How to make Cholar Dal -

Another Bengali speciality - fresh coconut slices and raisins make this chana dal extra tasty.

Sanjeev Kapoor

This recipe is from FoodFood TV channel & has featured on Turban Tadka.

Main Ingredients : Split Bengal gram (chana dal) (चने की दाल), Turmeric powder (हल्दी का पावडर)

Cuisine : Bengali

Course : Dals and Kadhis


Cholar Dal

Cholar Dal Recipe Card

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The Bengalis are great food lovers and take pride in their cuisine.  In fact so obsessed are they about food, that the man of the house goes to the market daily to buy a fresh supply vegetables and fish which is a must in their daily menu.  The medium of cooking is mustard oil which adds its own pungency.  Another very important item of Bengali cuisine is the variety of sweets or mishti as they call them.  Most of them are milk based and are prepared from chhena.
A meal, for the Bengali, is a ritual in itself.  Bengalis spend not only the great deal of time thinking about the food but also on its preparation and eating. 

Prep Time : 11-15 minutes

Cook time : 11-15 minutes

Serve : 4

Level Of Cooking : Moderate

Taste : Mild

Ingredients for Cholar Dal Recipe

  • Split Bengal gram (chana dal) soaked 1 1/4 cups

  • Turmeric powder 1/2 teaspoon

  • Sugar 1 tablespoon

  • Salt to taste

  • Ghee 1 tablespoon

  • Fresh coconut cut into 1/2 inch thick slices 1/4

  • Cloves 6-8

  • Cinnamon 1 inch stick

  • Black cardamoms 4

  • Cumin seeds 1 teaspoon

  • Dried red chillies broken 3

  • Green chillies roughly chopped 2-3

  • Raisins 2 tablespoons

  • Ginger paste 1 teaspoon

Method

Step 1

Heat 4 cups water in a deep non stick pan. Add chana dal, ½ tsp turmeric powder, 1 tbsp sugar and salt, cover and cook till the dal is cooked.

Step 2

Heat ghee in another non stick pan, add coconut slices and fry till golden. Drain on absorbent paper.

Step 3

Add cloves, cinnamon, black cardamoms, cumin seeds, dried red chillies, green chillies and raisins to the ghee remaining in the pan and sauté.

Step 4

Add chana dal and ginger paste and mix well. Cover and cook for 10-12 minutes or till the dal thickens. Add half the fried coconut slices and mix well.

Step 5

Transfer into a serving bowl, garnish with remaining coconut slices and serve hot.

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MasterChef Sanjeev Kapoor

Chef Sanjeev Kapoor is the most celebrated face of Indian cuisine. He is Chef extraordinaire, runs a successful TV Channel FoodFood, hosted Khana Khazana cookery show on television for more than 17 years, author of 150+ best selling cookbooks, restaurateur and winner of several culinary awards. He is living his dream of making Indian cuisine the number one in the world and empowering women through power of cooking to become self sufficient. His recipe portal www.sanjeevkapoor.com is a complete cookery manual with a compendium of more than 10,000 tried & tested recipes, videos, articles, tips & trivia and a wealth of information on the art and craft of cooking in both English and Hindi.