Spicy Chana Dal for dinner
This easy to make Spicy Chana dal is a very tasty little recipe to add to your repertoire. If you are looking for an economical, healthy, fibre and protein filled meal with Indian flavours youʼre in the right spot.
Dal, daal, dhal, dhall or however you want to spell it is eaten throughout India. Dal simply means dried legumes…..think peas and lentils. Recipes for Dal are found in every Indian household on a daily basis in millions of flavour combinations.

Itʼs the spices and vegetable additions that turn these nutritious legumes into healthy home comfort meals. On their own, they are often just plain bland and boring.
Frying off spices in ghee, adding onions, tomatoes, ginger, garlic, chilli and curry leaves is just so super easy to form the basis for this Spicy chana dal meal.

You need to cook your dal until it is soft and almost a rough purée, a little like the consistency of cooked porridge.
Serve with steamed basmati rice, a quick little salad combo of tomatoes, cucumbers and red onion along with some chopped fresh coriander. Add some yoghurt and fried flatbread or cumin spiced pappadums and you are on a complete Indian roll…YUM!




Indian pantry
You will probably be surprised that you already have a lot of widely used Indian spices in your pantry. Cumin, coriander seeds, turmeric, mustard seeds, Garam masala, fresh ginger, garlic, cinnamon, chilli powder, cloves, fennel seeds all add to the diverse flavourings of Indian cuisine.
Youʼve got to love an emporium that at every turn or new shelf youʼre picking up products and excitedly ‘googlingʼ their uses. We would much rather go on the shopping hunt for new ingredients than any other form of retail therapy.
Indian cuisine has got to be one of the worlds most diverse and flavoursome cuisines. So, so, many flavour combinations with earthy spices to searing hot chilli flavours. Whatʼs not to love?
scroll down below for the spicy chana dal recipe
check out some more winning Indian recipes
click on the link for the recipe…..Indian Madras Beef Curry

click on the link for the recipe…..Roti Jala – Malaysian net pancakes
click on the link for the recipe…..indian vegetable curry
click on the link for the recipe…..cauliflower lentil and tomato curry
Whatʼs your favourite Indian meal?
We would love to hear from you in the comments below when you make this delicious spicy chana dal.

Spicy chana dal
Dal is a simple delicious, cheap and healthy comfort food high in fibre and protein that is made in 40 minutes. Serve with steamed basmati rice, a quick salad of cucumber, tomato red, onion and served with flat breads. What's not to like?
Ingredients
- 1 cup (200g) dried chana dal- soaked in water for an hour or more
- 4 cups cold water
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
- 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
- 2 tablespoon ghee or oil
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 3 medium tomatoes chopped
- 1 medium yellow (brown) onion chopped
- 2 tablespoons ginger peeled and finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon garlic finely chopped
- 2 green chili - seeds optional
- 1 teaspoon red chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1 teaspoon coriander powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garam masala
- 1 teaspoon fenugreek leaves
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup fresh coriander chopped
Instructions
Prep dal:
- drain soaked dal and place in pot adding 4-5 cups cold water, turmeric and oil
bring to a boil and then simmer on low-med heat for 45-60 minutes till chana dal is softened - skim scum on surface occasionally
Tempering ingredients:
- heat ghee or oil and add cumin seeds stirring for 1 minutes whilst they spit and splatter
- add onion and fry till golden (10 minutes), then add garlic and chili and fry for another minute
- add tomatoes and ginger - stir 1 minute
- add turmeric, chill powder, garam masala and coriander powder - stir
- cook tomato mixture stirring for 8-10 minutes till tomatoes have broken down
- add fenugreek leaves if using and salt
- add chana dal and any liquid from cooking - add a little more water if dal is too thick
- stir and simmer for a further 10 minutes
- stir through coriander leaves and serve
Notes
- Fenugreek leaves are optional
Nutrition Information
Yield
6 servesServing Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 135Total Fat 9gSaturated Fat 3gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 5gCholesterol 11mgSodium 445mgCarbohydrates 13gFiber 4gSugar 4gProtein 3g
Nutritional information provided here is only intended as a guide.