Crisp at the edges and tender through the middle, Chana Dal Recipe | Dhaba Style Chana Dal Fry Tips & Tricks is a vegetarian north indian dal made with chana dal, masoor dal, and turmeric in about 60 minutes. The recipe lays out the ingredients and each cooking step clearly, so you can adjust seasoning, texture, and serving size for your own kitchen.

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 10 minutes
  • Cook time: 20 minutes
  • Total time: 60 minutes
  • Yield: 4 Servings
  • Category: dal
  • Cuisine: north indian

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

Method

  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.

Kiyaan Singh’s Kitchen Note

Keep this recipe as a working base: cook once as written, then adjust spice, texture, and serving style for your own table.