Spinach and Dal Curry

Out of all the green leafy vegetables, spinach is my favourite!! Besides the fact that it is rich in vitamins and nutrients, great for your eyes and rich in flavour, I just love it for its fabulous green color!! And the sight of running water over a bowl of spinach is really soothing to me(No, I'm not cracked up!!) When we bring spinach at home, most of the times it goes into being Palak Paneer, but whenever in need of a change, I combine Spinach with Moong Dal (split-pea yellow dal) to make this delicious curry which goes well with Parathas and Rice!

Ingredients
3 cups spinach leaves - washed and pressure cooked
2 cups mung dal - soaked in water for an hour
1/2 cup onions - finely chopped
1/2 cup tomato puree
2 bay leaves
2 tbsp lemon juice
2-3 tsp turmeric powder, red chilli powder, dhana-jeeru powder, garam masala powder
1 tsp mustard and cumin seeds
3 cups water (you can use the water in which spinach was boiled)
1/2 cup chopped coriander
2-3 tbsp oil
salt to taste
2 tbsp shredded cheese(optional)

Method
Cook the spinach leaves and keep aside. Now take a sauce pan, add oil, cumin and mustard seeds and bay leaves and when they start spluttering, add the onions and saute them till golden brown. Add all the dry masala powders and mix well. Then add the tomato puree and the soaked mung dal. Add salt and sugar to your taste and let it cook covered till the dal becomes soft. Alternately, you can pressure cook the dal and keep if that is more convenient.
When the dal is soft and well-cooked, add the boiled spinach and the water. Add lemon juice if needed and cook covered for another 8-10 mins. Remove from pan and garnish with chopped coriander or (shredded cheese). Serve hot with parathas or rice!

Tip: You can substitute chana dal or tuvar dal for the moong, but trust me, it turns out great with the mung dal!!