Chana Dal, New Delhi-Style

Name: Chana Dal, New Delhi-Style
Total time: 1 h
Yield: About 4 servings
Cuisine: indian
Ingredients: 1 cup split chickpeas (chana dal); 1 1/2 teaspoons turmeric; 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom; 1 bay leaf, preferably Indian; 1 teaspoon salt; 2 tablespoons sunflower orsafflower oil; 6 whole cloves; 4 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced; 1 teaspoon crushed-red-chile flakes (optional); 3 tablespoons freshly chopped cilantro

By Mark Bittman

Total Time: 1 hour
Rating: 4(1,454)
Comments: Read comments

Julie Sahni, an Indian cooking teacher, cookbook author and chef, says that in much of Indian cooking, the less you fuss with beans, the better they cook. This recipe, for spiced split chickpeas, calls for a mathani, a sort of hand blender, but if you don’t have one and don’t want to buy one, a potato masher will do the trick.

Featured in: Chilkewali Mung Dal (Split Green Mung Beans), Mumbai-Style

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Ingredients

Yield:About 4 servings

1cup split chickpeas (chana dal)
1½teaspoons turmeric
½teaspoon ground cardamom
1bay leaf, preferably Indian
1teaspoon salt
2tablespoons sunflower orsafflower oil
6whole cloves
4large garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1teaspoon crushed-red-chile flakes (optional)
3tablespoons freshly chopped cilantro

Ingredient Substitution Guide

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Preparation

Step 1
Combine the chana dal, turmeric, cardamom, bay leaf, salt and 4 cups water in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Adjust the heat so the mixture bubbles gently, cover partly and cook for 40 minutes. At that point, the mixture should still be quite moist; if it is not, add 1 cup additional water and continue cooking, covered, until the dal is tender, about 20 minutes; turn off the heat. Remove the bay leaf. Use an Indian mathani (see related article) to purée the dal for about 1 minute; the dal should be saucy but not soupy.
Step 2
To make the tadka, put the oil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add the cloves; let sizzle for about 30 seconds until fragrant. Add the garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until medium brown. Stir in the chili flakes if you’re using them, and turn off the heat.
Step 3
Pour the tadka into the dal; stir gently to combine. Garnish with cilantro and serve.

Ratings

4 out of 5

1,454 user ratings

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Comments

Paul7 years ago

The recipe omits many of the tadka ingredients discussed in the video:

Onions, tomatoes, ginger, peanut oil, & cumin seeds are missing in the ingredients list and in your preparation instructions.

Of course, I was able to prepare the dal tarka by watching the video, but often I just want the recipe to spell everything out, and that was my expectation when I got involved with your video.

Shouldn’t the video, ingredients list and preparation instructions always correspond with one another?

Margaux Laskey, Staff Editor7 years ago

Hi All! We've removed the video to avoid confusion. If you'd like to see how Julie makes tadka, or how a mathani is used, you can watch the video here: https://www.nytimes.com/video/magazine/100000001927620/dal-tarka.html

Maninder Chopra7 years ago

In the video, she is showing Dehusked Masoor daal not Channa daal. The mathani (we call Madaani) is really not required. You can just stir it and slightly blend it, it is not really required. The tadka would be 1000 times better with desi ghee. And I would certainly pour hot tadka sizzle over daal and won't hesitate to mix it. I would also add a pinch of dried proprietary herbs which I won't disclose here (lol....kidding....almost). Other than that, she is right on mark.

S21 hours ago

@Wicko yes, delicious. My relatively new bag (6-8 months old) of yellow split peas - rinse in a bowl of tap water 2-3 times to remove excess starch (water won't be clear, save the water), no soak, drain, 10 minutes rolling boil large saucepan medium heat uncovered and 55-60 minutes simmer covered, using bottled aka filtered water or meaty/vegetable stock (I read US broth is the same product in a different shelf-stable container) [stock pouch states 0.6g salt per 100ml. 1/2 US Cup =120ml for reference]. Tap water contains limescale aka calcium (ions). Calcium *usually* prevents lentils/legumes from breaking down as they should but my lentils are "aged" rather than super fresh (small family bulk bags for better quality brand). Cook time gives you dal texture - some whole legumes, some broken into sauce, some in-between, plus the flavour boost from the split peas/lentils breaking down ---> this is what makes split pea soup/dal the best food you've ever eaten!

Wicko3 weeks ago

Anybody ever tried this with yellow split peas?

ChefHayHay5 months ago

I split the lentils between half Chana dal and half moong dal to give more texture. You can also add any veggies to cook down at the beginning — I like adding cherry tomatoes, cauliflower, onion and carrot. I think Asian eggplant would also be tasty but haven’t tried it. Use a whisk as the end of cooking instead of the wooden instrument by spinning it between your open palms to bring the texture together. Must eat with a variety of Indian pickles!! Hot chili and hot mango are my favorites.

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