Palak Dal
Andhra palakura pappu: soft toor dal cooked with a big bunch of spinach, tomato and green chillies, mashed smooth and finished with a garlicky tadka. Everyday comfort with rice, ghee and an avakaya pickle.
Prep 10 min · Cook 30 min · Total 40 min · Serves 4
Ingredients
Dal
- ¾ cup Toor dal
- 1 bunch Spinach (palakura), washed and chopped
- 1 Tomato, chopped
- 1 Small onion, chopped
- 4 Green chillies, slit
- ¼ tsp Turmeric
- 1 tsp Oil
- 2 ½ cups Water
- 10 g Tamarind
- 1 tsp Salt
Tadka
- 2 tbsp Oil
- 1 tsp Mustard seeds
- 1 tsp Cumin seeds
- 6 cloves Garlic, crushed
- 2 Dried red chillies
- 1 sprig Curry leaves
- 1 pinch Asafoetida (hing)
Method
- Pressure cook. Put the drained dal, spinach, tomato, onion, green chillies, turmeric, 1 tsp oil and 2 1/2 cups water in a pressure cooker. Cook for 3 to 4 whistles until the dal is completely soft. Let the pressure drop on its own.
- Mash. Open the cooker, add the salt and squeeze in the tamarind water. Mash everything well with a pappu gutti (wooden masher) or the back of a ladle until creamy, with a few spinach shreds still showing.
- Simmer. Put the cooker back on low heat and simmer the dal for 4 to 5 minutes, adding hot water if it's too thick. It should pour slowly off a spoon.
- Tadka. Heat the oil in a small pan. Crackle the mustard seeds, then add the cumin, garlic and red chillies and fry until the garlic is golden. Add the curry leaves and hing and pour the sizzling tadka straight over the dal.
- Serve. Stir it in and serve hot with steamed rice, a spoon of ghee and a crunchy side like aloo fry or appadam.
Tips
The tamarind is optional but very Andhra: just enough to lift the spinach without making it sour. Lemon juice at the end works too.