Palak Daal

'What is that green thing floating in the daal', this smart lil devil .... ahhem Angel, asked making a face. That is no thing .... it's dhaniya patta, mommy tried explaining with a little patience. But this smart ass refused to have the daal with any bit of that green in it .... so mommy had no option but to chuck out those 'green things'.

Next this little devil opens up the rolled chapati ....'What are these orange and green things in there ? Mommy can you remove these 'things'.

Mommy tried explaining that 'those things' are called vegetables ..... that they were rich in vitamins and minerals. It is necessary to eat them to reach the top shelf of the pantry where mommy stores goodies. Well not really !! All you need to do is pull a chair and climb on it. At that moment she just needed this devil to finish that vegetable stuffed chapati to make her life a little bit easy ...... that was all she was truly concerned about. Guess this smart one sensed it.

Then there were story telling about Popaye and his spinach. But all in vain.

After all those effort, mommy threw some mixed fruit jam into the chappati and rolled it back in disgust. The little devil happily roamed around the house for more than an hour nibbling on this jam filled chappati.

Well ..... that little devil was none other than me :-) How happy I was making mom's life so miserable every day.

The irony is .... today I grab every bit of green and add it in all kind of curries. Nutritious eating you see ....

Preparation Time - 30 minutes

Serves - 3

Ingredients

Split Bengal Gram - 1 cup

Chopped Spinach - 2 cups

Minced Garlic - 1 tbsp

Minced Ginger - 1/2 tbsp

Finely Chopped Onion - 1/2 cup

Cumin Seeds - 1/2 tsp

Chopped Green chili - 1 tsp

Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp

Garam Masala - 1/2 tsp

Clarified Butter - 1 tsp

Salt per taste

Oil for cooking

Method of Preparation

1 Soak the split bengal gram for 15 minutes. Pressure cook and remove from heat before the first whistle. Keep aside.

2 In a pan drizzle a little bit of oil. When the oil is warm add the cumin seeds and chopped green chilies.

3 Next add the minced ginger and garlic. Fry for about 2 - 3 minutes, till you smell the aroma of garlic. Add the chopped onion and fry till golden brown. Add the turmeric powder and salt and fry for some more time.

4 Add the chopped spinach and fry for 3 to 4 minutes.

5 Add the cooked daal and give it a stir.

6 Finish off by adding garam masala. Simmer and remove from flame.

7 Top it off with a dollop of clarified butter.

Serving Tips

Serve warm with roti/ paratha

Notes

Do not over cook the daal.

Variation

You may mix and cook a variety of daal (split bengal gram + tuar daal).

Other Names

Palak Daal - Spinach Daal, Split Bengal Gram - Chana Daal, Cumin - Jeera, Clarified Butter - Ghee