Daal, dal or dahl, so many different ways you can spell it and there are even more ways and recipes that are used to cook it. Daal is basically term used for cooked and dried pulses.I believe subcontinent is the only place in the world where such a large variety of Lentils are consumed, each have its own distinct flavour. The fun part is to learn their names, it took me several years. I use to remember them by colour red, yellow, brown etc.
This recipe calls for Channa Daal which is a type of yellow lentils . It looks same as Yellow split peas and the taste is not too far off too. The cooking times do vary, yellow lentil cooks faster than Channa Daal. If you are unable to find channa daal use split chickpeas.
HOW TO MAKE CHANNA DAAL?
Begin with soaking the lentils in water. The longer the better, if you are short on time still atleast an hour is required. The longer they soak the quicker is the cooking process.
This is a two step recipe, first boil the lentil. We are looking at cooking them 90%. Don’t add too much water and neither cook for too long. It will make a soup out of daal. Strain the lentils and don’t throw away the water. It will be used later in the cooking.
While lentil is boiling, you can prepare Masala. Masala is onions, garlic, ginger and tomatoe along with spices which will form a base of this lentil curry. The great thing about daal is that it doesn’t require too many spices. The basic spices are required which include red chilli powder, turmeric, cumin seeds, coriander powder and garam masala. I used Kashmiri chilli, it is very mild chilli powder, its mostly used for giving colour rather than spice. If you don’t have that substitute it with paprika powder.
The daal is then added into the masala along with water drained earlier. The amount of water you add determines the consistency of the daal. If you prefer bit runny like soup consistency add more than what given in the recipe below.
Serve with roti/naan or steamed rice.
FREEZING AND MAKING AHEAD
Daal is great for making ahead. Sometimes I feel it taste better the next day. You can also cook a batch and freeze it. It comes handy for emergency dinners. Just thaw and reheat it either in microwave. It gets bit thicker so add little water.
WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
More Vegetarian recipes
Daal ( Lentil Curry
Ingredients
- 3 Cup Chana Daal/Yellow split chickpeas
- 1½ tsp Salt
- 1½ tsp Red Chilli Powder
- ¼ tsp Turmeric
- ½ Onion Chopped
- ½ Tomatoe chopped
- 1 tsp Coriander Powder
- 1 tsp Cumin Seeds
- 1 tsp Garam Masala
- 1 tsp Kashmiri red chilli( Sub Paprika) See Notes
- 1 Green Chilli Sliced
- 1 tbsp Coriander/Cilantro
- 2 tbsp Oil
- 4 cups water
Instructions
- Wash the daal and rinse a couple of times. Soak it for atleast an hour or for best reult for 3-4 hours.
- Drain the water and add daal to the pot. Add water. It should be enough to cover the daal. Once it starts to boil turn the heat to medium low. Continue to cook untill daal is 90% cooked. Check with breaking apart a grain with hand.
- Drain the daal, reserving the water for use later.
- In a pot heat oil and add onions. Fry them untill soft and then add garlic and ginger paste. Add all the spices except salt and garam masala. Fry for a minute.
- Add tomatoes and green chilli and cook for couple of minutes , add a cup of water and cover the pot. Cook on low heat untill the onions and tomatoes are soft.
- Add Boiled daal and fry for a minute. Add at least 2 cups of water reserved from straining. You can add more water if you prefer thin consistency. Add salt and garam masala. Cover the pot and cook for 15-20 minutes on low flame.
- Garnish with coriander, chillies and ginger.
- Serve the daal with naan or steamed rice.
