Dal, is an integral part in Indian cooking, steaming hot rice and a perfectly tempered plain dal, is considered heaven in a bowl, give it to me any day, i m a happy and satiated person on earth.
With so many Dal varieties available in our country, we have that many different dal recipes, if we add all the jugaad/mix and mach we do it will become countless. Any person who knows his/her way in the kitchen, knows what all can be done with plain old dal.
Today's recipe of chana dal, can be easily termed as child's play, a perfect recipe for bachelor/hostel/dorm cooking. All you need is chana dal and some basic indian spices, just steam some rice and there, you can enjoy a joyful meal. I know people who have hated rice and dal while growing up, and now as adults would easily succumb to the aroma of this super simple chana dal poured over rice with a generous drizzle of ghee.
With so many Dal varieties available in our country, we have that many different dal recipes, if we add all the jugaad/mix and mach we do it will become countless. Any person who knows his/her way in the kitchen, knows what all can be done with plain old dal.
Today's recipe of chana dal, can be easily termed as child's play, a perfect recipe for bachelor/hostel/dorm cooking. All you need is chana dal and some basic indian spices, just steam some rice and there, you can enjoy a joyful meal. I know people who have hated rice and dal while growing up, and now as adults would easily succumb to the aroma of this super simple chana dal poured over rice with a generous drizzle of ghee.I can go on and on about this simple chana dal recipe, but i would now go on to the recipe on how to make this. Let us see, what all ingredients you will need to make this simple chana dal:
Chana dal, also known as bengal gram, split bengal gram dal. This dal needs a bit of soaking before you pressure cook them. I usually would recommend a minimum of an hour of soaking time.
Chilies, i always use red chilies for my dal, that too the long kashmiri ones, they don't make the food spicy and add just enough flavor needed.
Tomatoes and garlic, you can avoid garlic, if you prefer satvik food.
Ingredients
1 Cup Chana Dal/Gram Dal
1 Medium-Size Tomato
2 Cloves of Garlic, mince
2 Cloves of Garlic, mince
¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
Salt to taste
Fresh Coriander for Garnish
Tempering
1 teaspoon Oil
½ teaspoon Mustard Seeds
¼ teaspoon Cumin Seeds
3 nos no red chilies, broken
a sprig of curry leaf
hing a pinch
Method
- Soak chana dal in water for atleast an hour before you pressure cook them, it helps in easy cooking of the dal. I usually wash the dal twice in running water, then add fresh water to it and leave it soaked for an hour or two. Pressure cook the dal until soft, usually 4-5 whistles.
- The dal shouldn't turn mushy, It should hold the shape and when pressed should be well cooked.Heat oil given under 'Tempering' in a kadai. When the oil is hot, splutter mustard seeds, crackle cumin, add hing, curry leaves and broken red chilies.
- Next add minced garlic and chopped tomatoes. Add ¼ cup of water, cover and cook for 3-4 minutes, for the tomatoes to become soft.
- Next add the cooked chana dal along with the water. Add salt to this and mix well. Once the dal starts to boil, using a potato masher or simply with the back of your ladle , try to mash a little dal to get a thicker consistency.
- Let it sit on the stove for 5-8 minutes. Garnish with coriander leaves and take it off the stove. Serve Hot with Rice or Roti.
- I made this dal along with some tomato-garlic rasam and bittergourd masala for my lunch and served with rice/quinoa.
Chana dal
Chana dal/Split chickpea dal cooked with simple spices. This dal makes a great accompaniment with steaming hot rice. Serve it with rice or roti for a comforting meal.
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Servings: 4 people
Calories:
Equipment
- Pressure cooker
- A Sauce pan
Ingredients
- 1 cup Chana dal/Split chickpea dal/Gram Dal/Kadalai Paruppu
- 1 no Tomato
- 2 cloves garlic
- ¼ tsp turmeric powder
- ½ tsp Salt or to taste
- Fresh coriander leaves for garnish
Tempering
- 1 teaspoon oil any vegetable oil
- ½ tsp mustard seeds
- ¼ teaspoon cumin seeds
- 3 nos red chilies, broken i used round variety, long chilies can also be used
- ⅛ tsp hing/asafoetida
- a sprig of curry leaf
Instructions
- Soak chana dal in water for atleast an hour before you pressure cook them, it helps in easy cooking of the dal. I usually wash the dal twice in running water, then add fresh water to it and leave it soaked for an hour or two.
- Pressure cook the dal until soft, usually 4-5 whistles. The dal shouldn't turn mushy, It should hold the shape and when pressed should be well cooked.
- Heat oil given under 'Tempering' in a kadai. When the oil is hot, splutter mustard seeds, crackle cumin, add hing, curry leaves and broken red chilies.
- Next add minced garlic and chopped tomatoes. Add ¼ cup of water, cover and cook for 3-4 minutes, for the tomatoes to become soft.
- Next add the cooked chana dal along with the water. Add salt to this and mix well. Once the dal starts to boil, using a potato masher or simply with the back of your ladle , try to mash a little dal to get a thicker consistency.
- Let it sit on the stove for 5-8 minutes. Garnish with coriander leaves and take it off the stove. Serve Hot with Rice or Roti.
- I made this dal along with some tomato-garlic rasam and bittergourd masala for my lunch and served with rice/quinoa.
Disclaimer
I m not a Doctor or a Nutritionist The Nutrition information provided above comes from the plugin and is only an estimate.
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Chef Mireille
so inviting
Unknown
delicious dal recipe and love the click with the plate
Priya
Cook like Priya
subhashini
I would love to have this with roti
Swathi
Delicious dal recipe love it.
divya
looks sooo delicious...
Unknown
very homey and comforting!!!
Priya Suresh
Dal looks simply inviting and fingerlicking.
Simplyfood
Thankyou for cooking from simply.food .Your dhal looks delicious and very tasty.
Sandhya Ramakrishnan
What a comforting dal recipe this is and the flavors are spot. Simple yet packed with deliciousness. That whole platter is all I need right now! Beautiful pictures Priya!
Geetha
Any kind of dal is a hit in my home. This chana dal looks so simple to make yet packed with flavours. Right now all I need is that platter! Lovely share Priya...
Vanitha
Traditional dals are smooth and creamy but I am always a big fan of textured dal, and chana dal does that! Looks amazing!
Mayuri Patel
Priya, I like to make chana dal dal as it doesn't require long hours of soaking and it turns out creamy. We love to have it with parathas. Every family has its own selection of favorite lentil curries.
Indfused
Love that comforting dal with the right blend of spices! That whole platter looks so inviting, Priya!
JollyHomemadeRecipes
I love such hearty and comfort dals. I can have bowlful of this dal anytime such a flavourful recipe. Thanks for sharing!
Vandana
Chana dal is one of my favorite dal recipes. The photos of your plate are so tempting. I just had my dinner but hungry again 🙂
Motions and Emotions
Dal is almost a daily affair at home and we explore different types of dal in different flavours. Normally we cook a sweeter version of chana dal, this savoury version also looks delicious
Lathiya
I usually make dal with toor dal but this one looks lip smacking. Have to try soon.