Potato freaks

All shapes, but no heart shape.

Palak chana dal

This one is a keeper. The recipe was gleaned from various sources, and the amount of spices is pretty much guessed, but it sort of works.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cup chana dal, picked over, rinsed, soaked for ~ 2 hours, and pressure-cooked with 1/2 tsp of turmeric and a pinch of salt for 6 minutes, cooking liquid reserved;
•  1 bunch of spinach;
•  1 small tin (400 g)  of whole tomatoes;
•  1 small onion, chopped;
•  1 1-inch chunk of ginger, peeled and finely minced;
•  3 cloves of garlic, minced;
•  1 green chile, roughly chopped;
•  1/2 tsp turmeric;
• 1 tsp garam masala;
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper;
• 1/2 tsp cumin seeds;
• 1/2 tsp mustard seeds;
• 1 cup basmati rice, rinsed and soaked for 1/2 hour in 2 cups of cold water.

How to cook the rice: bring to the boil 2 cups of salted water, slug of oil, two cardamom pods. Then, add the rice and carefully separate the grains with a fork.
Bring to the boil again and then simmer on low, partially covered, until all the water is absorbed. Cover the pan tightly and put it on the lowest flame possible, ideally with a flame tamer, for 10 minutes, to steam.

How to cook the dal: 

Pick and wash the bunch of spinach. Meatier varieties of spinach are best for this dish.

Heat oil in a pan. Fry the cumin and mustard seeds until the mustard start to pop. Add the onions, fry until soft; add garlic and chiles, fry for a minute or two. Add the spices, the garam masala and the ginger, and fry until fragrant. In go the tomatoes and its juices, crushing the tomatoes with your hand. Let it simmer until a nice tomato sauce forms. Then, add spinach leaves, mix well, cover tightly and let it steam, stirring now and then with a wooden spoon. Once the spinach leaves have wilted, add the chana dal and mix well. You may need to add some of the cooking liquid to achieve the right consistency. Check for salt. Let it simmer gently until all the flavors have melt, stirring frequently to avoid burning the bottom of the pan.

Add a bit more of garam masala just before serving with the rice and a cucumber/tomato raita.

EDIT on 28/10/2016: This recipe is spot on, but now I'd double the amount of spices. Frozen spinach works surprisingly well.