Urad Chana Dal (Black Gram and split Chickpea)

Extremely nutritious and very easy to prepare, you just need ginger powder which enhances its flavour.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup split skinned black Gram ( dhuli urad dal)
• ¼ cup of split skinned chick pea (chana dal)
• 1 small onion cut into thin slices
• ½ tsp turmeric powder
• ½ tsp red chili powder
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 bunch of coriander leaves finely chopped
• 1 green chili
• ¼ tsp asafetida
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 tsp dry ginger powder
• 1 bay leaves
• 2 tbsp ghee ( Clarified butter)
• 2 dry red chili
• Salt to taste

Method:

• Soak chana dal for 10 minutes. Mix this with washed urad dal in a pressure cooker. Add bay leaf, turmeric powder and garlic cloves to this and cook till one whistle. Switch off flame. Add salt and ginger powder to dal and simmer for 1 minute.
• Take out in a serving dish.
• Tempering: Heat 2 tbsp ghee in a shallow pan. Fry finely cut onions till they are brown. Take them out and use remaining ghee to make ‘tadaka’. For this add cumin seeds, dry red chili, asafetida and chili powder to ghee and pour this ‘tadaka’ immediately over the dal.
  Garnish with crispy onion, coriander and green chili.
• Eat with sabji, Raita and roti.

Note: Seasonings are enhanced in the ghee medium pushing their curative properties higher. Dals are commonly garnished with fresh chopped coriander and served hot.

Do You Know?

Certain seasonings complement urad dal: ginger root, black pepper, asafetida, red chilies and turmeric, along with fresh coriander, curry leaves and fresh mint. It also has an affinity for leafy greens, tomatoes, radishes, eggplant and yogurt.