Chana Dal Recipe (Bengal Gram Dal)

This delicious North Indian Chana dal is a protein-packed dish made with Bengal gram/ split chickpeas, spices and herbs. It’s healthy, hearty, flavor-packed and everything you want for a good & satisfying meal. It goes well with rice, millets, quinoa or whole grain flatbreads. It’s naturally gluten-free and is 100% plant-based if you use oil. In this post I share how to make a super delicious Chana Dal, with and without a pressure cooker (in a sauce pan).

This recipe is divided into 3 sections – cook the lentils, make a spicy & fragrant onion tomato masala, later simmer lentils in the masala. Lastly make a special tadka for a flavor boost.

About Chana Dal

Chana dal is derived from Kala Chana, the desi variety of chickpeas (whole brown chickpeas) and not from white chickpeas (Kabuli Chana). The whole legume is skinned and split to get the chana dal. These are also labelled as split chickpeas, Bengal gram, yellow gram or gram dal in the stores.

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Apart from having a distinct flavor and texture, these take longer to cook when compared to the other lentils. Like any other lentils, fresher stocks cook faster while those that have been sitting in the stores and warehouses for longer, take much longer time to cook. So always buy chana dal from a store where the stocks move out faster.

Soak or no soak?

If you do not have a pressure cooker, soak the lentils overnight or at least for 30 mins in hot boiling water (covered). I never soak mine and it always gets cooked perfectly, with 10 mins pressure cook time in the instant pot and 4 whistles in a 3 lts stovetop steel cooker (medium flame).

But if you have a tough time cooking them faster even in the pressure cooker, soak them in boiling hot water for 30 mins before cooking.

No Pressure Cooker?

You can cook chana dal in a sauce pan. Soak the dal in boiling hot water for 30 mins and cover. Later bring back to a boil and cook uncovered on a medium heat for 5 mins. Discard the scum that arises on top & add turmeric. Cook partially covered, leaving a spoon in the pot, until the lentils are tender & begin to break down slightly (not mushy). Takes around 30 mins, keep adding more hot water as required.

Ingredients & Substitutes

• Whole spices like bay leaf, cumin seeds, black cardamoms, green cardamoms, cinnamon and dried red chilies add a lot of depth and flavor to your chana dal. It makes your dish special. However if you want to make a basic version, you may omit these but just use cumin seeds and more garam masala.
• Ground Spices like Kashmiri red chili powder, turmeric, garam masala, coriander and cumin powder are essential to make this dish.
• Special ingredients like kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves) and amchur (mango powder) add beautiful North Indian flavors to the dish. You may omit kasuri if you don’t have and use chaat masala or lemon juice to substitute amchur.
• Onions, tomatoes, ginger, garlic, green chilies & coriander leaves are the other basic essentials in this recipe. If you don’t eat onions & garlic, you may omit them. Coriander leaves are used to garnish, you may omit them if you don’t have.
• Fats – While oil helps to saute the onions and make the base masala, ghee helps to make a fragrant tadka. If you want to make this a low fat dish, omit the tadka and add the ingredients under tadka while you make the onion tomato base/masala. I have more details in the notes below. To make the dish plant-based, use oil.
• Asafoetida also known as hing is a spice used to flavor lentil dishes. You may omit if you don’t like and it won’t affect the flavor of this dish. It usually has a small amount of gluten, look for a gluten-free version if you follow a GF diet.

3 Expert Tips for a special Chana Dal

• To bring out the unique flavors, chana dal should be cooked long enough until some of them begin to break down in the onion tomato masala. These broken lentils make your dish thicker, without water separation and they get fragrant only at this stage.
• Chana dal has a natural strong flavor that is sweeter than other lentils. Using a good amount of whole and ground spices complements & enhances those flavors. So use a moderate amount of spices.
• For a special outstanding flavor, always make a fresh special tadka just before serving. This takes your dish to the next level. However If you want to omit the special tadka, simply include all the ingredients listed for additional tadka when you make the onion tomato masala. Ex – add cumin seeds when you add the other whole spices. Add more ginger, garlic, red chili, green chilies, red chilies when you make the masala. Add the hing and also the ghee if you want during the same process.

More lentil dishes
Masala Vada
Dal Tadka
Dal Fry
Masoor Dal
Dal Makhani

Photo Guide

How to make Chana Dal (Stepwise Pics)

This recipe serves 3 to 4. If you want you may halve the recipe for fewer servings.

1. Add 1 cup chana dal (205 grams) to a colander or a large bowl. Rinse well thrice under running water while you rub with your fingers. Drain and transfer to a pressure cooker or a large bowl. Pour 3 cups (710 ml) water and add ½ teaspoon turmeric.

2. Pressure cook in the instant pot for 10 mins. If using a stovetop cooker, cook on a medium flame, until you hear 4 to 5 whistles. Let the pressure drop naturally. Your chana dal should ideally get mashed easily when you press down in between your fingers, but still hold shape. It should not be al dente.

3. Meanwhile prep up the following ingredients:

• Fine chop 1 medium onion to make ¾ cup (100 grams)
• Mince or grate ¾ inch ginger to make ½ tablespoon (6 grams)
• Mince or grate 4 to 5 medium garlic cloves to make 1 tablespoon (11 grams)
• Fine chop 2 medium tomatoes to make 1 cup (150 grams)
• ½ teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder (adjust to taste)
• ½ teaspoon garam masala (adjust to taste)
• 1 teaspoon coriander powder
• ½ teaspoon cumin powder
• 1 teaspoon dried fenugreek leaves (kasuri methi)
• ½ teaspoon amchur (dried mango powder or chaat masala or use 2 tablespoons lemon juice while serving)
• 1 Indian bay leaf (optional), 2 inch cinnamon piece (Ceylon/cassia), 1 black cardamom, 3 green cardamoms (or use ¼ tsp ground cardamom, won’t be able to pick from the dal later)

Make the onion tomato masala

4. While the chana dal cooks, heat 2 tablespoons oil in a pan and add the whole spices – bay leaf, cinnamon, black and green cardamoms. When the spices begin to sizzle in the hot oil, add the chopped onions and saute on a medium flame for 6 to 7 mins, until light golden.

5. Stir in the ginger and garlic. Saute until aromatic, for 1 to 2 mins.

6. Add the chopped tomatoes and cook until they break down to a mush, for 4 to 5 mins.

7. Add all the ground spices – red chili powder, garam masala, coriander powder, cumin powder and salt.

8. Saute for 2 mins until aromatic.

9. Mix in the cooked chana dal with the remaining stock/dal cooked water.

10. Some of my chana dal is usually broken down so I don’t need to mash, but if your’s isn’t, mash some of them. This keeps the dal binded and there is no water separation.

11. If you feel your dal is too thick, you may add some hot water. Mix and simmer until thick, for 5 mins. Crush kasuri methi in your hands and sprinkle. Stir in the amchur if using. Taste test and adjust salt to your preference. If using chaat masala sprinkle all over the chana dal.

12. This is the consistency and texture we prefer. It thickens further after cooling down. If you want you may pick and discard the whole spices bay leaf, black cardamom and cinnamon.

Make the tempering or Tadka

13. While the dal is simmering, prep up the ingredients for tadka

• 1½ to 2 tablespoon ghee or oil
• ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
• 2 green chilies deseed & slit or dried red chilies (or both, omit green chilies if making for kids)
• 2 garlic cloves chopped (4 grams)
• ½ inch ginger juliennes (4 grams)
• ¼ teaspoon asafoetida (hing, optional)
• ¼ teaspoon red chili powder (optional, use only if required)

14. Heat a small pan on a medium flame and add ghee. Stir in the ginger, garlic, red and green chilies. Let them fry for 1 to 2 mins, until aromatic. Do not burn. Turn off the flame and add red chili powder (to increase the heat) and hing (optional).

Pour this over the Chana Dal and garnish with coriander leaves. Serve it hot with plain Basmati Rice, Jeera rice, Plain Parathas or roti. On occasions when I want to go with a special rice dish, I make this Saffron Rice.

Variations

• You can add 4 to 5 cups of baby spinach to this dish. Saute in a tablespoon ghee/oil for 4 to 5 mins and add it to the chana dal at the last stage.
• If you are including vegetables (as mentioned below) you omit the whole spices like cardamoms, cinnamon and bay leaf. Use more cumin seeds
• A lot of Telugu speaking people cook veggies like ridge gourd/turai, bottle gourd/ lauki, yellow cucumber and pumpkin with chana dal. Cook them in the onion tomato masala until tender yet firm. Later add the cooked chana dal. Your dish will take on the flavors of the veggies here.
• Alternately I pressure cook the gourd veggies along with the chana dal and just add to the masala. You can also make a one pot dish in pressure cooker with chana dal and gourd veggies. The veggies get mushy but we are okay with that.
• You can also add curry leaves and mustard seeds to your tadka, for a North-South Indian mixed flavors.

Related posts

Recipe Card

Originally published in May 2017, Republished in July 2025.

Previous version of the recipe

½ cup chana dal (bengal gram)
1¼ cup water (1½ cups for pot & instant pot)
To Temper
2 tablespoon ghee or oil or butter
½ to ¾ teaspoon cumin (jeera)
⅛ teaspoon asafoetida (hing) (optional)
1 small onion (¼ cup chopped)
1 green chili chopped (skip if making for kids)
1 teaspoon ginger or garlic (chopped or paste, ¾ inch ginger or 2 garlic cloves)
1 medium tomato (½ cup chopped finely or ¼ cup tomato puree)
1 dried red chili broken (less spicy variety, optional)
½ teaspoon salt (adjust to taste)
¼ teaspoon ground turmeric
¼ to ¾ teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder (adjust to taste)
¼ to ½ teaspoon garam masala (adjust to taste)
¼ to ½ cup water (use as needed to bring to consistency)
½ teaspoon dried fenugreek leaves (kasuri methi) (optional)
To Garnish & Serve
2 tablespoons coriander leaves (cilantro chopped finely)
1 tablespoon lemon juice or ¼ to ½ tsp dried mango powder (amchur powder)

Instructions

• Preparation – Add chana dal to a pot or cooker. Rinse a few times until water runs clear. Soak it in regular water for 1 to 4 hours as per your convenience.
• Later drain the water and pour 1¼ cups fresh water. If cooking in a pot pour 1½ cups water.
• Cook chana dal on a medium heat until soft and completely done. Dal must hold shape, yet get mashed well if you mash it .
• If using pressure cooker you may need to cook it any where for 3 to 5 whistles depending on the brand of cooker. When the pressure releases, open the lid.
• Temper Chana Dal – Heat ghee or oil in a pan. Add cumin and red chili. Saute until cumin begins to splutter.
• Add hing, green chilies and onions. Saute very well until the onions turn lightly golden.
• Next ginger or ginger garlic paste. Saute for 30 to 60 seconds until it turns aromatic.
• Add tomatoes, salt and turmeric. Saute and cook until the tomatoes turn soft.
• Next add chili powder and garam masala.
• Saute for 1 to 2 mins. Make sure raw smell of all the ingredients has gone completely & the masala smells good.
• Add chana dal along with the left over stock or water in the pot/ cooker.
• Mix everything well and if needed add little water to bring it to a consistency you like.
• Lightly mash the dal with the spatula to get a thick consistency. Cook until the chana dal begins to bubble well. Do not overcook.
• Add crushed kasuri methi and amchur powder (optional).
• Stir and turn off the stove. Add some coriander leaves & squeeze in some lemon juice.
• Transfer chana dal to a serving bowl. Serve with rice, ghee, papad or a veg salad.

Instant Pot Chana Dal

• Pour oil to the steel insert and press saute button. Once the oil is slightly hot, add cumin seeds. As soon as they splutter, add hing, green chilli and onions.
• Stir fry until transparent for 2 mins. Add ginger garlic and saute for 30 seconds. Stir in the tomatoes, salt, turmeric, red chilli powder and garam masala.
• Saute for 2 to 3 mins and add the chana dal. Pour water and deglaze the pot by scrubbing the bottom of the steel pot with a spatula.
• Secure the instant pot with the lid and position the steel release handle to sealing. Press pressure cook button and set the timer to 13 minutes.
• When the pressure drops open the lid and check. Chana dal should be soft cooked yet holding its shape. If you want a slightly consistency, you may mash some of the lentils with the back of the spoon.
• Stir in crushed kasuri methi. If you want you can also add half teaspoon amchur, more salt and garam masala at this stage. If the lentils are runny, simmer for a few more minutes. If you like it runny, add some boiling hot water and cook on a saute mode for 1 to 2 minutes.
• Turn off when the chana dal is still runny as it thickens upon cooling. Squeeze some lemon juice and garnish with coriander leaves.

Notes

• You may soak the chana dal for 1 hour in hot water so they cook faster.
• Avoid using older stock of lentils as they take forever to cook.
• Add 1 cup of chopped spinach to the onion tomato masala and saute until the leaves wilt. Then pour the cooked chana dal. If cooking in instant pot, add the spinach after the lentils are cooked. Simmer for 1 to 2 mins until the spinach wilts.
• You can skip the onions completely and add a small carrot.
• Reduce the amount of chili powder, garam masala & skip green chilies if making for toddlers & kids.