Punjabi chana dal recipe, just like my mom made growing up! This hearty, protein-packed, comforting dal is made with split bengal gram, onion, tomato, and few Indian spices. It’s easy to make and perfect for healthy dinner when served with rice.
I am sharing two methods: (1) Traditional stove-top method (2) Instant pot chana dal
Instant Pot Chana Dal Recipe Video
So what makes the best chana dal fry? Well, the first typical Punjabi onion-tomato masala is made as a base of this dal. Do you have my frozen onion tomato masala ready in the freezer? Skip the frying onion tomato step and instead use the ready frozen chunk of masala.
Second, the addition of tadka or tempering at the end gives a nice aroma of curry leaves and of course adds a ton of flavor.
What you need
Here’s what you need for this chana dal recipe. It looks like too many ingredients but trust me it is very easy to make.
Do I need to soak chana dal before cooking?
Soaking chana dal is recommended but not required. It is a kind of lentil which needs more cooking time compared to other lentils. So it is a
If you are in rush then skip the soaking step and cook for some more minutes. And you are good to go.
How to make Chana Dal (Stove Top)?
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 a
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.
5) Heat the oil in a pan on medium heat. Once hot add ginger paste, garlic paste,
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
12) Add curry leaves and dried red chili.
13) Add the tempering to the dal. Add lemon juice or lime juice and mix.
14) Remove it to a serving bowl.
Serving suggestion: Serve it with plain basmati rice or jeera rice. You can serve with any Indian flatbread like paratha, naan, roti.
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 it today.
How to cook chana dal in a pan if do not have preesure cooker?
- Soak the dal for 30 minutes to 1 hour. More soaking time results in less cooking time on the stove.
- Take ½ cup dal and 2 cups of water in a saucepan and bring it to a boil.
- Then cover partially and let it simmer on low-medium till dal gets soft.
- While cooking you may need to add more water as the
water dries up. Do stir and check in between the water amount.
Check out other Dal recipes
Moong dal
Toor dal
Urad dal
Chilkewali moong dal
Lentil curry (Instant pot)
Chana Dal Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup Chana dal (Split bengal gram)
- 2 ½ cups Water for stovetop (2 cups water for instant pot)
- 1 tablespoon Oil
- 1 teaspoon Ginger paste or freshly grated or crushed
- 1 teaspoon Garlic paste or freshly grated
- 1 Green chilies chopped finely
- 1 cup Red onion chopped
- 1 cup Tomato chopped
- 1 ½ teaspoon Red chili powder
- 1 ½ teaspoon Coriander powder
- ½ teaspoon Turmeric powder
- 1 teaspoon Garam masala
- ½ teaspoon Lemon juice or lime juice
- 2 tablespoons Cilantro or coriander leaves chopped finely
For tadka (tempering)
- 1 tablespoon Oil
- 1 teaspoon Mustard seeds
- 1 teaspoon Cumin seeds
- ¼ teaspoon Hing (Asafoetida)
- 8-10 Curry leaves
- 2 Dried red chilies broken into two pieces
Instructions
Preparation:
- Wash the dal under running cold water till water runs clear. Or rinse 2-3 times or till the water is not cloudy anymore.
- Soak the dal in enough water for at least 30 minutes or more. Then discard the soaking water.
Making on the stovetop:
- Take soaked dal, water, salt and a pinch of turmeric powder in a pressure cooker.
- Cover the pressure cooker with the lid and put the weight on. Let it cook for 6-7 whistles on medium heat.
- Let the pressure go down by itself. Then open the lid. Dal should be soft.
- Heat the oil in a pan on medium heat. Once hot add ginger paste, garlic paste, and green chilies and cook for a minute.
- Then add chopped onions. and cook till they become translucent.
- Mix in chopped tomatoes and cook till they get soft.
- Mix in Add turmeric powder, red chili powder, coriander powder, garam masala, and salt. Saute for a minute.
- Add cooked dal with its water. If needed add extra water and make runny consistency.
- Let it come to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Add tadka on top as mentioned below and lemon juice.
Making in instant pot:
- Turn on the instant pot with saute mode. Once hot add oil.
- Add onion, ginger, garlic, and green chili. Sprinkle some salt to speed up the process. Mix and saute till onions become soft and light pink in color.
- Then add tomatoes and cook till they are soft and mushy.
- Then add remaining salt, red chili powder, coriander powder, and turmeric powder. Mix well and cook for 20-30 seconds.
- Add soaked dal and water. Stir well.
- Cover with the lid, keep the vent to sealing position. Pressure cook on manual (high pressure) for 10 minutes. If skipped the soaking step, then cook for 13-15 minutes.
- Let the pressure release naturally (NPR). Once the pin drops then open the lid.
- Add tadka as mentioned below. Add garam masala and lemon juice. Mix well.
- Garnish with chopped cilantro.
Making tadka:
- on the stove 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.
- Add hing, curry leaves, and dried red chili.
- Immediately add the tempering to the dal, mix and serve.
Notes
- Soaking the chana dal is not required. But it is recommended. If you have skipped the soaking step then you may need to cook the dal a few minutes more.
- I prefer the soft dal yet hold its shape. If you prefer the mushy version then you can cook a few minutes more to make it mushy.
- The water amount may vary depending on the dal consistency you prefer. The above measurements give medium-thick consistency. If you like thin add more water.
- You see, everything is customizable. Adjust as per your and your family’s liking (soft or mushy, spicy or less spicy, thin or thick dal).
I just made this recipe in place of my normal Dahl recipe and loved it. Great flavour and very easy to cook in just a pot on the stove top.
Very glad that you liked.
Is this a pressure cooker or an instant pot -- which are 2 different appliances? We have PC.
Also "whistles" doesn't tell us how mnay minutes under pressure in PC -- our PC doesn't whistle. It has pop-up when pressurized at which point start the timing. Lots of folks have PCs that don't whistle so 'tis frustrating that so many PC recipes refer to e.g. "2 whistles" which isn't inormative. Please add PC minutes info. Thank you!
I grew up in India and I have always seen the stovetop pressure cooker that do 'whistle'.
And I have been using that kind of pressure cooker only. So all my recipes mentions number of whistles.
In last few years, I have been using instant pot (electric pressure cooker) which does not whistle like our traditional PC. So I mention the minutes as a cooking time.
I have shared both methods 1) Instant pot 2) Indian style stovetop pressure cooker.
Sorry I have never worked with stovetop PC that does not whistle. So I can't give you minutes info.
I am keeping this one in my recipe book. This was so delicious and very satisfying. Thank you so much for sharing! I can't wait to try your other recipes.
very glad to know that you liked.
Happy cooking and do let me know how you like other recipes
What a beautiful dish. Just finished making it, and am very excited about how its turned out. Thanks for sharing, I look forward to making more of your recipes!
Sure, try other recipes as well.
Happy cooking!!
I absolutely swear by this recipe, thanks so much for putting it out there! Time and again it has delighted and frankly impressed my friends who subsequently think I am some kind of curry master when really all I can do in the kitchen is follow instructions 🙂
NB works just fine for me without a pressure cooker, just boil up the gram til good and soft. Reducing the amount of chilli powder, green and dried red chillis to taste is fine if cooking for less spice-hardy palates; t's easier to add a little heat with a side of chopped fresh chillis or chilli flakes than it is to take the heat out of the dish if over-spiced on the hob (personally I love the spice mix exactly as described!) It really is a great recipe, thanks again
Glad that you liked this dal recipe.
Thank you for the detailed feedback. others may benefit from it.