Tag Archives: Chana Dal

Recipes: Amritsari Dal or Langarwali Dal

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I have been curious about this dal for a few months now, but the couple of times I wanted to make it, I didn’t have the whole urad dal on hand. So a couple of months back, when I had some on hand, I decided it was time to finally make this.

This dal is rustic and comes from the homes of Punjab and is also called Langarwali Dal as it is often served at Sikh Gurudwaras, especially the Harmandir Saheb in Amritsar. Made from two types of dals, urad and chana, this dal does not have too many spices and is usually slow cooked, sometimes overnight to make a creamy, soft dal that just melts in the mouth. But because we don’t have the time these days to slow cook it, it’s made in the pressure cooker.

Amritsari Dal or Langarwali Dal

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup whole black urad dal
  • ¼ cup chana dal
  • ¼ tsp turmeric powder
  • 2 tbsp finely minced ginger
  • 2 tbsp finely mined garlic
  • 2-3 tbsp ghee, oil or butter
  • 1 tsp minced green chillies
  • 1 medium sized onion, finely chopped
  • 2 medium sized tomotoes, finely chopped
  • ½ tsp red chilli powder
  • 2 tbsp finely chopped coriander leaves
  • 1 tbsp finely chopped mint leaves (optional)

Method:

  • Soak the urad dal and chana dal in water for at least 5-6 hours until the urad dal is soft to touch.
  • Wash the dal well and put inside the pressure cooker with enough water to cover it, add turmeric powder, 1 tbsp each of ginger and garlic and about 1 tsp salt and cook for about five to six whistles. Open the cooker when the pressure goes away and slightly mash the dals with the back of a spoon or a whisk.
  • In a separate pan, heat the ghee, oil or butter and when it heats up, add in the finely chopped onion, stir until the onions turn translucent.
  • Then add in the balance minced ginger and garlic and stir well.
  • Add the mined green chillies and stir.
  • Saute until the onions become a nice golden colour.
  • When the onions turn golden, add In the finely chopped tomatoes. Mix well and let the tomatoes cook until they become mushy
  • Let the mixture cook until the oil releases from the sides. At this point, add the red chilli powder
  • Pour the tempering into the dal mixture and mix well
  • Add salt and water if needed and mix well
  • Let the dal come to a nice rolling boil.
  • Lower the flame and let the dal simmer for about 5 minutes. You can simmer for longer if you want, and the results will be better.
  • Garnish with coriander leaves and mint leaves, if you are using them and serve hot with rice, rotis or nan.

Note that the dal will thicken as it cools, so you may need to thin it a bit before serving if you plan on cooking it ahead of time. Also the dal tastes much better if eaten the next day, so it may be a good idea to cook it ahead of time.

Navratri Recipes: Chana Dal Sundal

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Since it’s the festival of Navratri going on, I am making some kind of Sundal every day as an offering or neividhyam to the Goddess. Today’s Sundal is a simple and delicious Sundal made out of Chana Dal. This is easy to make and took me less than 10 minutes to make (without taking into account the soak time). This is a definite keeper for me.

Chana Dal Sundal

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups chana dal
  • 2-3 tbsp grated coconut
  • 1 tbsp oil
  • 1 tsp mustard seeds
  • 1 tsp split urad dal
  • 4-5 curry leaves
  • 3-4 dried red chillies, broken
  • 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
  • 1/4 tsp asafoetida powder
  • 2 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 tsp grated ginger
  • Salt to taste
  • Coriander leaves to garnish

Method:

  • Soak the chana dal in hot water for 1-2 hours.
  • Cook the chana dal in the same pan it was soaked in with 1/4 tsp turmeric powder, salt and 1/8 tsp asafoetida in enough water on the stove till it gets cooked, but still retains it’s shape. Remove from the flame and drain and cool the chana dal.
  • If you plan to use the pressure cooker, just cook it for a max of 2 whistles. Remove from the cooker when the pressure goes down and drain the chana dal.
  • In another pan, heat the oil and when it warms up, add the mustard seeds and let the seeds pop.
  • Then add the urad dal, remaining asafoetida, curry leaves, grated ginger and broken dried red chillies and stir for a few seconds.
  • Now pour in the drained chana dal and stir well to mix everything for a few minutes.
  • Switch off the flame and add the lemon juice and grated coconut. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve as a salad or side with a south indian meal.

For more Navratri Sundal recipes, here are some other recipes:

Recipes: Tangy and Sweet Chana Dal

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Monday was Ganesh Chaturthi and as usual I made traditional modak or the sweet dumplings filled with coconut and jaggery as an offering or neividhyam to the Lord. I had about 2 tbsp of the filling left over and was wondering what I should do with it when I thought of incorporating it into a dal. I know Maharastrians do something similar with the filling of puran poli, so I took a leaf out of their book.

Fret not if you haven’t made modak the day you want to make this dal, all you need to do is just add coconut and jaggery to the dal and you get a lipsmacking tangy, yet sweet dal to eat with your rice and rotis.

Tangy and Sweet Chana Dal

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup chana dal
  • 1 small piece of tamarind, soaked in hot water for 20-30 minutes
  • 1 tbsp oil
  • 1 tsp mustard seeds
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • 1/8 tsp asafoetida
  • 4-5 curry leaves
  • 1 tsp crushed green chillies or geeen chilli paste
  • 1-2 tbsp modak filling
  • I tbsp grated coconut, roasted (if not using the stuffing)
  • 1 tbsp grated jaggery (if not using the stuffing)
  • Salt to taste
  • Coriander leaves to garnish

Method:

  • Wash the chana dal and cook it either in the pressure cooker or on the stovetop till it is completely cooked and starts to lose its shape. Remove when cool and whisk it to a fine paste. Keep aside.
  • Mix and strain the tamarind pulp and get the juice. Keep aside.
  • Heat oil in a largish pan and when it starts to warm up, add the mustard seeds and let them pop. Then add the cumin seeds, curry leaves and asafoetida and stir for a couple of seconds.
  • Then add the green chilli paste and stir for a few seconds. Now add the whisked chana dal and stir well. Add the tamarind juice slowly and taste test for the level of sourness you want. Season with salt.
  • Thin the dal with water to your preference and let it come to a boil. When the dal comes to a rolling boil, add the modak filling and stir well.
  • If you don’t have the modak filling, just add 2 tbsp roasted coconut plus the jaggery and continue boiling the dal.
  • Finely chop the coriander leaves and garnish the dal. Serve hot with any Indian bread or rice.

Chow Chow (aka Chayote) Kootu

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A kootu is another traditional South Indian food item. Kootus are generally vegetables mixed with a lentil or dal (usually moong, but can be others also) with a coconut/chilli gravy all mixed together. This is another example of Indian meals being complete meals as this kootu will have proteins from the lentils, plus fibre from the vegetables. This is usually eaten with a carbohydrate like rice or roti and you have all the important parts of a meal together.

Today’s recipe is Chayote or Chow Chow Kootu

Chayote is an edible plant belonging to the gourd family, being roughly pear-shaped and light green in colour. The skin is not used in Indian cooking and the flesh has a bland taste. This means it takes on any flavouring that is added to it. The seeds are generally not used in cooking.

Chow Chow Kootu

Ingredients:

  • 3 Chayotes (peeled, seeds removed and diced)
  • ½ cup Moong Dal
  • 3 tbsps Channa Dal
  • ½ tsp turmeric powder
  • salt to taste
  • ½ cup freshly grated cocounut (you can use frozen coconut if you don’t have access to fresh coconut. I have used frozen coconut in this recipe)
  • 4-5 fresh green chillies (this is what I used, but please adjust according to the intensity of the chillies and your spice tolerance level)
  • ½ tsp cumin seeds
  • ¼ tsp mustard seeds
  • 1 tsp oil
  • ¼ tsp urad dal
  • A small sprig of curry leaves
  • A pinch of asafetida

Method:

In a pressure cooker, cook the moong dal and 2 tbsps of the chana dal with ¼ tsp of turmeric powder. While the dals are cooking, peel the chow chow, remove the seeds and chop into small, bite-sized cubes. Cook the chow chow in a pan with very little water, ¼ tsp of turmeric powder and some salt.

In a mixer, add the coconut, cumin seeds and chillies and grind it to a fine paste without adding too much water. Some people prefer to add yoghurt here, but I don’t, preferiing to add water to provide the moisture to grind it.

Once the Chayote is cooked but firm, add the dal to it along with the coconut mixture. Adjust the salt and let it boil for a while, around 5-7 minutes. Then turn off the gas and start the tempering to finish the dish.

In a smaller skillet, pour 1 tsp oil oil and wait for it to heat up. Once heated up, put the mustard seeds and wait for it to pop. Once it pops, add the urad dal, curry leaves and asafetida and lightly stir. When the urad dal starts to brown remove from flame and add it to the kootu. Mix well and serve with rice or rotis.