Palak moongdal or dal palak is a very quick and healthy dish made from palak (spinach), yellow moong dal, coconut  and mild spices.  It is a very flavourful dish and a good way to include leafy vegetables in your daily diet.  Moong dal when mixed with spinach leaves makes it all the more nutritious.  This dish is also called as keerai kootu in the states of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka and a very popular dish there. This protein rich dal is best served with plain rice and rotis or chapatis. Spinach or palak has got a lot of health benefits – it makes bones stronger, increases iron content, helps lower blood pressure with numerous other benefits. 

You can make dal palak with toor dal or masoor dal too, which also tastes equally good.  This dal palak is a simple recipe which can be made easily with the ingredients available at home.

HOW TO MAKE PALAK MOONGDAL RECIPE

Soak the moong dal for half an hour with enough water.  Add turmeric powder and oil and pressure cook till 3 whistles.  Once  the pressure is cooled down, mash the dal and keep it aside.

In a pan, add the chopped palak leaves, turmeric powder and salt.

Add 3 cups of water and close the pan with its lid  Cook on a medium flame for 5 minutes till the palak leaves gets cooked.

Meanwhile in a mixer grinder, add the coconut, red chillies, pepper corns and cumin seeds.  Add little water and grind them to a smooth paste.  Keep it aside.

Add the ground coconut paste to the boiled palak leaves and give a good stir.  Cook on a low flame for 5 minutes till the raw smell of the coconut goes away.

Now add the boiled moong dal and mix everything well.  Add little water here and adjust the consistency, if required.  Add salt accordingly and mix well.

Heat a tadka pan on medium flame.  Add  coconut oil, mustard seeds, urad dal, hing and red chillies and allow it to splutter.   Add the tadka to the palak moong dal and give a good mix.

Enjoy palak moongdal hot with steamed rice

NOTES/TIPS

Use coconut oil for tempering as it gives a good flavour to the dal.

Do not overcook the palak leaves.

Palak moong dal tastes best when the consistency is slightly thick.

Adjust the red chillies according to the spiciness required by you.