Dal Palak

Now that I have an immersion blender, it makes so many things possible in Africa that weren't before!  To be honest, I killed an immersion blender that came from the US, probably from some mistake I made when plugging it into a converter....  Anyway, now I have one made for Kenyan electrical outlets and it's been doing well for me.

So, with the immersion blender, I was able to make dal palak with pureed greens rather than greens that were sliced as small as I could do it by hand, which wasn't very small.

1/2 c. chick peas, soaked for about 6 hours
1 c. yellow, white, or red dal, whatever you have/like
4 c. chopped chard or spinach
1 tsp. cumin seeds
1 tsp. garlic powder (you could use fresh instead)
1/2 tsp. ginger powder (you could use fresh instead)
1 tsp. coriander powder
1 large onion, chopped small
2 Tbs. olive oil or ghee
1 Tbs. lemon juice
salt

Cook the chick peas and dal for about 20 minutes, until soft.  Meanwhile, puree the chopped greens in a blender or food processor or whatever you have.  I added a little water to help it get chopped up more easily.

Heat the olive oil/ghee in a big frying pan, then add the cumin seeds and onion.  Cook until the onion gets light brown.  Then, add all the other spices and cook for another minute or so.  Next, add the pureed greens and cook for a few more minutes.  Finally, add the cooked dal + chick peas, lemon juice, and about 1/2 cup of water.  Let it cook until everything is the consistency you want (you can always add more water), then add however much salt tastes good to you.