Fast Curries
A delicious Sookhi Palak Dal – Instant Pot Dry Spinach Lentil recipe to warm your soul. This dish is not like a stew or a soup but instead it is dry, and loaded with spinach. It doesn’t require onions or tomatoes and is very simple to put together real quickly in an instant pot. Sometimes, a simple recipe is all we need to satisfy our hearts! It literally takes about 20 minutes to make this.
This simple lentil dish is always a hit in my family and circle of friends.
What ingredients do I need to make this recipe?
Lentils/Dal: Small yellow lentils also known as split moong dal/mung dal or split yellow mung beans. This dal is easily available in the Indian grocery store or on amazon. This dal is made from whole mung beans (green moong dal) that have been hulled and split.
Spinach: I have used organic pre-washed baby spinach leaves in this recipe. You just need to chop it very finely. The spinach doesn’t need to be blended, just sautéed and pressure cooked.
Spices and other ingredients: Oil of choice, cumin seeds (jeera), mustard seeds (rai), asafoetida (heeng), whole dried red chili peppers, ginger garlic paste, red chili powder (cayenne pepper), ground coriander powder, salt, water, lemon juice, and fresh cilantro.
Ginger garlic paste: I used the packaged ginger garlic paste available in the Indian store. You can also mince equal quantities of fresh ginger and garlic to make your own paste.
Lemon juice: I use the the store bought bottled lemon juice for the convenience factor. You can use either freshly squeezed lemon juice or store bought…..whichever works better for you.
How do I make this Sookhi Palak Dal – Instant Pot Dry Spinach Lentil?
Firstly, select sauté on the instant pot. Further, add oil, cumin seeds, and mustard seeds. Furthermore, add in asafoetida, whole dried red chili peppers, finely chopped spinach, ginger garlic paste, ground red chili powder (cayenne pepper), ground coriander powder, and salt. Finally add the lentils and water. Pressure cook for 6 minutes and top off with lemon and cilantro.
Also, try some of my other lentil recipes and provide a feedback. Last but not the least, hope you enjoy making this dal!
Instant Pot Dry Spinach and Lentil
Tried this recipe yet? Give us a rating, comment below in the reply section and let us know what you think.
Instant Pot Dry Spinach and Lentil / Instant Pot Sookhi Palak Dal
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp oil of choice
- 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
(jeera)
- 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
(rai)
- 1/4 tsp asafoetida
(heeng)
- 2 whole dried red chili peppers
- 2 cups spinach finely chopped (fresh spinach)
- 1 tsp ginger garlic paste
(freshly minced or packaged)
- 1 tsp red chili powder
(cayenne pepper) - 1 tsp ground coriander
(dhaniya powder)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 cup split yellow moong
beans/lentils (split yellow moong dal/moong dal dhuli) - 3/4 cup water
- 1.5 tbsp lemon juice (either freshly squeezed or bottled)
- 2 tbsp cilantro (fresh and finely chopped)
Instructions
Prep
- Wash the lentils a few times and discard the water. Make sure there is no residual water.
- Wash and finely chop the cilantro.
- Finely chop the spinach. Get rid of the stalks that are separated out while chopping.
Cook
- Select sauté on the instant pot and adjust to normal.
- Add oil to the pot.
- When the oil is hot add cumin seeds and mustard seeds.
- When the seeds splutter, add asafoetida, whole dried red chili peppers, and stir.
- Then add the finely chopped spinach. Stir and let the spinach sauté until it shrivels for roughly one minute.
- Then add the ginger garlic paste, red chili powder, ground coriander, and salt. Sauté for about 30 seconds and stir well.
- Then add the lentils/dal and water.
- Scrape off the sides and bottom to make sure nothing is stuck on the sides or bottom.
- Press cancel.
- Secure the lid on the pot and close the pressure-release valve.
- Select manual and cook at high pressure for 6 minutes.
- When cooking is complete, let the pressure release naturally for 4 minutes and then quick release the pressure.
- Open the lid.
- Add the lemon juice and stir.
Serve
- Transfer into a serving bowl and garnish with fresh cilantro.
- Serve with roti or naan (Indian flatbread).
Notes
- This recipe has been tried on a 6-quart instant pot. The proportions may vary depending on the size of the instant pot you choose to use.
- Ground cayenne pepper and red chili powder can be used interchangeably as both of them make the dish spicy. So if you don’t have red chili powder you can use cayenne pepper instead.
- This recipe is moderately spicy. On a scale of 1 to 5, I would place it at level 3.5 if you cook as is with the red chili powder and dried whole red chili peppers.
