Chana Dal Recipe

Time and servings

Prep time	10 min
Cook time	20 min
Soaking Time	30 min
Total time	1 hr
Serves	4 servings

​

About

It is a simple and comfortable food made with split Bengal Gram with a tomato onion gravy base. In other words, Chana Dal Masala Fry is a staple food and is often served with a range of flavored rice recipes and may also be served with a range of Indian Flat breads. Typically, it carries a thick texture compared to the other types of lentil curry, mainly because of the nature of the lentils. It is for this reason, that it is often considered a multipurpose curry and hence served with both rice and rotis. There are many ways this simple Chana Dal Fry recipe can be prepared. The most common and basic way is to prepare with a combination of Bengal Gram and Moong Dal. Adding moong dal helps to get a rich and creamy texture. Additionally, it can also be made with a combination of other lentils like toor, masoor, and urad dal. Further, the way the dal is cooked can vary. Typically, the lentil is pressure-cooked and then tossed with tomato and onions. However, to hasten the cooking process, the onions and tomatoes can also be pressure-cooked.

​

Ingredients

​

for pressure cooking:

• 1 cup chana dal
• 2 tbsp masoor dal
• ¼ tsp turmeric
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 tbsp ghee
• 3 cup water

​

for dal:

• 2 tbsp ghee
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 pods cardamom
• 1 pod black cardamom
• 1 tsp cumin
• pinch hing
• 5 cloves garlic (finely chopped)
• 1 onion (finely chopped)
• 1 tbsp ginger paste
• ½ tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp chilli powder
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• ½ tsp cumin powder
• ¾ tsp salt
• 2 tomato (finely chopped)
• 2 tbsp coriander (chopped)
• 1 tsp kasuri methi (crushed)

​

for tadka:

• 2 tbsp ghee
• 1 tsp cumin
• 2 dried red chilli
• pinch chilli powder

​

Instructions

1. Firstly, soak 1 cup chana dal and 2 tbsp masoor dal for 30 minutes. You can also use moong dal in place of masoor dal.
2. Transfer the soaked dal to the pressure cooker.
3. Add ¼ tsp turmeric, ½ tsp salt, 1 tbsp ghee and 3 cup water.
4. Cover and pressure cook for 5 whistles or until the dal is cooked well.
5. Once the pressure is released, check whether the dal is well-cooked or not. Keep aside.
6. In a large kadai heat 2 tbsp ghee. add 1 bay leaf, 2 pods cardamom, 1 pod black cardamom, 1 tsp cumin and pinch hing. saute until the spices turn aromatic.
7. Add 5 cloves garlic and saute slightly.
8. Further add 1 onion, 1 tbsp ginger paste and saute until the onions turn golden brown.
9. Further keeping the flame on low, add ½ tsp turmeric, 1 tsp chilli powder, 1 tsp coriander powder, ½ tsp cumin powder and ¾ tsp salt
10. Saute on low flame until the spices turn aromatic.
11. Also, add 2 tomato and saute until the oil releases.
12. Now add in cooked dal and mix gently. adjust the consistency as required.
13. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes, or until the dal absorbs the flavour.
14. Furthermore, in a pan heat 2 tbsp ghee, 1 tsp cumin, 2 dried red chilli and pinch chilli powder.
15. Pour the tempering over the dal.
16. Also add 2 tbsp coriander, 1 tsp kasuri methi and mix well.
17. Finally, enjoy Chana Dal Tadka Recipe with jeera rice.

​

Step-by-step

​

Video

​

Tips

The recipe is extremely simple to cook and prepare. It requires some of the basic ingredients to prepare with a minimum amount of time. Yet some critical and mandatory tips are –

1. Lentil Quality – The quality of channa dal has to be best and fresh. It should not powder when pressed and is also soggy in nature. You may perhaps, fry it with less oil to make it crisp before pressure cooking it. Pressure Cooking – Typically, the combination of lentils is just pressure-cooked and then tossed with tomato and onion gravy base. This helps to maximize the flavors and also evenly cook the lentils as compared to pressure cooking tomatoes & onions with lentils. Garnish – Typically, the cooked dal is garnished with Ghee tempering and fresh coriander leaves. However, it can also be garnished with finely chopped onions and carrot grates to make it a perfect multipurpose curry. Lentil Combination – The ideal combination of this recipe is Moong Dal with Chana Dal. Yet you can experiment with other types of dal like Toor, Masoor, and Urad dal for the same purpose. Texture – The recipe has to be thick and dense in nature with Bengal Gram almost cooked. It should hold its shape yet easily digestible and dissolve when pressed. Adding Moong Dal or Toor helps get a rich and creamy texture.

​

Notes

• Firstly, adding masoor dal or moong dal to chana dal gives a nice creaminess to the dal.
• Also, you can add green chili if you prefer spicy dal.
• Additionally, over-cooking the chana dal, makes the chana dal turn mushy.
• Finally, Chana dal Tadka Recipe thickens once cooled, so adjust consistency before serving.