Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Dal Palak





Blessed are mothers, whose children eat at least one wholesome meal a day without fuss. That way, I have no problem with my younger one, she in fact loves her veggies and dals. Every day, while I  am still preparing the vegetable for the day, my younger one will come into the kitchen, pick up a cup and ask for her share of veggies. So that way I am really happy. Hope she continues this healthy eating habit. You never know when children’s taste buds take a turn.

But my elder one….She loves paneer paneer and paneer! She is happy to have paneer dishes everyday. And she just doesn’t seem to like her greens or dals. Making her eat paruppu sadam is really a demanding task. The other day, when I made Dal fry, I decided to mix it with rice and give it to her and she gladly finished the whole bowl. That’s when I realized that she needed more flavour and tang in the dal rather than the plain paruppu. Anyways, since that day, I make it a point to add a couple of tomatoes and give an aromatic tadka and dress up the plain old paruppu. This way it appeals to my lil ones palates. I also tried combining veggies like carrots, potatoes, green peas etc with the dal and both my kids enjoy having both the veggies and dal in this form. This Palak dal is absolutely the best way to feed my kids with some greens. How do you trick your children into eating something healthy and nutritious?



What you’ll need
  1. Tuar Dal – ½ cup
  2. Moong Dal – ¼ cup
  3. Spinach/Palak – 1 Big Bunch
  4. Green Chillies – 2 or 3
  5. Ginger – 1 Inch Piece
  6. Garlic – 2 Cloves
  7. Onion – 1 Medium
  8. Tomato – 2 or 3 Medium
  9. Turmeric powder – ¼ tsp
  10. Salt to taste
  11. Coriander Leaves – for Garnishing

For Tempering
  1. Oil/Ghee – 1 tbsp
  2. Cumin Seeds – 1 tsp
  3. Dried Red Chilly – 1

Method
  1. Wash and soak both dals for 15 to 20 minutes. The rinse again and cook in fresh water for 3 whistles or till the dals are cooked well and mushy.
  2. Chop onion, garlic, tomatoes, and spinach. Grate ginger. Slit green chillies.
  3. Heat a Kadai with oil or ghee. Add cumin seeds and dried red chilly.
  4. Add chopped onions, ginger, garlic, green chillies and turmeric powder one after the other.
  5. Saute till the onions turn translucent.
  6. Now add chopped tomatoes and fry till soft and mushy.
  7. Add the chopped spinach and fry till the spinach has wilted completely and the moisture is absorbed.
  8. Mash the cooked dal well and add it to the above mixture. Add salt to taste.
  9. Add about 2 cups of water. Adjust water according to your required consistency.
  10. Simmer for 5 to 6 minutes.

Garnish with fresh coriander leaves and serve hot with warm rotis or plain rice.



Note:

You can add more spinach if you desire.
You can use only tuar dal or only moong dal.
Adjust the quantity of water according to your preference as some people like their dal to be thin and runny while others like it thick.

20 comments:

Unknown said...

lovely presentation dear...

Indian Khana said...

one of fav ...looks yum ..nice click

Unknown said...

my fav dal variety and want delicious clicks dear too good.

Priya
Cook like Priya

Rafeeda AR said...

making kids eat is a talent in itself... my elder one is less fussy but she hates paneer unlike ur elder one :) but my younger one is taking care of her body now itself, she will eat only if she loves it otherwise it's back on ur face... :) yummy palak dal... will try...

Jeyashris Kitchen said...

Simple and yummy dish, beautiful presentation. Love ur clicks these days

Raksha said...

This looks very yummy and delicious. Loved the way you arranged the rotis.

Roshni said...

Yes, dal palak does make a great dish packed with protein and the goodness of greens... I could never give my little one paruppu sadam.. but like yours he also loves the dal nad rice combo...

virunthu unna vaanga said...

very yumm dal...
VIRUNTHU UNNA VAANGA

Unknown said...

one of our most favorite kind of dals - looks mouth watering yum

Sanoli Ghosh said...

Mouthwatering dal. Nicely presentated Kaveri.

Today's recipe:
http://sanolisrecipies.blogspot.com/2012/09/cholar-daler-bora-bengal-gram-fritters.html

Priya Suresh said...

Fantastic super comforting dal..I'll happily have this dal palak simply with rice topped with ghee and pickles.

Reshmi Mahesh said...

Dal looks delicious...Luckily now my son eats everything though it is a 1 to 2 hour process...But he needs new stuffs to eat each time of the day(diff lunch, dinner, brkfst)...No blame on that as my hubby is like that...

Shylaja said...

Dal looks super delicious

Vidhya said...

Dal palak looks so tempting.Loved your presentation too. Luckily Aishwarya doesn't have many dislikes and if she doesn't like any thing particular she still has to take 11 bites one for each of her birthday ;)

Swathi said...

Dal palak looks perfect Kaveri with my chapathi.

Sangeetha M said...

this is our family fav, looks very delicious..loved the rolled stack of rotis, looks very nice :)

Unknown said...

Love spinach dal, that bowl looks so inviting.

Srividhya Ravikumar said...

love the presentation..looks yum...

Unknown said...

My Hubby's fav, deliciously made & lovely clicks

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Binys Recipes said...

hi dear its been a long time i haven't been here...every time i visit the google connect stopped me...but this time i gt thru....wow great recipe

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