Wednesday, June 04, 2008

Spinach dal/Palakura pappu

Dear foodies,


This is recipe has a double boost of toor dal, so beware! This was a quick quick (ya, that quick!) dish that I made for chapati's. So why was it that quick? (have I used up my quota for using the q-word in this para?) I had some frozen cooked toor dal in the freezer, I always make extra and store 1/2 cup measures of it in separate bags in the freezer. That really makes a dal/sambar easy the next time round, do try it is you don't already. And after the insect scares I got from my organic spinach/mint buys, I had a pack of frozen spinach waiting for me in the freezer too. So that meant I only had to thaw and temper the ingredients to have my dal ready. So now you know why it was quick na? :D The double booster of toor dal came from a handful of frozen tuvar lilva tossed into the boiling dal.

Ingredients:
  • 1 cup - Toor dal, cooked
  • 1 cup - Spinach, frozen (or fresh, chopped spinach 1 1/2 -2 cups)
  • handful of frozen tuvar lilva/lima beans/peas
  • 1/2 - medium sized onion, cubed
  • 2 small green chillies, slit lengthwise
  • 1/2 -1 tsp sambar powder adjusted to taste
  • Salt to taste
Seasoning/Tadka/popu:
  • 1 tsp - oil
  • 1 dried red chilli, broken
  • 1 clove garlic, sliced
  • 1/2 tsp mustard seeds and cumin
  • 3-4 curry leaves, torn to pieces
Method:
  • In a saucepan on medium heat, add 1/2 cup of water, frozen dal, spinach and let them heat through and thaw. Midway I also added the cubed onions. ( I was too lazy to heat another pan to saute the onions in. Since I let the dal boil and simmer later on, the onions were cooked well by the end of it, so save yourself the time and the effort)
  • Once the ingredients are thawed completely add the green chillies, sambar powder, frozen tuvar lilva and salt. Let the dal to come to a boil and simmer for a few minutes, add more water if its too thick.
  • For the tadka, heat the oil in a small pan, add the mustard and cumin seeds, as they crackle add the garlic. Allow it to brown a little and then add the curry leaves. After they crisp up, add the red chillies and turn off the heat. Add this to the dal and cover for a few minutes.

The browned garlic bits are very tasty and so are the tuvar lilva. They don't soften up totally like peas or lima beans and retain a slight bite which I really liked about them. The dal goes great with chapati's or rice. I had it with some dosa a few days later and found that it was a pretty decent combo. Here is another really good dal recipe, one of my favs.

21 thoughts:

Pravs said...

Looks so yummy ! Never tried lima bean or peas with spinach dal combo.

Priya said...


I generally make just one dish for myself Pravs, so I follow the 'more-the-merrier' rule for the veggie content :D And I am going to try shallots in the tadka next time, I can bet it tastes great!

Kalai said...

Looks simply divine, Priya! I love spinach and dal in many avatars! :)

bee said...

ooohhh. love that bowl. i don't like tuvar lilva, but concealed like this it will be yummy.

Priya said...


Kalai, its such a comforting combo right?

Bee, this was the first time I used it, I was surprised it still hadn't softened after all the cooking. Finding a recipe to cook the rest is going to be tough :D
Bought the bowl at Kohls. Its oven safe and I got it so I could bake stuff as a single serving and it looks good ;)

ranji said...

love the addition of spinach in dal...i do this a lot of times..better than plain dal...urs look delicious.

mitr_bayarea said...

Priya-

I made this toor dhal with spinach, tomatoes, onions and garlic etc. during the weekend, it goes well with chapathi and rasam rice.

Sangeeth said...

i do this recipe very often...a healthy and tasty...loved ur pics....

Suganya said...

Hi Priya...
This is a nice dal dish. Love to have it with hot rice and Ghee. YUM!. Nice presentation.

Coffee said...

Thats looks delicious!! Boosted with tuvar lilva is like icing on the cake!!

Srivalli said...

wonderful look bowl priya...thats quite a tip on dal..but won't freezing the spinach make it go withered?

SMN said...

Priya dal luks so nice.. i wud love it with plain white rice..

TheCooker said...

Looks sooo good!
If I manage not to burn the garlic bis, they taste out of this world w/ such a daal.

Vanamala Hebbar said...

looks delicious priya...lovely pics

Priya said...


Thank you all for dropping by. Spinach dal is a quintessential recipe in everyone's kitchen here with each having their own lil twist to it.

Srivalli, the dal freezes really well, and its such a savior during the lazy days or otherwise ;) The frozen spinach is store bought, taste-wise I do not find any difference.

Anonymous said...

Looks very tempting!
Spinach dal is one of my favs;
this looks slightly different than the one that M makes. will ask her to try this.
:-)

Anonymous said...

this recipe was brilliant! i made it the very night i read your post, and i loved it. your blog is one of my bookmarks, and though i don't know you, you are heartily thanked at least once a month in my home :)

Priya said...


Arun, I am always experimenting with my dals. What is M's recipe ?

Anon, Thank you soo much for dropping a comment. I would give you the "you make my day" award for this comment :)) I am glad you enjoy my recipe :)

Archana Doshi said...

so picture perfect. Its difficult to get a good click of this yummy dal and you have got a good picture. BTW, I am hosting a ONE DISH MEAL EVENT, I would love for you to participate. The details of the event is in my website

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