HEALTHY SPINACH AND LENTIL CURRY/SOUP

Yum

Spinach cooked along with lentils makes an excellent vegan recipe. When something is healthy and tasty, it is ofcourse a treat. This is a perfect dinner main course or side dish for dinner parties or lunch. When there is spinach then garlic is a must, so i addded garlic while cooking the lentils, so the garlic turns almost mushy and combines well with the lentils. But if you prefer more garlicky taste, then use finely chopped garlic and saute along with the spinach. This recipe can be eaten like a soup with any bread or crackers. Traditionally this is served with steamed rice or flat bread. I use Asafoetida basically in all recipes that involves lentils and beans as this helps with digestion and it is a must in indian cooking.

Spinach - 2 bowls

channa dal / split Bengal gram - 1/2 cup

onion - 1 medium size sliced

garlic - 3 cloves

salt to taste

for tempering

oil - 1 tablespoon

mustard seeds- 1 teaspoon

chili flakes (optional) - half teaspoon

asafetida/hing - a pinch

curry leaves (optional)

PREP TIME : 10 MINS                    COOK TIME : 30 MINS              SERVINGS : 3 OR 4

cooked bengal gram

• Soak the bengal gram in water for an hour before cooking, but you can also cook them without soaking, but soaked channa dal cooks faster.
•  Pressure cook them with a little salt, 3 garlic cloves in one cup of water on medium for about 5 whistles. If you don't have pressure cookeer, just cook them in a pot until it is well cooked almost soft and little mushy.
•  Next chopped the spinach leaves, you can also use the stems, wash and drain them and keep aside. 
• In a pan, heat with some oil, once hot, add the mustard, once it splutters add the chili flakes, asafetida, curry leaves, fry until brown. Now add the sliced onions, saute for a minute, need not wait for it to turn brown. 
• Add the chopped spinach,  saute until the water from the leaves dries out. Pour the cooked lentils to the spinach, combine well nicely. add water if you prefer thin curry / soup. May be about 50 ml. Let them cook for atleast 10 mins, so that the spinach and channa dal can completely blend well together. Add salt as required. Serve hot with steamed rice and fries. 

TIPS:

If the recipe is for kids, just skip adding chili flakes while tempering.

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