Spinach chana dal

By Birgitta

Jill Dupleix

Fill the kitchen sink with cold water, cut off the main stems and gently swish the leaves in the water. Leave them for a while to allow the dirt to sink to the bottom, then rinse them under cold running water and drain them in a colander.

From there, they can go straight into a big pot with just the water that is clinging to the leaves, and then into something delectable such as this warmly spicy Indian dal with spinach, tomatoes and peas, using chana dal (yellow split pulses) or yellow split peas.

Ingredients

• 200 g chana dal, rinsed
• 1.2 litres water
• 500 g spinach, well washed
• 2 t bsp vegetable oil
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp grated ginger
• 200 g potatoes, peeled and diced
• 200 g canned chopped tomatoes
• 1 large green chilli, sliced
• 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
• 1/2 tsp cayenne
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 2 tbsp fresh coriander

Preparation

Step 1

Soak the dal for 30 min, then drain. Bring the dal and 1.2 litres water to the boil in a large saucepan, skimming. Partly cover, and simmer gently for 20 min. Cook the spinach in very little water, covered, until wilted. Drain, roughly chop and set aside.

Heat the oil in a frying pan and cook the onion, ginger and cumin seeds for 5 min. Add the tomatoes, chilli, turmeric, cayenne, ground coriander and salt, and cook for 3 min, stirring well.

Add the sauce to the dal, along with the diced potatoes, and cook gently for 30 min or until the potatoes are soft, adding extra water if necessary.

Whisk in the garam masala. Add the spinach leaves, simmer for 5 min, scatter with coriander and serve with rice.