Spinach Dal- Pink Lentils Cooked With Spinach
This is my easy, quick ‘go to’ meal. I use the pink lentils which cook up in a matter of minutes and it is ready to eat. I made this for a friend who requested Indian food. She said she was satisfying her craving by going to Trader Joes and buying the boxed Indian meals- what??? I couldn’t let that one go- I think she knew I would be very disturbed by that comment and she was right. Even though I had no plans on making Indian food for our dinner together- I couldn’t help myself. I decided to make a chicken dish and these lentils.
I needed to serve a vegetable and to make it easy I decided to use baby spinach- that I had in my fridge- yet another great thing to keep in there all the time. It is handy for a quick salad or even a stir fry.
The lentils were done in about 15 minutes, I added the spinach and then heated some mustard and cumin seeds in oil and was done! The result was a delicious, healthy side dish that can be served with rice or bread.
I gave it to my daughter the next day and she didn’t even notice the spinach in it- I am not sure how that happened. The bright colored greens were quite apparent to me but I think because the dal was so delicious, she didn’t even care about the spinach.
Make the spinach dal next time you are short on time…
- 1 cup masoor dal (pink lentils)
- 3 cups water
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 4 cups baby spinach
Heat the dal, water, garlic, salt and turmeric in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil and lower heat to a simmer. Cook the dal for 15 minutes for till the grains are soft. The consistency should be between a soup and a stew. Add the baby spinach. Cover till the spinach is wilted.
- 2 tablespoons extra light olive oil
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
Heat a small cast iron pan with the olive oil. Add the cumin and mustard seeds. Cook for a minute to two, till the seeds begin to sizzle. Add the mixture to the spinach dal. Taste for seasonings.
