I love Indian food and even though I usually cook this dish together with other Indian dishes like Shahi Paneer and Bean-Carrot Urid Dal (see the recipes on this website), this is the only dish my boys will actually eat without any fuss. Oh and yes, serving it with home-made garlic naan bread is definitely a treat for them. Recipe for my naan will be coming here soon as well.
This Chana Dal needs a little more time cooking if you don’t have a pressure cooker, but I can make it within 1,5 hour withiut it. My trick is to pour boiling water over the chickpeas which speeds up the process of cooking them later.
I am not Indian and this isn't probably the most traditional Indian recipe but I it is a great protein rich dish. I am using spices you most likely already have in your kitchen. Spices that make Indian cuisine so irresistibly delicious!
INGREDIENTS:
1 onion
4 garlic cloves
thumb size ginger
1 tsp sweet paprika (you can use chili)
1 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp mustard seeds
3 fresh tomatoes diced*
couple of fresh or dried curry leaves (optional)
4 cups split chickpeas
7 cups (about 1L) vegetable bouillon
salt to taste
1tbl coconut oil
fresh koriander leaves for the garnish
* 3 tbl tomato purée if you don't have fresh tomatoes (like me during the filming)
First, wash your split chickpeas thoroughly and pour hot water over just enough to cover them. Chop the onion, garlic and ginger finely. Chop the tomatoes if using fresh ones. Into a hot pan, add the coconut oil and chopped onion, garlic and ginger.
After a minute or two, add all the spices and let the fragrance fill in your kitchen.
Add a little bit of water if it starts sticking to the pan.
After approximately 3 minutes add your chana dal and hot vegetable bouillon together with your tomatoes. Cover to simmer on a low heat for about 45min.
Take a spoon and taste your dal whether it’s cooked through. If you need, add a little bit more water and keep it on the stove until it's soft yet still crunchy.
Switch off the heat and garnish with freshly chopped koriander leaves.
Serve with garlic koriander naan bread or rice.
ENJOY!
