It is also one of the popular Indian lentil recipes as it combines the goodness of the pigeon pea lentils (known as arhar dal or tuvar dal in Hindi) as well as spinach (called as palak in Hindi).

In this post, I am sharing 2 delicious variations of dal palak.

• Dal Palak – No Onion No Garlic Version. Made in a stovetop pressure cooker.
• Vegan Dal Palak – Made with onions and garlic in an Instant pot.

Both the recipes are shared with step by step photos and taste good. So you can make either of them depending upon the gadgets you have. My personal favorite is the no onion no garlic version.

About Dal Palak  (No Onion No Garlic Version)

There are many ways of making Palak ki dal. This delicious recipe is a very simple and easy one and won’t take much of your time.

Palak and dal go very well together. In India we do add veggies to dal and spinach dal is one of those recipes. I have adapted this dal palak recipe from a friend who would make sumptuous food.

Being a meditator, he would never add onion, garlic and chilies to his food. Whilst once at his home, he made this dal for us. I thought the dal would be very bland without onions and no garlic, but I was wrong.

The dal palak was so good. It had the subtle aroma of ghee tempered with cumin and a gingery taste plus creamy and soft. Onions and garlic have a strong flavor and taste. I am sure this dal would also taste great with onions and garlic added to it.

There are no heavy spices like garam masala added to this dal. It goes well with basmati rice and even soft roti or chapatis.

Our friend used to make this dal palak with basically 2 lentils:

1. Tuvar dal (split pigeon peas or arhar dal) and
2. Masoor dal (pink lentil).

You can use both these lentils or use only tuvar dal. I have also added some chopped green chilies and red chili powder to the dal. The chilies just enhance the flavor and taste of the dal without making it spicy or hot.

For tempering, you could use oil, but for better taste and flavor use ghee.

How to make dal palak (no onion no garlic)

1: Pick and rinse the dal. Pressure cook the lentils with turmeric for 5 to 6 whistles till the lentils become soft and mushy.

2: Wash 2 cups chopped spinach leaves. Chop them finely and keep aside.

3: In a pan or kadai, heat 2 or 3 tbsp ghee or oil. Fry 1 tsp cumin seeds. For a vegan spinach dal use oil. You can use any neutral tasting oil.

4: When the cumin seeds sizzle, add 1 inch chopped ginger. Fry for a few seconds until the raw aroma of ginger goes away.

5: Add 1 to 2 chopped green chilies and fry for few seconds.

6: Add 2 cups chopped spinach leaves. Apart from spinach, you can also add amaranth leaves or fenugreek leaves and even kale.

7: Now add ½ tsp red chili powder and ¼ tsp asafoetida (hing). Mix these with the spinach and saute the spinach for some minutes stirring in between till the spinach leaves wilt. Skip asafoetida if you don’t have.

8: Now add the mashed lentils. The green you see in the lentils is the spinach. I was using the same spoon for sauteing the spinach and mashing the lentils….. One spoon less for me to wash ????

9: When the spinach softens and becomes dry like shown in the pic below.

10: Then its time to add the mashed lentils.

11: Mix the cooked lentils with the spinach. If you want a very thick dal with roti, you will stop at this stage. If you want to stop here at this step then add salt as per your taste. Mix well and simmer the dal for 1-2 minutes. Keep stirring continuously.

However, if you want a creamy, smooth dal then continue to the further steps below and don’t add the salt now.

12: Add water to the dal. The quantity of water will depend on how much thick or thin you want the dal palak to be.

13: Add salt and mix. Simmer for 5 to 6 minutes.

14: Serve the dal palak hot with rice or roti and a side vegetable dish or salad or raita.

Few more dal recipes for you

This recipe post is from the archives (Feb 2012) and has been republished and updated on 6th June 2020.

About Instant Pot Dal Palak

It is an easy and nutritious vegan recipe of spinach with pigeon pea lentils made in an Instant Pot.

Spinach has a high nutritional value and is extremely rich in antioxidants, iron, calcium, vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E and vitamin K.

Many people are not fond of greens like spinach, fenugreek leaves, amaranth leaves and that is especially true for kids. But when we mix the greens with dals or legumes then the dish not only becomes tasty but also nutritious.

In this recipe, you can substitute spinach (palak) with amaranth leaves (chaulai) or fenugreek leaves (methi) and even kale. I have made a kale dal too.

You can also use moong lentils or a combination of moong+pigeon pea lentils or red lentils (masoor dal)+pigeon pea lentils.

Serve Palak Dal with roti, paratha or steamed basmati rice. It will also go well with cumin rice or ghee rice.

How to make Instant Pot Dal Palak

1. Pick and then rinse ½ cup pigeon pea lentils (tuvar dal or arhar dal) a couple of times in water. Drain all the water. Keep aside. Also chop onions, tomatoes, crush ginger and garlic and slit green chillies.

2. Press the sauté switch on normal on the Instant Pot and set the timer to 10 or 12 minutes.

3. Add 2 tablespoons oil and let the oil become hot. Sprinkle ½ teaspoon cumin seeds. Fry them till splutter and become fragrant.

4. Add ⅓ cup chopped onions. You can also use ⅓ cup sliced shallots instead.

5. Stirring often sauté the onions till they turn translucent or light golden.

6. Now add 1 teaspoon crushed ginger or ginger paste, 2 medium crushed garlic (with or without their peels) and 1 to 2 green chillies (sliced or chopped). Sauté for 4 to 5 seconds till the raw aroma of ginger and garlic goes away. You can use the less mode while sautéing.

7. Next, add ⅓ cup chopped tomatoes. Mix very well.

8. Sauté till the tomatoes soften and become pulpy. Stir often when sautéing tomatoes.

9. Next add a pinch of asafoetida (hing), ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder, ¼ teaspoon red chili powder or cayenne pepper and ½ teaspoon coriander powder. For a spicy dal, you can increase the number of green chilies and red chili powder.

10. Mix very well.

11. Add the rinsed pigeon pea lentils.

12. Mix very well and deglaze removing any bits or pieces of ingredients stuck to the bottom of the pot.

13. Pour 1.5 cups of water. Mix very well and deglaze if required.

14. Use the pressure cooking mode and set the timer to 15 minutes on high pressure.

15. Meanwhile, when the lentils are getting pressure cooked,  rinse 75 to 100 grams spinach leaves in a colander. Chop them finely and keep aside. You will need 1.5 cups of chopped spinach. Use tender spinach leaves. You can use the stems if they are tender. If the spinach leaves are too large and the stems are fibrous and dense, then only use the leaves and do not add the stems.

16. When the pressure cooking is complete, allow a natural pressure release (NPR) for 10 to 12 minutes. If there is still pressure in the Instant Pot, then lift the valve for the steam to be released. Open the lid and check if the lentils have cooked and softened. They should be mushy.

17. Mash the lentils with a spoon.

18. Add the chopped spinach, ¼ teaspoon garam masala powder, ½ teaspoon kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves) and salt as per taste to the cooked lentils. Both garam masala and kasuri methi are optional and you can skip these.

19. Stir and mix again.

20. Press the sauté button on normal and set the time to 6 or 7 minutes.

21. Begin to simmer the lentils. Simmer till the spinach leaves wilt. This takes about 6 to 7 minutes. Stir often.

22. Once the spinach leaves have wilted, the dal is ready to be served. Check the consistency. Add ¼ to ½ cup hot water if the dal becomes thick. If you prefer a thicker dal, simmer for a few more minutes. For a thin dal, you can add some hot water. This recipe yields a palak dal having a medium consistency. At this step, you can even drizzle  ½ to 1 teaspoon lemon juice in the dal.

23. Serve Palak Dal with roti or lachha paratha or basmati rice or cumin rice.

This recipe post is from the archives and has been recently updated. 

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