Pakistani Chana Daal Split Chickpea Recipe
I’m surprised this is the first Pakistani recipe that I’m posting on my blog! To be fair, I don’t cook Pakistani food too often, but it’s what I grew up eating daily and still eat quite regularly.
If you’re new to Pakistani or Indian food/cooking, refer to my previous post to quickly learn about the spices you’ll need before you get started.
Ingredients
1 cup (200g) chana daal/yellow split chickpea—soaked for 5 hours up to overnight
½ tsp cayenne (red chili) powder
½ tsp coriander powder
½ tsp cumin powder
½ tsp salt (or to taste)
¼ tsp turmeric powder
1 clove of garlic, minced OR ½ tsp garlic paste
~7-10g of ginger, minced OR ½ tsp ginger paste
FOR TARKA (fried garnish)—½ tsp whole cumin seeds and some thinly sliced onion
Recipe (Serves ~4)
Add the PRE-SOAKED daal to a 3qt. saucepan or pot and cover with water. 3 cups (750mL) should suffice. Turn the stove on to high heat.
As it begins to simmer, foam will appear at the top of the liquid. I have heard and read that this foam contains some of the stuff that makes you gassy when you eat chickpeas, so I like to remove as much of it as I can at this stage. I’ve also read that even if it doesn’t prevent gross flatulent incidents, it could at the least contain some ‘dirt’.
Now stir in all the spices (not the tarka), cover the pot, and let simmer on low heat for 15 minutes.
Starting at the 15 minute mark, check for doneness every 5 minutes. We want the daal to be smush-able. HOW smushable you want it is up to you. I prefer chana daal with a little bit of bite to it but not as ‘hard’ as al dente pasta.
If the water level seems to have gone down too much before the daal has reached prime doneness, add ½ cup of water to the pot and let it continue cooking.
If excess water remains once the desired level of doneness is achieved, bring the daal to a boil to evaporate most of the water.
Turn off the heat when the daal is done, and cover the pot while you prepare the tarka.
Heat 2 tbsp of oil or ghee in a very small skillet. When the oil is hot, add ½ tsp whole cumin seeds and the thinly sliced onion. Fry, stirring occasionally, until golden brown. As soon as it’s about to reach the perfect color, remove from heat and plate the daal in your serving dish. Then swirl and pour the still-crackling tarka over top of the daal. Sizzleeeee.