Chana dal with vegetables

Chana dal with vegetables

Author: Rumki Paul
Course: Main
Cuisine: Indian
Preparation Time: 60 minutes (Including 1 hour for soaking the Dal)
Cooking time: 25 minutes
Total time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Servings: 4 Persons

Chana dal with vegetables is one of the renowned No onion no garlic recipes of India which is ideal for brata and puja festive days. It is the amalgamation of boiled Chana dal with Carrots, Peas and Sweet Corn in Ginger paste and some spices. It is mostly accompanied with rice items like Steamed Basmati Rice, Jeera Rice, Ghee Rice or with flat breads like Pooris, Parathas, Rotis etc.

Though it is a no onion no garlic recipes but still it tastes marvellous and reduces the effort of preparation too. In this recipe, you don’t need to drop your tears to cut onions to prepare this dal. It is a pure comfort dish which is prepared in most of the houses.

I have learnt Chana dal with vegetables recipe from my Mom. I am having this amazing palatable dal since my childhood and is one of my favourites too. When I prepared this dal for the first time, my family loved it. We usually pair up this dal with steamed Basmati rice and Aloo Bhaji.

Chana Dal Recipe

Chana dal (Split Chickpeas) is a very popular and healthy legume which is frequently cooked in almost every house of India. It is one of the most versatile dals around the world which can easily be adapted to our regular diet. Many delicious Dals, Pakodas, Halwa, sukhi sabji and hundreds of recipes are cooked with this legume.

Chana dal – Reason of its Popularity

Chana dal with vegetables with step by step photos and instructions have been provided in the ‘Instructions’ section of the recipe. But before directly jumping into the recipe, let me share few interesting facts about this dal and the recipe.

Benefits of Chana dal

How to make Chana dal with vegetables?

First, I have washed the Chana dal (Split chickpeas) and soaked in water for an hour. For the sake of saving time, I have boiled the dal in pressure cooker. You can also boil the dal directly in kadai but it will take a bit longer to get cooked.

In this chana dal recipe, I have used Carrots, Peas, Sweet Corn and green Chillies. I have used frozen Peas and frozen Sweet Corn here, but fresh Peas and Sweet Corn can also be used.

Many caterers would also use small pieces of fried Paneer (Indian cottage cheese) and Tomatoes in this dal for parties. But I have followed the traditional recipe and skipped Paneer and Tomatoes.

For tempering, I have used Cumin seeds, Cinnamon sticks, Cardamoms, Cloves, dry red chilli and Bay leaves. For flavouring, I have added Cumin powder, Coriander powder and Garam Masala powder to flavour up the dal. I have also added Ginger paste in this preparation. It complements the flavour of the dish.

In this dish, I have added very small amount of Sugar too. It increases the taste of the dal and helps to cut the hot spicy taste of chillies.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Chana dal (Split Chickpeas)
• 1 Carrot, medium diced
• ¼ cup of Peas (Fresh or frozen)
• ¼ cup of Sweet corn (Fresh or frozen)
• 1 Green Chilli
• 1 teaspoon Ginger paste
• 1 Dry Red Chilli
• 1 Bay leaf
• 2 Cardamoms
• 3 Cloves
• 1 Cinnamon stick, 1 inch
• ¼ teaspoon Cumin seeds
• 1 teaspoon Turmeric powder (Haldi)
• 1 teaspoon Coriander powder (Dhania)
• 1 teaspoon Cumin powder (Jeera)
• ¾ teaspoon Garam Masala
• Salt to taste
• 1 teaspoon Sugar
• Oil for cooking
• 2 ½ cups of Water, to pressure cook the dal
• ½ cup of water, to dilute the dal (Quantity may vary according to preferred consistency)

1. Wash the dal thoroughly until the bubbles go away and water become clear.
2. Soak the dal in water for an hour.
   

3. Drain the excess water.
4. Put the dal in pressure cooker and add fresh water.
5. Add some salt and pressure cook it in medium flame for 3-4 whistles.Tip: Number of whistles may vary due to quality, quantity and temperature.
   
6. Let the pressure settle down, take off the lid.
7. Add Oil into the pan in high flame.
8. Once the Oil is hot, add Cumin seeds, Bay leaf, Cinnamon stick, Dry red chilli, Cardamom and Cloves.
   

9. Sauté them for few seconds till they crackle.
10. Add Carrots and mix it well.
    

11. Cook it in medium flame for 2 minutes. Stir in between if required.
12. Add Ginger paste, green Chillies and sauté them for a minute until the raw smell of Ginger disappears.
    

13. Cover the pan and cook it in low flame for 2 minutes.
14. Add Peas, Sweet Corn and give a nice mix.
    

15. Add Turmeric powder, Salt and mix it well.
    

16. Cover the pan and cook them in low flame until all the vegetables become tender.
17. Add Cumin powder, Coriander powder and give a nice mix.
    

18. Cover the pan and cook them for another minute in low flame.
19. Add the boiled dal (Step 6) and stir well.
    

20. Check the consistency of dal and add water if required.
21. Put the flame in high and cook the dal until it starts simmering.
22. Add Garam Masala powder, Sugar and mix them well.
    

23. Cover the pan and cook them in low flame for another minute.
24. Switch off the flame and put the pan down.