Sookhi Moong Palak Dal Recipe (Whole Green Moong Gram with Spinach)
Sookhi Moong Palak Dal is a dry spinach sabji made with whole green moong and is a great healthy accompaniment for almost any Indian meal. It uses few ingredients but is flavourful and packs quite a nutrient punch. Usually, it is made with Pooris and Aloo Sabji, but it goes well as a dry side dish along with any tomato based-gravy too, or even just with Phulkas, Bhindi Kadhi and Raita. It is best made in an iron kadhai/skillet, for the look and for the taste/nutrition.
Did you know: Whole moong dal is a great source of protein for vegetarians and is high on dietary fibre and relatively lower on carbs so it’s great for those trying to shed some of those kilos. Spinach is a super food in a low calorie package as most of its calories are derived from the protein content. Apart from the obvious iron, it is also a rich source of fibre, calcium, potassium, magnesium, vitamin A, vitamin K, phosphorus, and folate. Research says that possible some of the greatest health benefits of spinach are diabetes management, lowering of cholesterol and cancer prevention, among many others.
Here are different dal recipes to try
Note:
When the dish is done it will be a dark green colour, but the longer it stays in the iron kadhai before serving, the darker (and almost black) it will turn and that’s the way many like it. If you prefer it greener, then remove it from the kadhai as soon as you have turned off the heat.
Another good way to eat this dry dal is actually as a base for an Indian-style salad. Once the dal is cool, mix it up with chopped onions, tomatoes, cucumber, green chillies, chopped coriander leaves, chaat masala and lemon juice. It’s filling and delicious and makes a nutritious meal by itself.
20 M
45 M
65 M
4 Servings
Ingredients
- 1 cup Green Moong Dal (Whole) , soaked overnight
- 1/2 cup Spinach Leaves (Palak) , chopped and boiled
- 2 Tomatoes
- 1-1/2 tablespoons Mustard oil
- 1 teaspoon Cumin (Jeera) seeds
- 2 Onions , chopped
- 5 cloves Garlic , minced
- 1 inch Ginger , minced
- 2 Green Chillies
- Salt , to taste
- 1/4 Onion , few slices, to garnish
- 1 Green Chilli , to garnish
- Coriander (Dhania) Leaves , few, to garnish
How to make Sookhi Moong Palak Dal Recipe (Whole Green Moong Gram with Spinach)
To begin making the Sookhi Moong Palak Dal Recipe, first drain the water from the soaked green moong and keep it aside.
In a mixer-grinder, add the spinach and tomatoes and puree them together. Keep this aside.
Heat the mustard oil in an iron kadhai and add the jeera seeds to it. When they start sputtering, add the onions and fry until they are soft and lightly browned.
Add the garlic, ginger and green chillies and saute for a few seconds until you can smell the aromas coming through.
Next, add the spinach-tomato puree along with salt and cook for 2 minutes.
To this, add the drained dal and cook on high heat, stirring often, for 5 minutes.
Reduce the flame to low, cover and cook undisturbed for 20 minutes. Remove the lid and check the to see if the dal is cooked. It should be soft and cooked but still hold its form and have some bite to it.
At this stage, you can take the lid off completely and cook on low heat until all the liquid has been absorbed/evaporated and the spinach coats the dal, which will take approximately 15 minutes. Ensure that you stir often at this stage to avoid the sabji from sticking and burning.
Remove from heat and serve the Sookhi Moong Palak Dal garnished with sliced onions, green chillies and coriander along with Phulkas, Bhindi Kadhi and Raita for a wholesome weeknight dinner.
Praerna Kartha
Praerna is an ex-advertising and communication professional with an all-compelling obsession with all things to do with food. Along with her commercial photographer husband, she runs a boutique photography studio called Thoda Strong in the vibrant community of Shahpur Jat in New Delhi. Praerna is a professional food stylist and part time food blogger – and works in collaboration with food photographers and brands to create stunning, marketable and compelling images of food. When she’s not up to her elbows in a shoot, she enjoys creating step-by-step recipes, documenting her adventures in food and checking out new places around town in her food blog (http://food-dee-dum.com).
