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Green Spinach Coconut Curry
1 hr + 5 min
Main
Servings
Total
1 hr + 5 minPrep
20 minCook
45 minFree from
soy
peanut
tree nut
sesame
gluten
Ingredients
-
6 cups (1440ml)boiling water
-
½ cups (100g)dry chana dal, soaked overnight, drained
-
½ cups (105g)dry mung beans, soaked overnight, drained
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1 cup (200g)uncooked white rice
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1 Tbsp (15ml)vegetable oil
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2medium onions, chopped
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4garlic cloves, minced
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2 tsp (5g)fresh ginger, minced
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1red hot chili pepper, minced
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1 Tbsp (16g)tomato paste
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1 tsp (2g)ground cumin
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1 tsp (1.9g)ground coriander
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½ tspground turmeric
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½ tspsalt
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1medium tomato, chopped
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4 cups (120g)fresh spinach, for blending
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1⅔ cups (400ml)canned full-fat coconut milk
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4 cups (120g)fresh spinach, chopped
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½lemon, juiced
Directions
- Fill a large pot with water and add the drained chana dal. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook uncovered for 20 minutes.
- Then add the drained mung beans to the same pot and let it cook uncovered for another 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, cook the rice according to the package instructions.
- Heat a sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add the oil, onions, garlic, and ginger. Cook for 4 - 5 minutes.
- Then add in the chili, tomato paste, and spices. Cook for 1 - 2 minutes.
- Then add the chopped tomato and turn the heat to low.
- Once the legumes are cooked, first remove ⅓ cup (80 mL) of the cooking liquid and transfer this to a blender. Then pour the legumes into a strainer to drain off the remaining liquid.
- Add the spinach to the blender as well, and blend on high until smooth.
- Add the blended spinach to the pan, together with the cooked chana dal, mung beans, and coconut milk.
- Return the heat to medium-high. Add the chopped spinach to the pan, cooking until wilted.
- Just before serving, add in the lemon juice and stir. Enjoy!
Storage
- Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Let us know what you think
Watch it step-by-step!
Plate method
The Plate Method is a visual tool that helps us ensure our dietary needs are on track. Touch the image below to see how this recipe measures up.
Grains & Starches 18%
• uncooked white rice
Proteins 17%
• dry chana dal
• dry mung beans
Fruits & Veggies 65%
• medium onion
• garlic clove
• fresh ginger
• red hot chili pepper
• tomato paste
• medium tomato
• fresh spinach
• fresh spinach
• lemon
Calcium
No significant sources of calciumFat
• vegetable oil
• canned full-fat coconut milk
Nutrition info
Focusing on numbers can harm our relationship with food. Instead, our philosophy is to Nourish the Cells & the Soul. For specific nutrition needs due to a medical condition, consult a dietitian or physician. While we strive to provide accurate nutritional information, we cannot guarantee its accuracy. See our disclaimer for details.
Leave a comment
Delicious curry! We substituted the dry chana dal for dry chickpeas and cooked them for one hour. We also used one red finger pepper and one red jalapeño but still found it lacked heat. We’d add extra peppers.
If I substitute the chana dal for dried chickpeas, would they also cook in 20 minutes? Or should I adjust the cook time?
Realy wholesome. Made it for four people. No real spice flavour. Next time I'm going to double all the spices, bit more salt and more ginger.
Very delicious and simple, we will definitely be making this again. The legumes took a little longer to cook than they were supposed to, but it was well worth the wait.
Delicious! My go-to is PUL's cauliflower lentil curry, this is a nice alternate and went down a treat. Turned out a bit watery but will cook it down next time. Delicious and reviving!
Perfect ❤️
I didn’t have channa dal and moong dal soaked overnight, so I used 2 cans of chickpeas instead of channa dal, and 1 block of firm tofu (blended well in my Vitamix) instead of moong dal. I’m not a fan of tofu’s taste and texture, which is why I blended it. If you don’t have a Vitamix, I’d recommend using silken tofu. Since I’m not fond of spinach either, I blended fresh spinach leaves with my canned coconut milk.
I accidentally used jalapeño diced tomatoes (canned) instead of plain ones because that’s what I had at home. I also blended the diced tomatoes with coconut milk and spinach. In fact, I blended EVERYTHING (cooked onions, garlic, grated fresh ginger) except for the canned chickpeas.
I used 2 Serrano peppers instead of 1. My serving size was much larger than Sadia’s 4 servings—I ended up with a huge pot full of chickpeas and green gravy (from the blended spinach). I purposely made a large batch so I could freeze it.
The plain chickpeas alone weren’t enough for me, so I added a can of mixed veggies, which included corn, sweet peas, and diced carrots. I also added 1 whole red bell pepper to the onion sauté mix, which eventually got blended with the onions, garlic, coconut milk, diced tomatoes, etc. Additionally, I included black pepper, which Sadia doesn’t have in her recipe, but I wanted to boost my body’s absorption of turmeric.
To add more texture, I’m considering oven-roasting some cauliflower florets with oil, garlic powder, and maybe dipping them in coconut flour. The chickpeas and mixed veggies didn’t provide enough chewiness, so I think the cauliflower will help with that.
Sadia’s recipe already has a nice chewing texture because she used channa dal, moong dal, and kept the spinach leaves whole, whereas I blended my spinach, so my method lacked chewiness. I’ll roast and add cauliflower tomorrow—hopefully, it tastes good 🥰.
Always a big fan of Sadia’s recipes.
The flavour were great. Mine was a bit watery but it was my fault. I will definitely add this recipe to my list of go to dinners.
Really good! But add salt
if using dry chickpeas, how much should I use? Probably less, since, I think, they swell up more than the chana dal? Thank you.
❤️ love
A staple in our house! I cook this when i have a lot of spinach! I buy mung beans and chana dal specifically fot this recipe and it never disappoints us ☺️
Really great flavor and feels so nourishing and filling! I sometimes feel daunted by cooking with dry legumes (does anyone else feel that way?:) but this recipe felt easy to follow and didn’t leave me with any bloat, and I liked that the satiety was sustained.
So delicious! The lemon adds a nice touch
Whenever my husband requests curry for dinner... he means this recipe. It's been my go-to for years now and I've always appreciated how versatile it is.
Hi, I was wondering if I can use pre-cooked chickpeas since I want to make the recipe tonight and can't leave the chana overnight?
Great flavor. I added salt to mine. The lemon addition at the end is yummy. I ate it with brown rice.
Made it for three, everyone liked it. :)
Looks so yummy!!
Definitely on my list to cook!
Adding this recipe to my favorites! Delicious 😋
All of the recipes from this blog I have ever tried were delicious. But I would say that this one was the best. Thank you so much! I’m already looking forward to trying something else :)
I made this today. This just superb!
My mom has almost same recipe major difference was adding coconut milk. I so love that taste. Also I added some extra fresh coriander and capsicum.
10/10
Very delicious! I love the little twist at the end with the lemon juice!
Such a lovely curry! My husband and I did not have mung beans, so we just used chana dal to replace the mung beans. It was our first time soaking the chana dal overnight in water and think it's such a nice trick to cut down on cooking time. Lemon before serving is quite nice!
Can I use red lentils in this recipe?
This is a fantastic recipe. It makes quite a lot so I recommend having some containers to pop spare in the freezer. It cooks from frozen very well too so would be a good meal prep.
Your website has been my go to every time I lack some cooking inspiration! Love your recipes! Thanks a lot and love from Belgium
I'm extremely grateful for discovering your wonderful page! I appreciate your visually appealing content as well as your detailed knowledge about food consumption, their benefits and the importance of mindfulness. Thank you for changing many lives for the better!
When i see big packages of fresh spinach at the supermarket, i always think about this recipe and of course i grab one of this to make this delicious meal!
After making a few of your recipes I really don’t miss meat at all! Everything I made so far taste so good. My husband is the happiest one in the family when I cook one of your recipes. Thank you so much!
I found your page by accident and I'm so glad that I did. It tasted so good, and I normally dislike mung beans. The only thing I would love to know is, how much is a serving and how many calories 😊
This recipe is amazing!!! Even my husband, who is a very picky eater, loved it! I will definitely be making this again! Thank you so very much!!!
I have made this dish 3 times so far and it’s a banger for my family. So flavorful, so rich and creamy. I always come back to this recipe for a good meal prep idea. Love this dish.
This dal recipe has become a part of my regular rotation... I really like all of your recipes, but this has to one of the best tasting curry recipes I have ever had! I´m from India and rice and dal are a staple in my household, and I love this unique combination of the whole moong, chana and spinach!
This is so so so good. It's really different from the Aloo Matar curry from your site, though - at first I was disappointed because I was expecting it to taste like the Aloo Matar, but after a few moments I just loved it. It's lemony, light and a little spicy. The lemony flavours balance the earthiness of the dal and the spinach perfectly. Such a great recipe! Thank you so much!
Lovely simple recipe, and really good with many veggies you can find around the fridge.
Careful with the grains -- if you don't stir them and the water boils down, they can burn on the bottom of the pan ;)
I really like all of your recipes, but this turned out a little weird and I don’t understand why? I followed the recipe, used full-fat coconut milk and added A LOT of spices and it still tasted just spinach. I am just confused, still love pick up limes though!
Hi, I want to try this recipe. I was wondering if I can use the usual coconut milk instead of the canned one? Or if I can use the coconut creamer?
I absolutely love it!
I make at least once at month during the winter months 🙃
I've this a few times already and it is so good. It also freezes decently so great for meal prep. We swap out for light coconut milk to limit the saturated fat content and still enjoy it.
This is my go to recipe these days, my husband and I love it completely. Thanks Sadia for coming up with such amazing recipes every time :)
I've never had mungo beans prior to this recipe but I'm a fan now. Perfect for meal prepping as it holds well in the fridge for 5-6 days.
My husband and I tried this recipe a few months ago and we instantly fell in love with it. It is filling but not dense, and it has the perfect balance of flavors, especially if you add in lemon and cilantro at the end! Highly recommend :)
Hi, amazing recipe.
What do you use to calculate the nutrition info?
This was delicious for about three days!
This is one of my absolute favorite dishes from Pick Up Limes (and I have a lot :)) Thank you so much for your incredible work!
Much love from Germany
Can you please tell me if I can also freeze this meal. Thanks a million!
This recipe became the new speciality in my menu. Me and my partner are enjoying it to the fullest and I cooked it also for my friends and family and they enjoyed it as well. Thank you so much for this!
I made this tonight for myself and hubby and it is amazing! Easy to make and it didnt take long to cook either.