Spinach gravy with Yogurt (पालकाचे अळण)

Servings: 3 people

 Ingredients:

1/2 cup toor dal, cooked

2 cups spinach, blanched

1 cup yogurt or buttermilk

2 tbsp gram flour or besan

7-8 garlic cloves

chilli powder

Salt as per taste

Seasoning:

1 tbsp oil

1 tsp mustard

a pinch of asafeotida

1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds

1 tsp cumin seeds

5-6 curry leaves

4-5 red chillies

Procedure:

Combine together blanched spinach with cooked dal  and mix well. Keep this aside. In a bowl, add yogurt and one cup water. Whisk it together into buttermilk. Add gram flour to buttermilk and mix it together until all lumps are removed. 

Heat a kadhai and add oil. Once the oil is heated, add asafoetida and garlic cloves. Stir fry the garlic cloves until they turn brown. Now add dal and spinach mixture. Add salt and chilli powder. Cook for a minute. Next add buttermilk and gram flour mixture. Stir it together. If the mixture is too thick, add more water till you get batter consistency. This mixture will thicken up on cooking. Adjust water as per the gravy consistency. Keep stirring the mixture continuously on medium flame. After about 5-7 minutes gram flour will get cooked. Turn off the heat.

You can do a second seasoning on this gravy to enhance the flavors. For seasoning, use mustard, asafoetida, fenugreek seeds, cumin seeds, curry leaves and a few red chilies. If you do not plan to do second seasoning, add all these ingredients during the initial seasoning itself.

This gravy goes well with rice or chapati. Instead of spinach, you can also use fenugreek (मेथी) leaves.