Bachali Kura (aka Chinese Spinach or Malabar Spinach), is one of those nutritious leafy vegetables that are more widely found in Asia. The somewhat thick, fleshy leaves can be a tad sticky when cooked. I love Malabar Spinach Chutney, which is my favorite thing to cook with this leafy vegetable. I enjoy the dal too, but I don’t cook it as often as the chutney.
Cooking Leafy Greens
Undoubtedly, leafy greens cook fast. As you may have noticed with regular spinach, it wilts within seconds, on a hot pan. Same is the case with Malabar spinach, fenugreek, cilantro, mint, and other leafy greens. So, what does this mean? It means that you need to ensure that leafy greens are exposed to minimum heat, to maintain their nutrition. I typically add my greens/herbs at the end of a cooking cycle. Many Indian recipes unfortunately, have leafy greens pressure cooked along with dal. While this may taste good, it ends up with the greens losing all or most of their nutrition.
Cooking Lentils
Generally, Indian dals are cooked with lentils like toor dal or masoor dal. You want to cook them to a soft and mushy state, to get the right texture for dal. The best way to get this, is to soak the lentils in water for 30 minutes and pressure cook for about 15 minutes. I usually end up not having time to soak the lentils, so I pressure cook in an Instant Pot (IP) for 25 minutes. I always pressure cook dal separately and then cook it with other ingredients.
Lentils Pressure Cooked In Instant Pot (IP)
Bachali Kura Pappu: Malabar Spinach Dal
While there are several ways to cook this dish, I picked the one that includes South Indian tempering (popu/tadka) of curry leaves, mustard and cumin seeds, urad dal, green and red chili peppers. Onion and ginger help amalgamate the flavors. I add a small amount of tamarind paste to get a bit of tartness to the dal – this is another typical South Indian preparation style. You don’t see many North Indian dishes using curry leaves or tamarind. Overall, this is a hearty and flavorful dal that is loaded with goodness.
Malabar spinach is a very good source of Vitamin A (100 grams contains roughly 8,000 units) Vitamin C, iron and calcium. It is high in protein and is a good source of phosphorus and potassium. It is also high in antioxidants such as lutein and beta carotene. Toor dal is a great source of vegetarian protein.
Check out some of our deliciously nutritious South Indian Dal recipes:
- Andhra Gongura Pappu – Sorrel Leaves Dal
- Methi (Fenugreek Leaves) Dal
- South Indian Palak Dal – Spinach & Lentils Stew
- Sambar
- Dal Makhni
- Cucumber Dal
- Delicious Dal Tadka!
- Tomato Fenugreek Dal
- Andhra Tomato Pappu
- Yellow Mung Detox Soup
- Rainbow Chard Lentil Stew
- Instant Pot Moringa Leaf Dal
- Opo Squash Yellow Mung Curry
- Mamidikaya Pappu- Raw Mango Dal
- Cabbage Kootu: Cabbage & Lentil Stew
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Bachali Kura Pappu: Malabar Spinach Dal
Ingredients
- 1 Cup Malabar Spinach - Fine cut
- 1/2 Cup Onion - Fine cut
- 1 Tablespoon Ginger - Fresh, grated
- 1/2 Teaspoon Tamarind - Paste
- 1/2 Teaspoon Turmeric Powder
- 1/2 Teaspoon Sea Salt - Or to taste
- 1 Tablespoon Rice Bran Oil
- 1/4 Cup Cilantro - Fine cut
Tempering
- 6 Leaves Curry Leaves
- 1 Green Chili Pepper
- 1/4 Teaspoon Dry Red Chili
- 1 Teaspoon Urad Dal
- 1 Teaspoon Mustard Seeds
- 1 Teaspoon Cumin Seeds
Lentils
- 1/2 Cup Toor Dal
- 1 Cup Filtered water
Instructions
- Pressure cook lentils in Instant Pot (IP) using the pot-in-pot method: Add 3/4th cup of water to the IP container and set the dish containing washed toor dal, with about an inch of water covering the lentils. Cook at high pressure for 25 minutes and allow for natural release. Set aside when done.
- In the meantime, heat oil in a pan on a stove top. Add tempering ingredients (curry leaves, cumin and mustard seeds, urad dal, red and green chili peppers) and let mustard seeds pop. Now add onion and ginger and sauté till onions are slightly brown. Add turmeric powder, salt, mix well.
- Add Malabar spinach and sauté for 2-3 minutes.
- Add pressure cooked dal, tamarind paste, mix well and cook for a minute. Garnish with fresh cilantro.
- Mix well and transfer to serving container.
