Heat up a dutch castiron on medium heat, once hot, add oil followed by the dry spices - hing, cloves, and cumin seeds. Saute for 45 seconds.
Add the onions, season with a little salt to taste, and cook for 5-6 minutes until slightly brown and caramelized. This brings out the flavor of the dal so make sure you cook the onions properly.
Add the tomatoes.
Immediately add the following spices - a little salt to season the tomatoes, coriander powder, red chili powder, turmeric powder, and cumin powder. Cook for 2-3 minutes.
Now add a 1/4 cup of water so the spices don't burn and cook down the tomatoes for another 3-4 minutes.
In the meantime, chop 5 ounces of baby spinach. I simply bought a 5-ounce bag from Whole Foods.
Check on the dal cooking in the Instant Pot. Stir it.
Back to the tomatoes - they've formed a paste-like consistency.
Now add all the chopped spinach. This will take a minute or two to cook down.
This is what you should have.
Add all the cooked dal to the spinach mixture.
Stir.