry leaves-1 tbsp, finely chopped
8. Turmeric powder-3/4 tsp
9. Salt-1 tsp (adjust to taste)

For seasoning

1. Vegetable oil-2 tsp
2. Mustard seeds-1 tsp
3. Jeera (cumin seeds)-1 tsp
4. Saunf (aniseed)-1 tsp(optional)

To assemble

1. Wash the dal well.
2. Add double the volume of water and pressure cook to a soft consistency.
3. Wash the greens you are using well under several changes of water.
4. Chop up medium fine.
5. Place the chopped greens in a microwavable bowl, add some water and cook on high for 4-5 minutes.
6. Heat oil in a deep pan.
7. Add ingredients for seasonings in order.
8. When they splutter, add green chillies, ginger ,curry leaves.
9. Next to go in is the onions, followed by diced tomatoes.
10. Toss in the turmeric and salt.
11. Mix it well and let the veggies mush up a bit.
12. Add the cooked greens, give a good mix, add about 100 ml of water, simmer for 2 minutes.
13. Now is time to add cooked dal, mash with the back of ladle, simmer for 3-4 minutes, add more water if needed to avoid burning.
14. Your lovely nutrient-packed greens dal is now ready!
15. Serve with steamed rice, pudina chutney and carrot sticks.

Here follows the nutri notes-

• Combining a cereal and a pulse in a meal is the best way to get all amino acids.
• The greens dal combines in itself the protein and vegetables needed in a meal.
• The mint chutney packs-

More of green leafy vegetable allowance.
Adds zing,spice and hence improves satiety of a meal.
Adding lime juice to the chutney provides vitamin C needed for better iron absorption(from the greens and pudina) in the body.

• Serving with carrot sticks adds to the beta carotene in the meal(greens have them too).
• Carrots also amp up the fibre quotient.
• Preportioning the meal (as in the pic) allows you to eat sufficiently.
• This helps weight watchers to prevent from reaching out mindlessly for extra servings.

Here are the visuals-



diced tomatoes

chopped ingredients

chopped greens

cooked dal

microwaved greens

bubbling greens dal