Preparations:

Take pigeon peas in a bowl and wash them. Add fresh water again and keep the dal bowl aside. Wash, clean and cut the tomatoes into small pieces. Add the tomato pieces to the dal and place this bowl in a pressure cooker and cook. When pressure develops in the pressure cooker, lower the flame and cook for 15 minutes. Remove the dal bowl from the cooker after it cools down. Wash the spinach and chop it finely. Take the chopped spinach in a microwave safe bowl, add some water and keep it in the oven. Cover the bowl partially and cook on high power for 2 minutes. Keep the cooked dal and cooked spinach aside for tempering.

Method:

Heat a pan and add oil to it. When oil is hot add the fenugreek seeds and black gram. Fry till the seeds start changing color. Then add mustard seeds and cumin seeds and fry till they splutter. Add the asafoetida and mix well. Add the cooked spinach and fry for a minute. Then add turmeric powder, red chili powder, salt and cooked dal. Mix well and add water if required. Cover and cook on medium flame for 5 minutes. Transfer the dal to a serving bowl. Serve hot with plain rice and any pickle.

Points to Notice:

It is said that spinach and tomatoes when cooked together is not good for health, because they form kidney stones. It is also said that once in a while this combination will not create any problem but if consumed regularly is not good for health. I do not know how far this is true. So I cook them separately and mix them. After