Cholar Dal
We enjoy this classic Cholar Dal during breakfast, lunch or dinner. Filled with warm flavors, this Bengali Chana Dal comes together super quick and with very minimal ingredients. The texture of the dal is prepared based on what you are pairing it with. The dal tastes good with rice or luchi or paratha. You keep it more soupy if you are enjoying it with rice and make it into a thicker stew if you are serving with Luchi. My favorite way to enjoy Cholar Dal is with Luchi, and so I keep the texture thick.
Pure Vegetarian Cholar Dal
Every family makes dal a little different based on how spicy they want it and what texture they prefer. I personally prefer the Pure Vegetarian Cholar Dal without any onion and garlic.
Spices Used in this Bengali Chana Dal
Bengali five spice - Paanch Phoron - Link to the recipe Bhaja Moshla - A unique three spice blend spice mixes used in several vegetarian recipes. Link to the recipe Cinnamon StickGreen CardamomsClove
Few Key Ingredients that make this Dal so interesting:
Sliced Coconut CashewRaisins
Split Bengal Gram (chana dal) is very commonly confused with Split Pigeon Peas (toor dal). They both look very similar, except the Bengal gram is chunkier and doesn’t cook down to creamy or mushy. It’s kept whole and soft, giving a beautiful texture at every spoonful. Just how Dal Makhani is a specialty in North Indian wedding and special occasions, we Bengalies love our Cholar Dal the exact same way. The sweetness from coconut and raisins works beautifully with the earthy chana dal. Making it so very comforting!
Pro-tip to prepare Cholar Dal
Soak the Split Bengal Gram overnight and then boil, so the texture comes out perfect. You want to see the texture of the dal, but it should also just melt in mouth. Since there are no onion added, you want to mix the dry spices with water before adding to the wok. This will avoid the spices getting burnt in hot oil. The dal is typically prepared in mustard oil for the pungent aroma. But at the end, add a little ghee.
Once you soak and boil the dal which in my opinion takes more amount of time. The rest of the cooking happens effortlessly with almost no chopping at all. This festive season give this Cholar Dal a try!
