Palak Patal Bhaji - Spinach Yogurt Curry
Palak Patal Bhaji is a mildly spicy Maharashtrian curry made with spinach. It is a very delicious, nutritious, and soul-satisfying meal option on busy weekdays.
Equipment
- Pressure Cooker/Instant Pot
Ingredients
- 3 cups Spinach triple washed, finely chopped
- 3-4 Green chillies
- 1/4 cup Yellow pigeon peas/Toor dal triple washed
- 2 tbsp Split chickpeas/Chana dal
- 3 tbsp Chickpea flour/Besan
- 3 tbsp Peanuts raw
- 1/2 cup Yogurt low fat
- 1 tsp Cumin seeds
- 1/4 tsp Asafoetida/Hing
- 1 tbsp Ghee
- 1 1/4 tsp Salt or as required
Instructions
- In a small steel container, soak peanuts and chana dal with ½ cup water for 15 minutes. Discard the water and add another ½ cup fresh water.
- Place the chopped spinach in a steel container, combine the triple washed toor dal, and add 1.5 cups of water.
Instant Pot Method
- In the inner pot of the Instant Pot, add 1 cup of water and place a trivet.
- Place the spinach container and cover it with a steel lid, then place the soaked peanuts container.
- Close the lid, making sure the valve is set to sealing.
- Turn on the MANUAL/PRESSURE COOK button (High Pressure) and set the timer to 13 minutes.
- Let the pressure naturally release (NRP) for 12-15 minutes.
Indian Pressure Cooker Method
- Cook everything in the same way as the Instant Pot method in an Indian pressure cooker. Pressure cook it for 3 whistles and let the pressure release naturally.
- Next, separate the water from the spinach container. Mash the spinach and dal very well with a spoon. Add chickpea flour, yogurt, salt, and mix it well.
- Combine the chana dal, peanuts, separated water, and mix everything really well - you can add less water if you want patal bhaji a little thick.
- In a pan, heat some ghee, add cumin seeds, and let them crackle.
- Next, add asafoetida and chopped green chillies.
- Add spinach mixture and mix everything well for 2-3 minutes.
- Let the mixture boil very well for 8-10 minutes and serve.
Notes
- Triple washing the spinach with ample water to remove all the dirt and finely chopping it before cooking is very important.
- After cooking the spinach, make sure to separate the water, and mash the spinach and toor dal very well before combining the besan. It will help to blend everything well and gives an amazing taste to bhaji.
- To add some garlicky flavor to the dish, you can slice 3-4 cloves of garlic and sauté them for 10 seconds after adding cumin seeds. It tastes so good.
- Instead of low fat yogurt, you can add full fat yogurt or buttermilk in the recipe.