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Indian style dal with rice and spinach

This Indian-style dal with rice is based on the traditional tadka dal dish, but the rice is added to the lentils.  Also, I used three different pulses for an interesting texture.
Print Recipe
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Resting Time 4 hours
Total Time 45 minutes
Servings: 6 people
Cuisine: Indian
Calories: 1234
Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

  • ½ cup moong dal split petite yellow lentils
  • ½ cup Chana dal
  • ½ cup moth or mung beans
  • 2 cm piece of ginger
  • 2 cm piece turmeric root or ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 cup brown basmati rice
  • 2 carrots
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 6 cups water
  • 100 g spinach
  • For Tempering/Tadka:
  • 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • 1 tsp mustard seeds
  • 3 garlic cloves finely chopped
  • 1 onion thinly sliced
  • 1 medium tomato chopped
  • 1 green or red chilli chopped
  • 6 curry leaves
  • 1 tsp garam masala powder
  • ½ tsp turmeric powder
  • Juice of half lemon

Method
 

  1. Soak the lentils and beans overnight.
  2. Drain and put them in a pressure cooker or a big pot.
  3. Rinse and drain the rice, add to the pot.
  4. Cut the carrots into big chunks. Peel the roots. Add these to the pot.
  5. Add the water.
  6. Bring to the boil, then pressure cook for 10-15 minutes, or cook over low heat for about 30 minutes.
  7. When the stew is soft and creamy, remove the bay leaf, ginger & turmeric roots. Discard these.
  8. Mix in the spinach, put the lid on and let it wilt.
  9. Make the tadka. Heat the oil in a frying pan and stir-fry the cumin and mustard seeds for a minute, or until they start popping. Add the onion, cook for a couple of minutes, then add the garlic, chopped tomatoes and chilli and fry for 5 minutes or so, stirring constantly to make sure they don’t burn. When the onion is soft, add the curry leaves, stir for a few seconds, then turn off the heat. Add the garam masala, turmeric powder and stir for a few seconds.
  10. Add the tadka to the stew and combine. Warm it through, if needed.
  11. Serve with a squeeze of lemon juice, garnished with coriander leaves.