Cholar dal is one of Bengali’s traditional sweet savoury dishes prepared from lentils, coconut and a combination of spices. It is a dish fit for all occasions and can be present on breakfast, lunch and dinner menus. Cholar dal is a meal perfect for vegetarians.
In this article, we delve into the cholar dal recipe.
Ingredients
½ cup of chana dal (Bengal gram lentils)
¼ teaspoon of turmeric powder
7 raisins
2 tablespoons of sliced fresh coconut
4 cashews
½ teaspoon of cumin seeds
2 green cardamoms
1 small piece of bay leaf
2 inch piece of cinnamon stick
½ teaspoon of grated ginger
1 dry red chilli
1 green chilli (slit vertically)
2 cloves
½ teaspoon of sugar
1 tablespoon of oil
½ teaspoon of ghee
½ teaspoon of salt
1 cup of water
What Cholar Dal Can Be Served With
Cholar dal can be served with luchi or koraishutir kachori.
Special Utensils
Mesh strainer
Pressure cooker
Steps
1.Wash and soak the chana dal in a bowl of water for about 30 minutes.
2.Drain the water using a mesh strainer and cook in a pressure cooker with a cup of water, turmeric powder and ½ teaspoon of salt. This should be done in a three liter capacity steel pressure cooker, four whistles over medium heat.
3.Turn off the heat and let it rest for about 20 minutes to ease some pressure from the cooker. Don’t open the lid immediately for safety.
4.Afetr the 20 minutes, remove the lid and let the cooked dal remain in it.
5.Heat some oil and ghee in a pan on low heat.
- Add your sliced coconut, raisins and cashew nuts. Fry till coconut changes to a light brown colour.
7.Drain any excess oil and transfer onto a plate. Set aside.
8.Add cumin seeds, bay leaf, cinnamon, cloves, cardamoms, grated ginger and dry red chilli in a pan and sauté for about 30 seconds.
9.Add cooked dal, green chilli, fried raisins and fried cashew nuts.
10.Stir well and cook for 3 minutes on medium heat.
11.Add in ½ cup of water and sugar.
12.Stir well and let it cook till it becomes thick. This should be achieved within 6 minutes. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking.
13.Turn off the fire and serve into a bowl.
