Chana Dal With Bell Pepper

eatrealfood's Note:

You can also substitute bottle-gourd (lauki) for the bellpepper in this recipe if you prefer-it goes wonderfully well.

• Total Time: 50 mins
• Prep Time: 20 mins
• Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 6

• 250 g channa dal (gram dal)
• 2 tablespoons cooking oil
• 1 large red bell pepper
• 1 large tomato
• ½ onion
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 1 teaspoon garam masala
• ½ teaspoon chili powder
• ½ teaspoon coriander powder
• ¾ teaspoon mustard seeds
• 2 -3 dried red chilies
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 cloves
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 3 -5 curry leaves
• coriander (optional)
• parsley (optional)
• ¼ teaspoon ginger paste
• ¼ teaspoon garlic paste

Directions:

1. Soak chana dal in water for a few hours prior to use.
2. Heat oil and add mustard seeds, bay leaf, cinammon, ginger and garlic pastes, and cloves.
3. Add onions and let it heat till they turn translucent.
4. Add chopped tomato and curry leaves and then the chana dal, making sure to add enough water to cover the dal as it boils.
5. Cook on medium-high heat with a closed lid for 15-20min until the chana dal softens, while continuing to replenish the water now and again as it evaporates (make sure that you add boiling and not cold water).
6. As soon as chana begins to soften, add the sliced capsicum (or diced bottlegourd, if that is your preference).
7. Stir it in well with the chana and continue to cook until both the chana and capsicum (or bottlegourd), have softened sufficiently.
8. Garnish with cilantro.
9. Serve with rice or paratha.

Reviews

[Doubting Thomas]

Very good flavor! After letting this dal cool I found the flavors to really be rich and complex. I was initially worried, after trying the dish during cooking, that there were too many spices in the recipe. But the end product was very good. However, I don't know how the author could make such a big mistake by omitting one of the steps in the recipe in which the remaining ingredients need to be tempered and added to the dal. A huge mistake. If I didn't have an Indian friend help me when making this I would have had no idea what to do. That's why I only rated 4 stars. Also, I used Lauki gourd instead of bell pepper. I also found that the cooking time required was longer than listed. Of course, Chana Dal is not as soft as most other dals after cooking.

[VictoriaL]

Bought a lauki, couldn't find the recipe that I had wanted to use it in, so I found this one. It was really good. I soaked the dal in water for 2 hours, then just to clarify the directions on "time"-- it took 30 minutes for the dal to soften then another 10 for the cubes of lauki to soften. I added 2 teaspoons sweet curry (and a little hot curry) powder because I didn't have curry leaves. And I added about 50% more of the spices. But it's a great base recipe to build on, adding ingredients according to preference and omitting what isn't on hand.

[Nurturing]

This was very good.I left out the bell pepper,bay leaf,cloves,garlic paste,ginger paste,corriander leaf,parsley and cinnamon stick,The meal still came out delicious and added jaggery.Fantastic