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

Dal Palak or Spinach Dal is a very simple yet delicious Indian dal recipe made with lentils and fresh spinach. This comforting dal palak curry is a quick and flavorsome recipe that the whole family will devour.

If you are on the lookout for quick, easy, tasty, and light weekday meal recipes, then this dal palak recipe won’t disappoint.

Dal palak is one of the many variations of Indian dal recipes. It is the type of dish that keeps your tummy and soul satisfied.

The dal or lentil used here is toor dal also known as pigeon pea lentils and spinach is known as palak in Hindi. Hence it is also called spinach dal!

This spinach dal goes down well with toddlers too. I keep it minimally spiced as my kids often enjoy a bowl of rice and dal. It is one of their favorite meals.

Dal is so versatile! Either make it for an everyday meal, which in fact is so common in Indian households, or you can also make a party-worthy dal dish like lasooni dal tadka, dal makhani, dal maharani, dal fry, etc to name a few.

Why you will love this recipe?

You will love this Punjabi palak dal tadka as it;

• Is wholesome and delicious
• Is one of the easiest ways to include greens in your diet
• Makes for a pretty inexpensive meal
• Is kid-friendly
• Comes together quickly making it perfect for lunch on busy weekdays
• Can also be enjoyed as a light soup for dinner
• Can be adapted to make it vegan
• Is nut-free and soy-free

Ingredients needed for Spinach dal

For this dal and spinach curry, you will need;

• Lentils: I’ve used toor dal also known as tuvar dal or arhar dal, a yellow lentil (pigeon pea lentil) but you can use any kind of lentil for this recipe.
• Spinach/palak greens: I’ve used regular spinach in this recipe, but you could use baby spinach as well. Add them as such without chopping if you like to reduce some prep time.
• Aromatics: Finely chopped onions, freshly minced ginger, and garlic. I highly recommend using fresh ginger and garlic here since this recipe is so minimally spiced and hence using fresh ingredients will make a remarkable difference.
• Fresh tomatoes: I like to add tomatoes to this dal but feel free to skip it if you like.
• Seasonings: I’ve seasoned this spinach dal with basic Indian spices like cumin seeds, hing, turmeric, red chili or cayenne pepper, fresh green chilies, and dried red chilies. This dal is light on the spices so as not to overpower the flavor of the lentils and the spinach.
• Cooking fat: I’ve used a combination of oil and ghee to make this dal. But you can use just oil too. (Ghee is not pictured below).
• Lemon juice: The acidity of the lemon juice adds a bright flavor to the dal.

How to make dal palak – Step-by-step instructions

Stove top pressure cooker method

Step 1: Soak and pressure cook the dal

Rinse 1/2 cup of toor dal well under running water until the water runs clear, then soak it in sufficient water for about 20 to 30 minutes. (Photos 1 to 4)

How to cook toor dal? Transfer the drained dal to a pressure cooker. Add 1 & 1/2 cups of water, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon oil, and 1/4 teaspoon turmeric. (Adding oil prevents frothing and spilling from the pressure cooker). Mix well. (Photos 5 to 10)

Pressure cook the dal for 3 whistles on high heat. Then lower the heat and simmer for another 5 minutes. Switch off the heat and set the cooker aside. (Photos 11 and 12)

Once the cooker depressurizes, open the lid and mash the dal with a wired whisk or spoon for a smooth consistency. You may leave it as it is if you prefer it that way. (Photos 13 and 14)

 Step 2: First tempering

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a heavy-bottomed pot, and add 1 teaspoon of cumin seeds. Once it crackles add a pinch of hing, 1 tablespoon minced garlic, 1/2 tablespoon minced ginger, 2 to 3 slit green chilies, and 1 to 2 dried red chilies. (Photos 15 to 20)

Stir-fry, until fragrant. (Photo 21)

Add 1 cup finely chopped onions, and sauté until it turns a light golden brown. (Photos 22 and 23)

Add 1/4 teaspoon turmeric and 1/2 teaspoon red chili powder or cayenne pepper, and sauté for another 30 seconds. (Photos 24 to 26)

Next, add finely chopped tomatoes (about 1 medium tomato) along with 1/2 teaspoon salt and sauté until it turns mushy and you see oil oozing from the sides. (Photos 27 to 30)

Add 3 cups of chopped spinach, and stir-fry until it wilts, about 1 to 2 minutes. (Photos 31 and 32)

 Step 3: Add the cooked dal

Now, add the cooked dal, and give everything a good mix. (Photos 33 and 34)

Add about 1/2 to 3/4 cup of water (I rinsed the cooker with the water and added to the kadai) or as per your desired consistency, bring to a boil. Check for seasonings and adjust accordingly. Simmer for another 5 minutes. (Photos 35 and 36)

Drizzle some lemon juice and mix well. (Photos 37 and 38)

 Step 4: Second tempering (optional but recommended)

Prepare the second tempering by heating 1 tablespoon ghee in a small pan, add 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds, and when it crackles, add 1 dried chili. (Photos 39 to 41)

Fry for a few seconds until the chili changes color. (Photo 42)

Switch off the heat, and add 1/4 teaspoon Kashmiri chili powder. Mix well and pour it over the dal immediately. Mix it well with the dal, and serve hot with rice or any other flatbread. (Photos 43 and 44)

 Instant Pot Method

Follow the same process above for rinsing and soaking the yellow lentils. If you skip soaking, refer to the pressure cooking time mentioned below.

 Step 1: Saute aromatics, spices, and tomatoes

Press the ‘SAUTE’ button, and set it to ‘NORMAL’. Once it displays, ‘HOT’, add 2 tablespoons of oil. Let the oil heat up a bit, then add cumin seeds, add 1 teaspoon of cumin seeds. (Photos 45 and 46)

Once it crackles, add a pinch of hing, 1/2 tablespoon minced ginger, 1 tablespoon minced garlic, 2 to 3 slit green chilies, and 1 to 2 dried red chilies. (Photos 47 and 48)

Cook, stirring, until fragrant. (Photo 49)

Add 1 cup chopped onions, and saute until it turns a light golden brown. (Photos 50 and 51)

Add 1/2 teaspoon of turmeric and 1/2 teaspoon of red chili powder or cayenne pepper, and sauté for another 30 seconds. (Photos 52 to 54)

Add 1/2 cup chopped tomatoes and 1 teaspoon salt, and sauté until it turns mushy. (Photos 55 to 57)

Step 2: Add dal, water, and pressure cook

Add the drained yellow lentils, and mix well with the onion-tomato masala. Add 1 & 1/2 cups of water and mix well. (Photos 58 to 60)

Press ‘CANCEL’ to switch off the “SAUTE’ mode. Close the lid of the Instant Pot. Set the valve to ‘SEALING’. 

Pressure cook on ‘HIGH’ for 5 minutes. It will take some time for the pressure to build up (about 10 minutes), after which the timer will begin. (Photo 61)

For unsoaked toor dal, pressure cook on ‘HIGH’ for 8 to 10 minutes. 

Step 3: Natural pressure release followed by adding the rest of the ingredients

Once the cooking cycle is complete, let the pot depressurize naturally. It took me about 14 minutes. You could let it depressurize for at least 10 minutes. (Photo 62)

Once the silver pin drops, turn the knob to ‘VENTING’ and open the lid away from you.

Whisk the dal using a wired whisk or a spatula until it is smooth. (Photos 63 and 64)

Turn on the ‘SAUTE’ mode, add about 1/2 cup of water or as per desired consistency, mix well and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. (Photos 65 and 66)

Add 3 cups chopped spinach and cook until the leaves wilt. Check for seasonings and adjust accordingly. (Photos 67 and 68)

Switch off the IP. Add a dash of lemon juice and mix well. (Photos 69 and 70)

Prepare the second tempering as shown above and pour it over the dal if desired.

Serving suggestions

This comforting and hearty dal palak is best paired with plain steamed rice or jeera rice. It pairs well with quinoa too.

You can also serve it with a flatbread like roti, paratha, phulka, or chapati.

Serve it as a part of thali along with some sabzi like aloo methi, aloo bhindi, aloo gobhi, etc, rice, flatbread, yogurt or raita, pickle, and papad!

You may also enjoy it as a soup or stew for a light meal.

Storage instructions

• Leftovers: Store leftover dal palak in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 to 3 days.
• Freeze: You may also freeze this dal palak in freezer-safe bags or containers for up to 3 months.
• Reheat: Thaw in the refrigerator overnight, and reheat in the microwave or over the stovetop. Add a splash of water since dal thickens considerably as it sits.

Variations of this recipe

You can add interesting variations to this spinach dal recipe.

• Dry version (sabzi): If you want to eat spinach dal as a sabzi (a semi-dry veggie preparation), then skip adding water. Add a little if needed to adjust the consistency. Drizzle lemon juice, mix, and serve it as is. 
• South Indian version: The dal is also known as Palakura pappu in Andhra Pradesh and paruppu keerai masiyal in Tamil Nadu. Dal is known as pappu and spinach is known as palakura in the Telugu language. You can follow the same recipe and add a tempering made of 1 tablespoon ghee, 1/2 teaspoon each of mustard seeds, urad dal, 1/8 teaspoon asafoetida, 3 to 4 sliced garlic cloves, 1-2 dry red chilies, and a sprig of curry leaves.
• Pungency: This recipe is a bit spicy because of the use of spicy green chilies and red chili powder. Adjust the spice levels by using mild, light green chilies. You may also reduce or skip the red chili powder.
• Additional spices: I don’t like to add a ton of spices to this dal because they can overpower the overall flavor. However, you can add some garam masala if you like. You may also add other spices like coriander powder, cumin powder, kasuri methi, etc.
• Quantity of spinach: You do not need to stick to 125 grams of chopped spinach for this recipe. You can add as much as you want. Though, I find this ratio of dal to spinach works well.
• Prefer a garlicky dal? Add 2-3 thinly sliced garlic cloves in the second tempering.
• Pumpkin: A cup or two of diced pumpkin cubes can be added to make pumpkin and spinach dhal. Cook the pumpkin along with the dal in the pressure cooker.
• Palak chana dal: Chana dal needs to be soaked for 3 to 4 hours. Pressure cook for 3 to 4 whistles on medium heat.
• Other lentils: You can also use other lentils like split moong dal which are petite yellow lentils to make palak moong dal or red lentils (split masoor dal) to make palak masoor dal recipe, etc. They all work great. You can also mix and match a combination of lentils. There’s no hard and fast rule here.
• Other greens: You can also swap out the spinach with other greens like fenugreek, kale, collard greens, moringa leaves, turnip greens, beetroot greens, etc.

Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

 Can I make this dal without a pressure cooker?

If you do not have a pressure cooker or Instant Pot, cook the lentils in a regular pot with sufficient water, at least 2 inches above the lentils.

Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low and cook until the lentils are soft and mushy, stirring occasionally in between.

You may need to add more water if it gets too thick. This will take about 30-45 minutes.

I strongly suggest soaking the lentils if you plan on cooking them in a pot or it will take much longer to cook.

Is this palak ki dal gluten-free?

Since hing (asafoetida) is used here, it is not a gluten-free recipe. While in its pure form asafoetida is naturally gluten-free, but most commercially available form is compounded hing often mixed with flour or rice flour.

Check the label of the container to make sure you are using pure, gluten-free asafoetida.

Can I make a vegan version?

Yes, of course, you can! This recipe can be easily adapted to suit a vegan diet. Simply swap the ghee with your preferred plant-based oil.

Can I cook the rice along with the dal in the Instant Pot using the Pot-in-pot (PIP) method?

Yes, you can! Since the dal and white rice have similar cooking time, you can use this time-saving method.

To do that, simply place a tall trivet over the dal. Add 1 cup rinsed rice, 1 cup water (1 & 1/4 cups for softer texture), a pinch of salt or to taste, and 1 teaspoon oil or ghee to a stainless steel container. Place the container over the trivet, no need to cover it. Follow the rest of the pressure cooking instructions as mentioned.

Can I use frozen spinach instead of fresh?

Yes, you can!

You may also enjoy these dal recipes

Toor dal recipe (Stovetop + Instant Pot)

Instant pot brown lentil curry

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Editor’s note: This recipe was first published on October 10, 2018. It has been updated and republished on July 29, 2022, with new images, detailed stepwise pictorials, video, and additional information. The recipe is the same as the one originally published, except for the use of ghee instead of oil in the second tempering.