Channa Dal Curry

Typically, I have seen channa dal cooked with yellow squash or "dudhi". I never really liked the curry, but then again I never gave it a chance. We always made it with dhar bhatt, and the other sak always looked more appetizing. Now I am all open to trying new things, so here goes. This dish is the curry minus the squash!

1 cup channa dal, yellow split pea lentils, soaked
1 onion, finely chopped
1 green chili, finely chopped
1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
1 tsp red chili powder
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp fennel seeds
2 dry red chilies, broken into bits
2 tbsp oil or ghee
Salt to taste
Chopped cilantro for garnish
3 tbsp lemon juice

1. Soak the channa dal for 30 minutes before cooking. Drain, wash thoroughly and keep aside.
2. Add the channa dal into the pressure cooker along with a bit of salt and 2 cups water and cook the channa dal for about 15-20 minutes until lentils are soft and fully cooked.
2. Next, heat up a pan or pot with oil/ghee. Add the cumin seeds and fennel seeds. When they begin crackling, add the ginger-garlic paste, green chilies, and onions. Sautee onions until golden brown.
3. Next add the turmeric, red chili powder, coriander powder and salt. Then add the cooked lentils and let curry come to a boil for a f ew more minutes. Add in more water at this point if you prefer a thinner consistency.
6. Garnish with the lemon juice and chopped cilantro and serve hot with steamed rice or paratha.

You can also add spinach to the channa dal. If so, you would add in at Step 3 since the spinach does not require much cooking time. I will try it with the spinach next time. Maybe I will eventually work my way up to trying with the dudhi ...

We ate the channa dal curry with parathas and a side of chickpea salad.
1/2 cup cooked chickpeas
1 tomato, chopped
1 onion, chopped
Dash of black pepper
Dash of lemon juice
Salt to taste

You would have to soak the chickpeas overnight, of course. Then drain, wash and cook the chickpeas in the pressure cooker until soft. I went ahead and cooked them the morning. Then mix the above ingredients together and serve at room temperature. Simple and delicious!