Fried Chana Ki Dal

I  remember when in the beginning of Mr. Riaz’s and my relationship that there was fried chana ki dal on the menu of this one Pakistani restaurant we  went to. It was called Al Hamara. It was on Western Avenue right off Devon.   It hasn’t been there for years but I remember this dish and it was very yummy to me.  Also at this time I was a vegetarian.

There are different degrees of vegetarianism.  One  who doesn’t eat any type of red meat is the first step in to vegetarianism.    There is one that eats fish mostly for protien along with eggs and dairy.  This is  a lacto ovo vegetarian.   Most people from India consume dairy products along with their vegetarian diet so therefore they are lacto vegetarians.  Then they are vegans.   This is the group that does not eat any type of animal products including dairy.  I was a lacto ovo vegetarian that consumed fish  and sometimes chicken for added protein because I used to go to the gym and worked out.  So therefore I needed  the extra protein.

I had slipped and fell one day after I missed my stop on the el I got off at Howard and slipped on the steps. It was raining and I was going home from seeing my chiropractor.  I seen one because I had real bad headaches and the adjustments  has helped a lot.

I slipped on my butt and hurt myself. I think I cracked my tail bone but it was very painful. To make the long story short, I made some goat’s tongue for Mr. Riaz and I ended up going back to being an omnivore from that day.  It is a true story.   I know how it feels about going to restuarnts  and having a hard time looking at something on the menu to eat.  Now  we are going to get down to buisness and and to this recipe I am going to post but first let me tell you It was delicous as usual.

I put 1/2 cup of chana ki dal in a bowl with 2 cups of water and 1 tiny pinch of baking soda. I  let it soak overnight in the fridge.    Wash the chana ki dal first before you soak them and make sure there are no stones in the dal.

I put in a mortar and pestle 1 each of broken piece of amchur and broken piece of cinnamon.  If you are not using cinnamon stick 1 pinch of cinnamon in to the pot will do too.  Add 2 each of kabab chini and green cardamom, 3 cloves, 1 black cardamom, 1 pinch each of cumin seeds, black cumin seeds, caraway seeds. coriander seeds, ajwan, mustard seeds,  I ground these in to a coarse powder and set this aside.

I turned the burner on to high heat and added 1/4 cup of olive oil in to the pot.   I added 1 pinch of hing and 1 drop each  of mustard oil and  kewra essence in to the hot oil.  I cut 1 onion onion or shallot in to half moon slices and and caramelized them.  I added the contents of the mortar and pestle, If you are using a broken piece of cinnamon stick the pinch of cinnamon powder is not necessary and so on.

I stirred and added 4 cloves of garlic, 1 medium piece of ginger washed peeled and chopped in to tiny pieces,  1 green chili washed deseeded and chopped, 2  pinches of cilantro,  add both leaves and stems. the stems too has great flavor so why not use it right?   Add 1 pinch each of tumeric,  turbinado sugar, pink salt. red chili powder, garam masala, Curry Powder, 1 tomato cooked down until the tomato is mushy,  the chana ki dal that has been soaking after you rinse it one final time before adding.

Stir and add 3 cups of water then lower the heat to low, cook for 20  to 30 minutes or until the dal is  nice and soft.    This curry is suposed to be semi dry and eaten with chapati.

For my readers living in Pakistan since you can’t get turbinado sugar, you can substitute  for gur (brown sugar).   Diabetics can also add 1 tsp of agave nectar too.