Urad Chana Masala

This is a typical spicy Dhaba Dal. Make it for lunch or dinner, goes well with Tandoori Roti.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup dhuli urad dal (split skinned black lentil)
• ½ cup chana dal (split skinned Bengal gram)
• 1 tbsp cooking oil
• Salt to taste
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• ¼ cup fried onion
• 2-3 green chilies slit longitudinally

For Masala:

• 3 tbsp oil
• 1 bay leaf
• 3-4 cloves
• 2 green cardamoms
• 1 ginger garlic paste
• ½ cup tomato crushed
• 1 tsp red chili powder
• A dollop of butter
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• Chopped coriander leaves
• 2 tbsp ghee (clarified butter)
• 1 dry red chili ( broken into small pieces)
• Pinch of asafetida (optional)
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 2 garlic cloves chopped fine
• Salt

Method:

• Soak chana dal and urad dal separately for 2 hours.
• After 2 hours, put chana dal in a pressure cooker. Add 4 cups of water, green chilies, fried onion, turmeric powder, and one tbsp of cooking oil. Stir well.
• Cover the pressure cooker and set on high flame. After the first 'whistle' or ‘pressure release’, reduce the flame to slow and cook for one more ‘whistle’. Turn off the flame and allow the pressure cooker to cool.
• Open the pressure cooker when cooled, and add soaked urad dal and salt. Cover the pressure cooker again and set on the stove. Turn off the flame after two ‘pressure releases’ and allow the pressure cooker to cool.
• In the mean time prepare masala for dal: In a small pan, heat the oil; add bay leaf, cloves, green cardamoms and half tsp cumin seeds. When seeds stop spluttering, add ginger garlic paste; fry till the rawness of ginger garlic paste has gone. Add chopped tomato, red chili powder and little salt and cook till tomato is soft and mushy. Add this spice mixture to the boiled lentils in cooker, stir to blend and simmer for 2-3 minutes.
• Check the consistency of dal. If it is too thick, add some warm water and stir carefully until the consistency is right. Remember Dal always thickens when it gets cooler and cooler.
• Add butter, chopped coriander leaves and lemon juice and continue simmering till both the lentils and spices are well blended with each other.
• Now remove dal mix from fire and spoon out into a serving dish.
• Garnish with ‘tadka’. Heat 2 tbsp ghee in a small pan on medium flame. Add ½ tsp cumin seeds and fry till spluttering stops. Add chopped garlic, and fry till garlic is just pink. Add now whole red chili and a pinch of red chili powder. Remove from fire and immediately pour over dal mix before chili gets burnt.
• Serve hot with Tandoori Roti, Sookhi Sabji,and Salad.

Do you know?

The seasoning is what makes the dal come alive. Dal is fat free and nature has designed it to absorb various combinations of seasonings and spices.

The standard ingredients of seasoning are mustard seeds, cumin seeds, asafetida, red chilies or chili powder, onions, green chilies, ginger, garlic, tomatoes, curry leaves.