Cholar Dal

(Chana Dal)

Serving Size: 6-8 persons

Ingredients:

Cholar/Chana Dal - 1 cup

Turmeric/Haldi - 1/4 tsp

Jeera/Cumin Powder - 1/2 tsp

Dhaniya/Coriander Powder - 1/2 tsp

Red Chilly Powder - 1/4 tsp

Jaggery - 1 inch piece; may be substituted with 2 tsp sugar

Salt - To taste

Dry Red Chillies - 2, whole

Bay Leaves - 2 small

Ginger - 1 tsp, cut into fine juliennes

Lobongo/Cloves - 3-4

Elaichi/Green Cardamom - 2

Cinnamon - 1 inch stick, roughly broken

Jeera/Cumin Seeds - 1/2 tsp

Kismis/Raisin - 1 tbsp

Coconut - 2 tbsp, grated coconut; coconut slices may be used - see Note on the right panel

Ghee - 2 tbsp

White Oil - 1 tbsp

Cooking procedure:

1. Soak dal in water for at least 1hour.

2. Pressure cook dal on medium-high heat (4-6 whistles) with ingredients listed from turmeric to salt. Use 2 and 1/2 cups of water. The dal grains should be split but not completely mashed.

Spice the Dal

1. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a kadhai. Add ingredients listed from dry red chillies to jeera seeds.

2. Fry the spices for about 30-60 sec until the the seeds start spluttering. Add raisins and fry till the raisins begin to swell. Immediately add cooked dal to the spices.

3. Bring the mix to boil and continue to cook on low-medium heat for 5 minutes. Check desired sweetness and salt. You may substitute jaggery with sugar.

4. Just before removing the dal from heat, add 2 tbsp ghee (quantity is optional and may be varied as per individual choice) and grated coconut.

Note: Grated coconut may be replaced with finely sliced coconut pieces about 1/2 to 1 inch long. If using coconut slices, then fry the coconut along with the spices till they just begin to turn brown and lets out a nice aroma. More specifically, add the coconut slices along with the raisins and keep stirring to prevent them from getting burnt. Keep heat settings to medium.

Serving Suggestions: