Punjabi Chana dal Recipe

रेसिपी को हिन्दी में पढ़े

Chana dal recipe – healthy, delicious and everyday  dal recipe made with bengal gram. It is sauteed with onion-tomato and regular spices.

Chana dal fry is one of the recipes that I make often on everyday basis. This is North Indian style chana dal masala. Typical Punjabi onion-tomato masala is the base of this dal. And addition tadka or tempering on top gives nice aroma and flavor to the dish.

This is my mom’s recipe and she learned it from our neighbor who is from Delhi. And that’s why she used to make lot of Punjabi dishes and I loved to eat those. And now following mom’s footsteps and I am also making north Indian dishes sometimes.

Chana dal is known as Bengal gram in English. It is kind of dal which needs more time to cook compared to other dal. So it is a good idea to soak them in water for at least 30 minutes before pressure cooking. And so it will cook faster. If you do not have pressure cooker then you can cook in a pot, but you will need more water and it is time consuming. And keep adding water if it dries up and cook till it gets softer.

I have made the tempering of curry leaves with other spices at the end. And it gives nice aroma to the dal. And of course it gives some curry leaves flavor to the dish.

Check out other Dal recipes
Moong dal  //  Arhar dal  //  Urad dal  //  Chilkewali moong dal

How to make chana dal recipe (Step by Step Photos):

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1) Take dal in a colander. wash it under running cold water till water runs clear.
2) Soak in enough water for at least 30 minutes. More soaking time will not hurt.

3) Now discard the cooking water. take dal in pressure cooker along with fresh 1 ½ cups of water. Add turmeric powder and salt.

4) Cover the pressure cooker and put the weight on. Turn the heat on medium. Let it cook for 6-7 whistles. Let the pressure go down by itself. Then open the lid. Dal should be soft. Keep it aside.

In below picture clockwise – chana dal, soaked chana dal, in cooker with salt & turmeric, boiled dal.

5) Heat the oil in a pan on medium heat. Once hot add ginger paste, garlic paste and green chilies. Cook for a minute.

6) Then add chopped onions. Cook till they become translucent.

7) Mix in chopped tomatoes and cook till they get soft.

8) Add turmeric powder, red chili powder, coriander powder, garam masala and salt.

9) Mix well. Saute for a minute.

10) Add cooked dal with its water. If needed add extra water and make runny consistency. Let it come to a boil. Simmer for 5 minutes.

11) Meanwhile prepare the tadka. Heat the oil in a small pan on medium heat. Once hot add mustard seeds. Let them pop. Then add cumin seeds and let them sizzle.

12) Add curry leaves and dried red chili.

13) Add tempering to the dal.

14) Mix well and dal is ready to serve.

For a change, try adding some lemon juice at the end. I have tried it and I liked it this way too.

You probably have all the ingredients in your pantry as this recipe requires very basic ingredients. So what are you waiting for? Get in your kitchen and make delicious chana dal recipe today.

Serving suggestion: Serve it with plain rice or jeera rice. You can serve with any Indian flat bread like paratha, naan, roti.

4.5 from 4 votes

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Chana dal recipe (Punjabi chana dal fry)

US measuring cups are used (1 cup = 240 ml)

Course Main Course

Cuisine Indian

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 1 hour

Yield 2 Servings

Author Kanan

Ingredients (1 cup = 240 ml)

For pressure cooking dal-

• ½ cup Chana dal (Split bengal gram)
• 1 ½ cups Water
• ¼ teaspoon Turmeric powder
• Salt to taste

For chana dal recipe-

• 2 teaspoons Oil
• ½ teaspoon Ginger paste or freshly grated or crushed
• ½ teaspoon Garlic paste or freshly grated
• 2 Green chilies chopped finely
• ½ cup Onion chopped
• 1 cup Tomato chopped
• 1 teaspoon Red chili powder
• 1 teaspoon Coriander powder
• a pinch Turmeric powder
• ½ teaspoon Garam masala

For tadka (tempering) –

• 2 teaspoons Oil
• ½ teaspoons Mustard seeds
• ½ teaspoon Cumin seeds
• 5-6 Curry leaves
• 1 Dried red chilies broken into two pieces

Instructions

Soaking and pressure cooking dal:

1. Take chana dal in a colander. wash it under running cold water till water runs clear.
2. Soak in enough water for at least 30 minutes. More soaking time will not hurt.
3. Now discard the cooking water. take dal in pressure cooker along with fresh 1 ½ cups of water. Add turmeric powder and salt.
4. Cover the pressure cooker and put the weight on. Let it cook for 6-7 whistles on medium heat.
5. Let the pressure go down by itself. Then open the lid. Dal should be soft. Keep it aside.

Making chana dal recipe:

1. Heat the oil in a pan on medium heat. Once hot add ginger paste, garlic paste and green chilies. Cook for a minute.
2. Then add chopped onions. Cook till they become translucent.
3. Mix in chopped tomatoes and cook till they get soft.
4. Add turmeric powder, red chili powder, coriander powder, garam masala and salt. Mix and saute for a minute.
5. Add cooked dal with its water. If needed add extra water and make runny consistency.
6. Let it come to a boil. Simmer for 5 minutes.

Make tadka:

1. on another stove heat the oil in a small pan on medium heat. Once hot add mustard seeds. Let them pop.
2. Then add cumin seeds and let them sizzle.
3. Add curry leaves and dried red chili. Add tempering to the dal.
4. Mix well and turn off the stove.