This Chana Dal is a Punjabi-style recipe made with Bengal gram dal (hulled and split black chickpeas) cooked with onions, tomatoes, herbs and spices. The lentils are simmered with a spiced onion-tomato base. It pairs well with Indian flatbreads like roti, phulka or paratha. This dal also goes well with steamed rice.

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 10 minutes
  • Cook time: 20 minutes
  • Total time: 90 minutes
  • Yield: 4
  • Category: Main Course
  • Cuisine: North Indian

Ingredients

  • 1 cup or 200 grams chana dal ((split bengal gram dal or split & hulled black chickpeas))
  • 2½ to 3 cups water (for stovetop pressure cooking and 2 to 2½ cups water for Instant Pot cooking)
  • ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
  • 3 tablespoons oil (or ghee (clarified butter))
  • 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
  • 2 teaspoons or 4 to 5 medium sized garlic (– finely chopped)
  • ½ cup onions (– finely chopped)
  • 1 cup or 2 medium sized tomatoes (– finely chopped)
  • ½ to 1 teaspoon or 1 inch ginger (– finely chopped)
  • ½ teaspoon or 1 green chilli (– chopped, can use serrano pepper instead)
  • ½ teaspoon red chili powder
  • ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder ((ground turmeric))
  • ½ teaspoon garam masala
  • ½ teaspoon dry mango powder ((amchur powder) or add as required * check point 4 in notes below)
  • 1 pinch asafoetida ((hing), optional)
  • 1 teaspoon coriander powder ((ground coriander))
  • 1 teaspoon dry fenugreek leaves ((kasuri methi), crushed, optional)
  • salt (– chopped, as required)
  • 1 to 2 tablespoons coriander leaves ((cilantro))

Method

Cooking Lentils

  1. Pick and rinse the chana dal well in running water.
  2. Soak the dal in enough water for an hour. Or soak in hot water (not boiling hot water) for 30 minutes.
  3. Drain the lentils and add them to a 3 litre pressure cooker along with turmeric powder. Add 2½ to 3 cups water in the cooker and stir well. If using Instant pot add 2 to 2½ cups water.
  4. On a high heat pressure cook the lentils for 10 to 11 minutes or for 7 to 8 whistles or more, till the dal is softened and well cooked.
  5. In the instant pot, pressure cook on high mode for 10 to 12 minutes.
  6. Allow the cooker or Instant Pot to do a complete natural pressure release before unsealing the lid. That means to let the pressure falls on its own in the cooker or instant pot.
  7. Check the lentils. They should be very soft and easy to mush with the back of a spoon.
  8. Cover and set aside the cooked chana dal.

Making Chana Dal

  1. In another pan, heat oil or ghee.
  2. Add the cumin seeds first and fry for a few seconds till they splutter.
  3. Then add the garlic and fry till they become light brown.
  4. Now add the onions and fry till they get golden stirring often.
  5. Now add the chopped tomatoes, ginger and green chili.
  6. Stir and add all the dry spice powders - turmeric powder, red chili powder, garam masala powder, asafoetida, dry mango powder and coriander powder.
  7. Sauté stirring often till the tomatoes soften and the oil starts to leave the sides of the mixture.
  8. Add the crushed dry fenugreek leaves (kasoori methi) and stir.
  9. Pour the cooked chana dal together with its stock to the sautéed masala mixture or vice versa. Season with salt according to taste.
  10. Stir and simmer the dal for 6 to 8 minutes or more till you get medium consistency of the dal. The consistency is neither thick nor thin.
  11. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves.
  12. Serve the chana dal hot with some basmati rice or roti or bread.

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.