Easy, Recipes, Vegetarian

Bengali Cholar Dal

A simple traditional Bengali dal recipe, laden with ghee and served with rice. Warm and comforting, this is what soul-warming homemade food is all about. It’s absolutely like a warm hug on a cold night!

Ingredients

  • 2 Cups Chana Dal (Cholar Dal) 
  • Pinch of Asafoetida (Hing)
  • 50 Grams of Dry Roasted Coconut Strips/Pieces (small)
  • 1 Tablespoon sugar
  • 2 Teaspoons Turmeric Powder
  • 1 Teaspoon Jeera
  • 2 Tablespoon Ghee
  • 1 Bay Leaf
  • 2 Dry Red Chillies
  • 1/2 Inch Ginger (grated)

Preparation

Prep: 10 minutes
Cooking: 20 minutes

  1. Wash the Dal thoroughly.
  2. Pressure cook the dal with water, salt and turmeric. Give it at least 4 whistles as Chana dal takes longer to cook.
  3. In a deep pan heat the ghee. Add the jeera, hing, turmeric powder, bay leaf, the dry red chillies and sugar. Stir for 2 minutes on medium heat. 
  4. Lower the heat and put the grated ginger and stir for 30 seconds (don’t fry the grated ginger or it will become black).
  5. Add the dal with the water and get it to boil on medium heat.
  6. Get the dal to the desired thickness.
  7. Garnish with ginger strips and some hot ghee.
  8. It will go amazingly well with hot rice, ghee and aloo fry (aloo bhaja). 

Watch

USEFUL TIPS

It goes amazingly with hot rice, ghee and aloo fry (aloo bhaja)
Hoimi Bandyopadhyay

I am Hoimee and I am a Producer by profession. I come from a traditional Bengali family where all the conversations happened around food or about food. I got my love for cooking from my Grandmothers who introduced me to amazing Bengali food. I love making traditional recipes ones that tell a story about our culinary past. Cooking has given me a creative way to let out the stress of my work life. When I cook it’s my time and I put on some music too! It’s also healthier as we live lives of no proper food timings at least one should try to eat right. It is also a great life skill to develop.