Restaurant Style Chana Dal

Ingredients

• For the Pressure Cooker (Instant Pot)
• 1 1/2 cups chana dal
• 4 cups water
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 1 black cardamom
• 3 cloves
• 1 piece of cinnamon
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tsp oil or ghee
• Small handful of Cilantro (chopped)
• 1 Tbsp Lemon juice
• Tadka #1
• 3 Tbsp oil or ghee
• 1 medium onion (finely chopped)
• 6 cloves garlic (finely chopped)
• 1 tsp ginger (finely chopped)
• 1 tsp red chili powder
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 2 medium tomatoes (chopped (about 1 cup))
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 2 green chilies (cut into half lengthwise)
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• Salt
• Tadka #2
• 2 tsp ghee or oil
• 1/2 tsp Kashmiri chili powder
• 1/8 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp kasoori methi
• Dhungar
• 1 charcoal
• 1/2 tsp ghee

Instructions

1. Rinse and soak the dal for 30 minutes (soaking the dal is optional and can be skipped)

2. Combine the dal, 4 cups water, turmeric, salt, black cardamom pod, cloves, cinnamon, bay leaves, and ghee in the pressure cooker (Instant Pot). Cook under high pressure for 12 minutes. (If the dal is unsoaked, cook for 15 minutes under high pressure).

4. While the dal is cooking, heat a large pan with ghee or oil. Add cumin seeds and let sizzle for a few seconds. Add onions and cook until golden, about 5-8 minutes. Add ginger and garlic. Let cook until the onions have turned a medium brown and the garlic is golden about 2-3 more minutes.
5. Add turmeric and red chili powder. Stir and let bloom for 20 seconds. Add tomatoes. Cook until jammy, about 5-6 minutes. Add garam masala, salt, and chilies. Stir.
6. Pour in the cooked dal along with all the cooking liquid. Simmer for 15 minutes over medium heat. Stir in cilantro and lemon juice, and turn off the heat.
8. In a well-ventilated place, heat one piece of charcoal over a flame (such as your stove – do not use lighter fluid or charcoal that includes lighter fluid) for 10 minutes, rotating every 2 minutes to evenly heat the whole charcoal. When the coal is hot, use tongs to transfer it to a small metal bowl.
9. Place the bowl in the dal and cover it with a lid. Be sure that the charcoal bowl is set high enough that the dal will not directly make contact with the charcoal. Use a trivet if necessary. Allow it to sit, covered, for 10 minutes so that the smoke from the charcoal flavors the dal. After 10 minutes, remove the charcoal bowl from the dal.
11. Heat ghee or oil in a small pan. Add kasoori methi, nutmeg, and chili. Remove from heat immediately. Pour over the dal and serve.

Nutrition

• Calories: 200
• Carbohydrates: 25
• Protein: 6
• Fat: 9
• Saturated Fat: 5
• Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.3
• Monounsaturated Fat: 2
• Cholesterol: 20
• Sodium: 342
• Potassium: 56
• Fiber: 10
• Sugar: 2
• Vitamin A: 118
• Vitamin C: 4
• Calcium: 82
• Iron: 2