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Dal Palak is an ideal side dish to accompany any Indian meal. This slow cooker recipe helps simplify the cooking process. It’s ideal for anybody who can’t afford the time to attend to a pot on the stove.

A convenient way to cook dal

First prep, then cook the aromatics, heat the seasonings then add to the pot with liquids and peas. Next, simmer the peas in vegetable broth and water in an electric slow cooker pot. Once the dal is fully cooked, stir in spinach and lemon juice.

With just a few minutes of prep time, your ready to pour the ingredients into the slow cooker. Set to high for 3 to 4 hours or low for 6 to 7 hours or until it reaches the desired consistency.

Dal’s nutrient rich ingredients

Apart from being delicious, dal is also very nutritious and low in fat. As a vegetarian dish, it’s actually high in protein and iron too.

Yellow split peas (chana dal) are an excellent source of plant-based protein. They are also rich in dietary fibre. And everyone knows that spinach (palak) is good for you. It’s a great source for vitamins A, C and K, and minerals like iron, calcium, magnesium, potassium, and manganese.

Yellow split peas

Spices and aromatics

This dal recipe is not considered overly spicey, but it is still very flavourful. An aromatic blend of onions, garlic, ginger, chili pepper flakes and mustard is first heated in ghee before being added to the slow cooker. This helps to release the flavours. Additional spices are added to flavour the peas as they slowly simmer. This includes the typical curry medley of turmeric, chili powder, cumin, cardamom and black pepper.

While yellow split pea dal may not be as common as the red lentil version in India, it’s certainly more prevalent in Indian communities around the world. You’ll find variations from South Africa and Mauritius to Surinam, Guyana, Trinidad & Tobago and Jamaica.

I like to serve dal palak with basmati rice. It’s also perfect with flatbreads such as naan, roti or chapatis.

Dal Palak (split peas with spinach)

Kevin Lamoureux

Delicious yellow peas with spinach are slow-cooked with a classic Indian spice combination.

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Prep Time 10

Cook Time 4

Course Side Dish

Cuisine Indian

Servings 8

Calories 83 kcal

Ingredients

2 cups yellow split peas
2 tbsp ghee butter (clarified butter)
1 cup onion chopped (1 medium onion)
2 tbsp fresh ginger minced
4 garlic cloves minced
1 tsp chili pepper flakes
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 cup tomatoes diced (fresh or canned)
3 cups water
2 cups vegetable broth
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp cardamom powder
½ tsp turmeric
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp salt
1 lb spinach chopped
1 tbsp lemon juice ½ lemon

Instructions

Rinse then soak the split peas in about 4 cups of water.
Add the ghee butter to a pan then sauté the onions. Once tender, add the garlic, ginger, chili pepper flakes and mustard seeds then heat for about a minute to release the aromas.
Stir in the tomotoes and cook for about 5 minutes. Transfer the pan ingredients to the slow cooker.
Drain the split peas, then add them with the water, broth, chili powder, cumin, cardamom, turmeric, black pepper and salt to the slow cooker. Cover and cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for 6-7 hours. Stir occassionally and add a little water if the dal becomes too thick.
About 10 minutes before the end of cooking time stir in the spinach and lemon.

Notes

Garnish with fresh chopped cilantro (coriander) and a wedge of lemon.

Nutrition

Per serving

Keyword dal, peas, spinach

Originally published 11/10/2015. Revised and republished 8/10/2024

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