Vegan Spinach Lentils Stew || Keerai Kootu

Looking for a perfect bowl of vegan spinach dish? This right here may help you. Vegan Spinach Lentils Stew. We call it Keerai Kootu in our home. Loaded with nutrients and so simple, I always have a bowl of it for lunch or sometimes with rice and any sides.

This dish is very very simple, an one pot recipe and can also be made in a soup maker! How cool is it?? If you do not have soup maker, no worried. A simple sauce pan will do as well.

This stew can be pressure cooked or slow cooked as you wish. All I want to point out here is no matter what you pan are cooking in this is going to turn out awesome.

And the good news, the dish is not frighteningly green!! Ready to read about the ingredients?

What do you need to make Vegan Spinach Lentils Stew

Simple – You need Spinach. Any variety will do. If the leaves are too big, chop them. If they tender and small, use them with the stalks on. So it is spinach, however way you have it.

You need yellow lentils for this recipe. We call them Siru paruppu in Tamil or as Moong Dal as it is generally known in India. If not available, use Red Lentils, the Masoor Dal. The key is to use some lentil that cooks easily.

The others are basic pantry staples. Onions, tomatoes, green chilli, oil, cumin seeds, mustard seeds, salt, turmeric and red chilli powder.

The cooking involves three simple steps –

1. Cook the lentils.
2. Add the spinach, onion, tomato, chilli and the spices to the lentils. Cook again.
3. Temper and mix to the stew.

So So simple and so very good.

Check out the recipe below –

Vegan Spinach Lentils Stew || Keerai Kootu

Parveen’s Kitchen

A Simple vegan dish loaded with healthy lentils, spinach and mildly spiced and tempered. This Vegan Spinach Lentils stew is perfect with hot steamed rice.

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Prep Time 10 mins

Cook Time 20 mins

Course curry, Main Course, Side Dish

Cuisine Indian, South Indian

Servings 4

Calories 210 kcal

Ingredients

  

Step 1 – Cook the Lentils

• 1 Cup Yellow Lentils Or red Lentils
• 1/2 tsp Olive Oil
• 1/2 tsp Cumin Seeds
• 2 Cups Water

Step 2- Adding Spinach and other veggies with Spices

• 2 Cups Spinach Cleaned and washed. Chop if using big leafs
• 1 Large Onion Sliced
• 1 Small Tomato Chopped
• 2 Whole Green Chilli Slit if you need too spicy
• 3/4 tsp Salt
• 1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder
• 1 tsp Red chilli Powder
• 1-2 Cups Water Adjust as needed

Step 3 – Tempering the stew

• 1 tbsp Olive Oil Or Ghee
• 1/2 tsp Mustard seeds
• 1 Small Onion Sliced
• 1-2 Whole Dried Red Chilli Optional

Instructions

 

Step 1 – Cook the Lentils

• Add all the ingredients under Step 1 – Cook the Lentils in a sauce pan or a pressure cooker and cook until soft – but not mushy.
  

Step 2- Add the Spinach and other veggies with Spices and cook

• Add the spinach, sliced onion, tomato, green chillies, salt, turmeric powder and red chilli to the cooked lentils.
• Add water and stir well.
  
• Pressure cook for 1 whistle if using or if using a sauce pan cook until the stew is done. Should take about 7-8 minutes in medium flame.

Step 3 – Tempering the stew

• In a separate fry pan or a kadai heat oil.
• Add the mustard seeds and the dried red chilli.
• Let the mustard seeds splutter.
• Add the sliced onions and fry until brown.
  
• Add the tempering to the cooked spinach lentils carefully and mix well.
• Serve the spinach lentil stew hot with steamed rice and papad.
  

Notes

1. Use red or yellow lentils as available.
2. Add coconut milk at the end if you like. We don’t use it in our home and do not like the taste of it in the spinach dish.
3. If no mustard seeds, do the tempering with cumin seeds.

Keyword Best Recipes, Cooking made easy, Curry, Easy Cooking, Indian cooking, keerai kootu, simple recipes, stew, Vegan Spinach Lentils