©Ashy Macbean 2003

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Spinach dhal

Dhal is good, healthy stuff. So is spinach. It stands to reason then, that what we have here is a recipe for a very healthy, nutritious dish. It tastes good too.

Ingredients

500g spinach
1 or 2 tomatoes
3 cups of dried lentils
2 cardamom pods
A small piece of cinnamon bark
A few black peppercorns
3 whole cloves
1 teaspoon of whole coriander seeds
3 cloves of garlic
Oil
Salt

Put the lentils in a pot with water (about 1.5 cups of water to 1 cup of lentils) and bring to the boil. Boil vigorously for five minutes and then turn the heat down to simmer. Skim off any froth that appears. Chop the spinach and pile it on top of the simmering lentils. Cover the pan with a lid.

Roast and grind the spices and chop the garlic and tomato. Heat some oil in a frying pan and when it is hot, add the spices and chopped garlic. Fry for about thirty seconds then add the tomato and stir. Fry a little more until the tomato softens, then add the contents of the frying pan to the lentils and spinach and stir. Simmer gently until the lentils are soft, adding a little more water if necessary. Add salt just before the end of cooking time.

Serve with rice, chappatis and raita. Spinach dhal is great as an ingredient in a 'thali' style meal.

more dhal recipes
more spinach recipes
thali dishes