Spinach Dal

Ready in 1 1/2 hour

You will need:

• Pressure Cooker
• Wok (kadai)
• a trip to the Indian store

Ingredients:

Recipe makes 6 servings

• Spinach (Washed and chopped) - 2 bunches or 4 cups
• Chana Dal - 1 1/2 cups
• Water - 4 cups
• Turmeric powder - 1/2 teaspoon
• Vegetable oil - 1 tablespoon
• Asafoetida - 1 pinch
• Cumin seeds - 1 teaspoon
• Mustard seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
• Red Chili (Whole) - 2
• Red onion (chopped) - 1
• Garlic (minced) - 2 teaspoon (3 cloves)
• Ginger (minced) - 2 teaspoon
• Green chili (Serrano/minced) - 1
• Red chili powder - 1/2 teaspoon
• Tomato (diced) - 1 cup (1 whole tomato)
• Garam Masala - 1/2 teaspoon
• Cilantro (washed and chopped) - 1/4 cup

Directions:

1. Soak chana dal in water for 30 mins. Drain the water.
2. In a pressure cooker add 
• Dal
• Water (4 cups)
• Turmeric powder (half)
• Salt
• Pressure cook it for about 30 minutes (about 3 whistles) on medium heat. Let it cool and open only after the pressure subsides.
3. On medium heat, heat oil in a wok. Add
• Asafoetida
• Cumin seeds
• Mustard seeds
• Red chili
• When the cumin and mustard seeds start popping add 
• Onions
• Ginger
• Garlic
• Green Chili
• Fry till onions become light brown
4. To the Wok, add 
• Turmeric (rest of)
• Red chili powder
• Fry for one more minute and add 
• tomatoes 
5. Once the tomatoes get mushy, add 
• spinach 
• a pinch of Salt
• and cook till the spinach starts giving off water and reduces to about half the amount.
6. Add the dal from the pressure cooker to the wok and mix well. Add a little water if required. Stir well and let it boil for a minute or two.
7. Turn the heat off and garnish with 
• Garam Masala
• Cilantro
• Cover the Wok for at least 5 minuted before serving
8. Serve with a side of rice.

Footnote:

Chana Dal might not be easily available to everybody. In that case, yellow split peas work well too. A word of caution though, yellow split peas get mushy (read cooked) a lot faster than Chana Dal and might not need extensive pressure cooking. 

The British-English term for 'Chana Dal' is 'Bengal Gram Dal' also called 'Chholar dal' in Bengali.