Lasooni Matar Palak

What is Lasooni Matar Palak

Lasooni means garlic flavored, matar means green peas and palak means spinach in Hindi. It is a mildly spiced spinach curry with strong undertones of garlic. It is delicious to taste, appetizing to look at, and pairs well with any Indian flatbread or grains. This North Indian spinach/palak curry or dish is also vegan.

I had wanted to recreate this Dhaba-style dish for some time now. I first had Lasooni Matar Palak while we were on a road trip to Vaishnav Devi.

Love Dhaba food

Dhabas generally are strategically located on highways as they serve as truck stops. They serve local cuisine, are cost-effective, and most are open 24 hours! The flavors and the taste of the dishes served here are more earthy as it's cooked in an outdoor oven and fat is liberally used.

Dhaba’s are world-famous for dishing out some of the most mouth-watering, lip-smacking, finger-licking good Indian dishes. You must dine here once just for the experience! If you want to try some more Dhaba-style dishes at home, then check out Dum Aloo and Tawa Chole recipes.

Why make this

• An Indian spinach dish
• It's vegan and gluten-free
• No cream or yogurt is required to give it a smooth texture
• It can be made in under 30 minutes
• Made using basic pantry staples
• Authentic Indian flavors
• Is kid friendly
• Very healthy and delicious
• Great way to include spinach in the diet
• Is cooked Dhaba style

Greens - I have used fresh baby spinach/palak in this vegan curry as they are tender and sweeter. You can also use frozen spinach. If using, then you can skip the blanching part.

Green peas - I love adding green peas or Matar (in Hindi) to any gravy recipe. They are low in Saturated Fat, Cholesterol, and Sodium. They can be fresh or frozen. Adding them to dishes like these bring a certain mild sweetness to the curry that helps in balancing the flavors.

Garlic - Lasoon (in Hindi) or garlic gives the dish its pungent flavor. Adding garlic not only brings in the flavor but this healthy bulb is also packed with abundant antifungal and antibacterial properties.

Chickpea flour or besan helps thicken the gravy without adding any cream. This really is a great choice if you are a vegan.

Spices like turmeric, cumin (seeds and ground), sesame seeds, and garam masala give this Indian spinach dish an authentic Indian flavor.

Onion, ginger, green chillies, and dried red chillies, are other basic ingredients needed to make this dish palatable.

Almonds give the masala a nutty flavor and density. For that extra flavor, make this palak curry in vegan ghee. Use regular ghee if not vegan.

1. Boil water in a pan (no salt to be added), add spinach leaves to the pan and sugar and boil it for 2 minutes.
2. Immediately transfer the boiled leaves to an ice bath (a bowl of ice water) and let it rest for another 2 - 3 minutes.
3. Remove half of the leaves carefully by squeezing out their excess water. Roughly chop them and keep them aside for now.
4. Transfer the remaining half into a blender just squeezing them a bit. Blitz this to a thick puree consistency. The water helps in making the puree. Add more water if needed. Keep it aside for now.

5. In a blender, add garlic, ginger, green chilies, and almonds.
6. Make a coarse paste by adding ¼ cup of water. Keep this aside for now.

7. Heat vegan ghee or oil in a pan and fry cumin seeds for 30-45 seconds. Then add the ground masala paste to the pan and fry it for another 2-3 minutes.
8. Next, add the chopped onions and saute them till they turn translucent. Then add coriander powder and besan (chickpea flour), mix, and cook it for 2 minutes.
9. Then add the green peas to the pan. Continue to saute for 2-3 minutes till the peas are cooked.
10. Then add the chopped spinach and mix. Cook this for another 5 minutes.

11. Then add turmeric powder, blanched spinach puree, and water and salt, mix and continue to cook on high flame for another 4-5 minutes.
12. Lastly, add garam masala and give it a quick mix. Take it off the flame.
13. Heat oil/ghee in a tadka pan and fry cumin seeds, dried red chilies, garlic cloves, and white sesame seeds for 45 seconds.
14. Then pour this tadka over the prepared curry. You can drizzle some cashew cream on top if desired.

Serving Suggestions  🍽 

You can serve this Dhaba-style Matar Palak with any Indian flatbread like chapati, roti, naan, kulcha, paratha, bread, or bhakhri with some Dal on the side. This will also pair well with steamed rice, Jeera rice, cooked alternate grains like quinoa, or even cauliflower rice. 

Pack this in lunchboxes, make it for weeknights or save it for some special occasion or for your weekend parties. It's so good that everyone will love this curry.

Top recipe tips 💭

When making the masala paste, you can swap almonds with cashews, walnuts, pecans, or peanuts. If you are allergic to nuts, skip adding them or use tahini instead. Instead of adding crushed coriander seeds, you can also add coriander powder. Adding besan while cooking the curry will make the gravy thick and creamy plus help retain the water.

You can add cream (vegan or regular) as well. Do not skip the second tadka. That is what gives this Asian side dish an authentic smoky Dhaba feel. Add boiled potatoes, chickpeas, mushrooms, tofu, or paneer to this curry to make it even more flavorful.

Recipe FAQs 📖