Palak Moong Dal | No Onion No Garlic Recipes

Palak Moong Dal | No Onion No Garlic Recipes

Author: Rumki Paul
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: Indian
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Total time: 30 minutes
Servings: 4 Persons

Palak Moong Dal is one of the most popular and palatable Dal recipes in India. It is a No Onion No Garlic Recipe and a perfect option for Puja Brat days. This recipe is the combination of boiled yellow lentils (Moong Dal) with Tomatoes, Ginger paste, chopped Cilantro and some spices. This healthy recipe is mostly accompanied with Steamed Rice, Jeera rice, Ghee Rice or Rotis.

Palak Moong Dal is a perfectly balanced dish. It contains the nutrients of Moong dal (Yellow lentils) and goodness of green leafy vegetable, Spinach. At the same time, this comfort dish tastes superb too. So, it can be a perfect addition to your regular diet.

Though it is a no onion no garlic recipes but still it tastes amazing and reduces the effort of preparation too. So, in this recipe you don’t need to drop your tears to cut Onions to prepare this dal. It is a very quick and easy recipe and requires minimal ingredients to get cooked.

I have learnt Palak Moong Dal recipe from one of my north Indian roommates while I was working in Bengaluru. When I first time prepared this dal, my family loved it. We usually pair up this dal with steamed Basmati rice and Aloo Bhaji. Now this Palak Moong Dal has become a regular member of our vegetarian days.

Moong Dal Recipe

Moong dal (Yellow Lentils) is one of the most popular and healthy lentils which is regularly prepared in each house of India. It is one of the most versatile lentils around the world which can easily be adapted to our regular diet. Many delicious Dals, Pakodas, Halwa and hundreds of recipes are cooked with this yellow lentil.

Palak Moong Dal with step by step photos and instructions have been provided in the ‘Instructions’ section of the recipe. But before directly jumping into the recipe, let me share few interesting facts about this dal and the recipe.

Benefits of Moong dal

Benefits of Spinach

How to make Palak Moong Dal?

In this preparation, first I have washed, and pressure cooked the Moong dal (Yellow Lentils) to boil.

To save time, I have boiled the dal in pressure cooker. You can also boil the dal directly in Kadai but it will take a bit longer to get cooked.

While cleaning Spinach for the recipe, I have discarded the mature stems and have then taken them in a colander. I have washed the Spinach thoroughly in running water before chopping them.

If you don’t have fresh Spinach, then you can use frozen Spinach too. It will not affect the taste of the dish. But make sure to defrost them before use. Frozen Spinach takes lesser time to get cooked than fresh Spinach.

Normally in Moong dal recipes very small amount of spices are used. Too much spice may spoil the taste of the dal. I have used only Cumin seeds for tempering of the dal and have used Cumin powder, Amchur powder (Dry Mango powder) and fresh Cilantro herbs for the flavouring of the dish.

Other than Spinach, I have added Ginger paste, Tomatoes and green Chillies into the dish. Ginger paste gives a soothing flavour to the dish. Tomatoes gives a ting of tanginess and green Chillies give a spicy kick to the dal.

When the Spinach got fully cooked with all the masalas, then I have added the boiled dal into the pan and added some extra water to get the desired consistency of the dal. I have added chopped Cilantros and small amount of Ghee (Clarified Butter) at the end stage of cooking. Ghee (Clarified Butter) not only gives better flavour but increases the taste of the dal too.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Yellow Lentils (Moong dal)
• 2 cups Spinach (Palak), washed and chopped
• 1 Tomato, deseeded and diced
• 1 tablespoon Ginger paste
• 2 green Chillies
• 2-3 tablespoons Cilantros, chopped
• ¼ teaspoon Cumin seeds (Jeera)
• ¾ teaspoon Turmeric powder
• 1 teaspoon Cumin powder
• ¾ teaspoon Dry Mango powder (Amchur powder)
• Salt, to taste
• Oil, for cooking
• 1 teaspoon ghee
• 2 cups of water to pressure cook
• 1 cup of water, extra (Quantity may vary for desire consistency)

1. Take the Moong dal in a large bowl and wash it under running water until the bubbles goes away.
2. Drain away the water and transfer it into a pressure cooker.
3. Add water and salt into the pressure cooker.
4. Stir and check the salt.
5. Cook it in medium flame for 1-2 whistles.
6. Once the pressure settles down, take off the lid.
   

7. Add oil into a pan and put the flame in high.
   

8. Once the oil is hot, add Cumin seeds and let them crackle.
   

9. Add Tomatoes, green Chillies into the pan and cook it in medium flame for 2 minutes. Stir occasionally.
   

10. Add Ginger paste into the pan and cook it in low flame till the raw smell goes away.
    

11. Add chopped Spinach and give a nice mix.
    

12. Cover the pan and cook it for 5-6 minutes in low flame until the Spinach are done. Stir occasionally.
13. Add salt and Turmeric powder and give a nice mix.
    

14. Put the flame in medium and cook it for a minute.
15. Add Dry Mango (Amchur) powder, Cumin powder into the pan and mix it well.
    

16. Cover the pan and let it cook for another minute in low flame.
17. Transfer the boiled dal into the pan (Step 6) and mix it well.
    

18. Add water according to your preferable consistency and allow it to boil.
    

19. Cover the pan and cook it in high flame till the dal simmers.
20. Sprinkle chopped Cilantros and cook it for another minute in low flame.
    

21. At the end, add Ghee and stir nicely.
    

22. Switch off the flame and put the pan down.