As a lot of us read in our history books, during the last 7-8 years of his life, Shahjahan was house arrested by his cynical son Aurangzeb who then declared himself the emperor. However what new and interesting I learned from that documentary was that during those years of house arrest, Aurangzeb asked his father to choose one grain, only which he would then be allowed to eat for the rest of his life. Do you know what Shahjahan chose? He chose chana (Bengal gram). It was a very well thought out decision because in India, chana is used in a lot of different forms and they all taste completely different. Chana in its whole form and split form is used to make curries like black chickpea curry, chana dal, snacks, and salads. The ground form is used to make chapatis and desserts. So it’s not easy to get bored of chana. Today I am sharing a recipe for chana in its split form– Chana dal. It’s one of my favorite dal recipes.
Ingredient notes and substitute suggestions
Note: You can also use other spices like dried fenugreek leaves, garam masala, cumin powder, or curry powder to season chana dal. But, if you look closely, it’s easy to differentiate as chana dal is thicker and mostly slightly bigger than arhar dal. They also taste completely different. You can clearly see the difference between them in the image below. I love both of them. On days when I want to eat something light, I make arhar ki dal and if I want to eat something richer and more filling, I go for chana dal. Step 2: Cook till 4 whistles on a medium flame. Allow the pressure to get released naturally before opening the lid. Step 3: Heat oil in a pan. Add dried red chilies, bay leaf, cinnamon stick, black cardamom, cumin seeds, and peppercorns. Saute for a few seconds. Step 4: Once the spices become fragrant, add chopped garlic and onion. Cook until the onion starts turning golden brown. Step 5: Add red chili powder, coriander powder, and green chilies. Saute for a few seconds. Step 6: Add chopped tomatoes and the remaining salt. Step 7: Cook until the tomatoes turn mushy. Step 8: Add boiled lentils and chopped ginger. Steps 9 and 10: If the dal is too thick, add some hot water to get the desired consistency. Step 11: Cover the pot and cook for another 5-7 minutes. Step 12: Garnish with chopped cilantro. Your delicious chana dal fry is ready to be served!
For that skip the part of separately cooking chana first. Start by switching on the instant pot and selecting the saute mode. Then follow the steps till the tomatoes get cooked. Add washed chana dal and water. Put on the lid and keep the valve in the sealing position. Pressure cook on high pressure (manual) for 15 minutes. Allow the pressure to get released naturally then remove the lid. Mix everything. Garnish with chopped cilantro.
It can be served with any Indian flatbread like roti or paratha. The dal also pairs well with rice. You can serve it with plain basmati rice or any other Indian rice dish like jeera rice or curried rice. To make a complete Indian homecooked style meal, also serve a vegetable dish like aloo gobhi, bhindi masala, aloo baingan, or aloo shimla mirch on the side when serving chana dal with rice or roti. Also, include an Indian salad like kachumber salad or Indian onion salad to the meal. Non-vegans may also add raita like cucumber raita, potato raita, or beetroot raita. You can also enjoy a bowl of this dal as a flavorful protein-rich vegan soup. If you want, you can blend it before serving it as a soup. If you liked this recipe, please leave a star rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ in the recipe card below. You can also follow me on Instagram, Youtube, and Pinterest. You can also store the plain cooked dal and flavor it fresh, with sauteed onion, tomato, and spices before serving. Dal tends to get thicker if left for long. To adjust the consistency of dal, add some boiling water to it, and then either microwave it for a few minutes or transfer to a cooking pot and then cook it for a few minutes on the stovetop. In the microwave, you need to stir the dal once or twice in between the reheating time.
Recipe
