The original recipe posted in Jul 2018 has been updated with new photos and a video Enter your email & I’ll send it to your inbox. Plus, get great new recipes from me every week! By submitting this form, you consent to receive emails from Minstry of Curry Spinach Dal also known as Palak Dal is a staple Indian dish cooked with lentils and spinach. Lentils are cooked in earthy spices such as cumin, turmeric, and garlic, along with tomatoes and fresh spinach. Spinach dal can be enjoyed by itself as lentil soup or served over hot fluffy rice for a wholesome comfort meal along with Mango Pickle. Love easy plant-based meals? Try Rajma Masala, Dal Makhani, and Chana Masala recipes that are all naturally gluten-free and can be easily made vegan. Instant Pot has big advantages over traditional pressure cookers. First, you do not need to monitor the cooking time making it a mostly hands-off process. Secondly, you can start and finish cooking dal in the same pot so you have only one pot to clean. And all of this with the same authentic taste in lesser time.
Simple No Tempering Dal
When I first shared this dal recipe, I used the Instant Pot Saute option to temper cumin seeds. But there is technically no need to first temper cumin seeds in hot oil. So now I follow this no-tempering method where I add all ingredients to the Instant Pot insert and pressure cook. The flavors of all the ingredients meld perfectly well to make a creamy dal with earthy aromas and taste - just like the dal, I grew up eating.
Tips
Depending on how old your lentils are, or in case you are using organic dal; it may take much longer for the lentils to cook. In this case, increase the pressure cooking time to ten minutes. If you have hard water in your home, it may take longer for the dal to cook. My recommendation is to either use filtered water for cooking or soak the lentils in warm water for 5 to 10 minutes as you prepare the other ingredients. Lastly, you can do a full natural pressure release for this recipe so the dal continues to cook soft and get creamy.
Variations
This recipe is gluten-free and to make it vegan simply substitute ghee with neutral cooking oil, or simply skip the ghee altogether Other than lentils, salt, and turmeric all the other ingredients can be optional Skip spinach or substitute it with baby kale, frozen spinach, or kale To make pot-in-pot brown rice, increase the pressure cook time to 22 minutes
