Punjabi Chana Dal Masala

Chana dal masala is one of the delicious, comforting and easy to prepare dish which pairs perfectly with Roti or Jeera Rice. And no doubt that this curry is a nutritious and healthy dish as it is packed with proteins. The chana dal / Bengal gram is soaked and pressure cooked before adding to the masala. Though soaking of chana dal is not required in this recipe, I have done it to speed up the cooking process. I have included ginger and garlic paste in this recipe which can also be replaced with finely chopped ginger and garlic.

Sending this recipe to a lovely event Shhh Secretly cooking challenge which is happening among a group of food bloggers. For this June month, I was paired with a blogger Archana Gunjikar Potdar who blogs at The Mad Scientist's Kitchen. Her page is filled with loads of yummy recipes and yeah, if you are looking for simple and vegetarian diet then her page is the must visit one. Personally, I loved all the recipes which she has posted on her page. And coming to the challenge, she gave me Tomato and garlic as my secret ingredients for this month challenge and using those, prepared this flavourful punjabi dal masala recipe. Likewise, she prepared a delicious punjabi recipe Lauki ke Kofta using the secret ingredients given by me.

Here comes the detailed recipe for Punjabi Chana dal masala recipe...

Ingredients :

1/2 Cup Chana dal / Bengal Gram 
A pinch of Turmeric 
2 Tbsp Oil for preparing masala 
2 Tsp Oil or ghee for Tadka / Seasoning 
1/2 Tsp Cumin seeds 
2 Dry red chillies 
1 Tsp Ginger garlic paste 
1 Green chilli, sliced 
1 Onion, finely chopped 
2 Medium sized Tomatoes, finely chopped 
1 Tsp Red chilli powder 
1 Tsp Coriander powder 
1/2 Tsp Cumin powder 
1/2 Tsp Garam masala powder 
A pinch of turmeric powder
Finely chopped Coriander leaves
Salt to taste  

Method :

Soak chana dal for 1 hour. Though this process is not necessary, it helps to speed up the cooking process.

Pressure cook the soaked chana dal for 4 - 5 whistles or until soft by addling a pinch of turmeric powder and 1 1/2 cups of water.

Once done, remove from the flame and wait till the pressure gets released. Slightly mash the cooked chana dal and keep aside.

Heat 2 tbsp oil in a pan and add green chillies followed by ginger garlic paste.

Add the finely chopped onion and sauté until it turns translucent.

Now add the chopped tomatoes and cook until it turns soft and mushy.

Add all the masala powders along with the required quantity of salt and saute for a minute.

Add the cooked dal to the masala and mix well.

Let it boil for another 5 minutes and add the finely chopped coriander leaves.

Meanwhile, heat oil in a small pan and add cumin seeds followed by dry red chillies.

Fry and add it to the prepared chana dal masala.

Remove from the flame and serve hot.

Serving Options :

Serve with steamed Rice, Jeera Rice or Roti.

Boondi Tomato Dal

Hope you all had a great Diwali and I am sure that most of the houses will be filled with loads of sweets and savories. Many may like to have it as such, but not at my place. My family expects me to recreate those Diwali snacks into an another dish so that they never get bored. Yes! You guessed it right ;) My next few posts going to be an interesting leftover Diwali snacks and sweets recipes :)

My today's recipe is using Kara Boondi which looks like a tiny crispy balls and prepared using Besan flour. The crunchy fried balls turned into a soft, yummy and juicy boondi by adding it to a Tomato Moong dal. This dish can be served with plain rice, Jeera rice and also along with Roti.

Ingredients :

1/2 Cup Moong dal ( Cooked and mashed ) 
3 - 4 Tomatoes, chopped 
1 - 2 Tbsp Oil / Ghee 
1/2 Tsp Cumin seeds 
1/2 Tsp Mustard seeds
2 Dry red chillies 
A pinch of Hing powder 
1/4 Tsp Turmeric powder 
1/2 Tsp Red chilli powder 
1/4 Tsp Garam masala powder 
1 Cup Boondi ( Savoury / Kara Boondi ) 
Salt to taste 
Coriander leaves for garnishing 

Method :

Grind the chopped tomatoes into a fine paste and keep aside.

Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds.

Once it starts spluttering, add cumin seeds followed by red chilli and hing powder.

Add the tomato paste and mix well.

Now add turmeric powder followed by red chilli powder and garam masala.

Saute and cook until the oil starts floating on top.

Now add the mashed moong dal followed by the required quantity of salt.

Mix well and cook it for 3 - 4 minutes.

Now add boondi and cook it for another minute.

Once done, cover the lid and let it aside for 5 minutes.

Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot.

Serving Options :

Serve with Roti or Rice. 

Spinach Daal Pithi / Palak Dal Pithi / Bihari Cuisine

Dal Pithi is a traditional Bihari cuisine which is prepared using dal and wheat flour dumplings. In this recipe, I have used Toor dal which can be substituted with Moong dal or Masoor dal. The dough is prepared using wheat flour and shaped into flower shape and further cooked in a dal. This is quite easy to prepare, healthy and filling too. The dal is allowed to boil for 5 - 10 minutes along with turmeric powder and chilli powder. Then, the dumplings are added along with chopped spinach leaves and cooked until done. The tadka is prepared using ghee which enhances the taste and also gives a lovely aroma. The same recipe can also be prepared using pressure cooker in order to save time. In that case, pressure cook it for 2 - 3 whistles and switch off the flame. Since, this recipe goes to my favourite event Shhh Secretly Cooking Challenge, I had used Spinach in dal and milk in wheat flour dumplings as it was my secret ingredients. The same recipe can also be prepared without using any greens. This time, I was paired with a lovely blogger Nisa FD who blogs at flavour-diary.blogspot.com.  Check out her page to get indulge in yummy recipes and also to find out the recipe prepared by the secret ingredients given by me.

Ingredients :

1/2 Cup Toor Dal
3 Cups Water
1/4 Tsp Turmeric powder
1/2 Tsp Red chilli powder
Salt to taste
A bunch of Spinach leaves, chopped
2 Tbsp Ghee
1 Tsp Cumin / Jeera seeds
3 Dry red chillies
1/4 Tsp Red chilli powder

For Dumplings :

1/2 Cup Wheat flour
1/4 Cup Milk + extra if needed ( optional ) (Water can also be used instead of Milk)
Salt to taste
1 Tsp Oil

Method :

Wash and soak the toor dal for 30 minutes.

Drain the water and add turmeric powder followed by chilli powder and salt.

Add the measured water and let it boil for 5 - 10 minutes.

In a mean time, add wheat flour in a bowl along with salt, milk and oil.

Knead well to form a dough and rest it for 5 minutes.

Now, make a small equal sized balls out of it.

Take one ball and roll it into a small circle. ( Can also use cookie cutter to shape it).

Combine the corners and seal it in the middle to form a flower shaped dumplings.

Repeat the process for the remaining dough.

Now add the dumplings to the dal along with spinach leaves and let it cook until the dal and dumplings get cooked well.

Heat ghee in a small pan and add cumin seeds followed by dry red chillies and red chilli powder.

Add it to the dal and serve hot.

Serving Options :

Serve it with Chokha or Roti.