Maa Chole Ki Dal (No Onion No Garlic)
This Punjabi style Maa Chole Ki Dal is satisfying, comforting, wholesome, and delicious with a creamy texture! It consists of whole black lentils, split chickpeas, spices, and herbs.
Video
Ingredients
For Cooking The Dal
- ¾ cup whole black urad dal (whole black gram lentils)
- ¼ cup Chana dal (split chickpeas)
- Salt to taste
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1- inch ginger peeled
- 1-2 green chilis
- 1 bay leaf
- 2½ cups water
For Maa Chole Ki Dal
- 2 tablespoon ghee (or oil for a vegan diet)
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- ¼ teaspoon asafoetida/Hing
- ½- inch ginger peeled and finely chopped
- 1 large tomato finely chopped
- ¼ teaspoon garam masala or to taste
- 2 teaspoon coriander powder
- ½ teaspoon red chili powder or to taste
- Salt to taste
- ½ teaspoon Kasoori Methi/dried fenugreek leaves
- 2 tablespoon finely chopped coriander leaves
Instructions
Preparations
- Wash urad dal and chana dal thoroughly until water runs clear. Then, soak them together in water for at least 8 hours or overnight.
Cooking Dal
- Drain the water from the soaked lentils and transfer them into a pressure cooker.
- Using a mortar and pastel, crush the ginger and green chili coarsely.
- Add crushed ginger and chili, turmeric powder, salt, bay leaf, and water to the pressure cooker. Stir well and cover the lid. Cook the dal for 5-7 whistles or until thoroughly cooked.
- Let the pressure release naturally, and then open the lid. Remove the bay leaf from the dal, and using a potato masher, mash the dal for few times. The chana dal should be mashed completely, and the urad dal will still be chunky.
Making Maa Chole Ki Dal
- Heat ghee in a pan and add cumin seeds. Once they start to sizzle, add asafoetida and chopped ginger. Mix well and saute for a few seconds.
- Then add chopped tomatoes, mix well and cook for a minute.
- Add garam masala, coriander powder, and red chili powder. Mix well and continue cooking until tomatoes are soft and mushy.
- Now, add cooked and mashed dal and stir well. Cook the dal on low-medium heat, stirring often.
- You can keep the dal a little thicker or thinner as your preference. So add water as required to adjust the consistency.
- Continue cooking dal on low-medium heat for at least 20-25 minutes for a rich and creamy texture. Make sure to stir the dal at regular intervals. The more you cook the dal on low heat, the creamier it will be.
- Finally, taste the dal and add salt as required. Then add Kasoori Methi and chopped coriander leaves. Mix well.
- Turn off the heat and transfer the dal into a serving bowl.
Serving Suggestions
- Serve Maa Chole Ki Dal with your choice of Indian flatbread. We like to have this dal with Roti. It tastes fantastic with Naan too.
- Serve the dal with plain rice or Jeera Rice for a comforting and light meal.
- If you want to have this lentil preparation as a soup, add more water to thin out the consistency. And adjust the seasonings accordingly.
- Also, you can have this Dal as a side dish with vegetable curry or Paneer Curry of your choice for a larger meal.
Notes
- Black Urad Dal: Instead of whole black urad dal, you can use split black urad dal. And then, you will need to soak both the lentils for only an hour. So if you forget to soak the dal in advance, you can still make this delicious dal with split lentils.
- Spices: Adjust the spice level of dal by adding less or more green chili and red chili powder.
- Consistency: The dal should not be too runny or too thick. So, add water accordingly while cooking.
Nutrition (Approximate Values)
Calories : 229kcalCarbohydrates : 28gProtein : 11gFat : 8gSaturated Fat : 5gPolyunsaturated Fat : 1gMonounsaturated Fat : 2gCholesterol : 19mgSodium : 49mgPotassium : 62mgFiber : 11gSugar : 1gVitamin A : 139IUVitamin C : 5mgCalcium : 62mgIron : 4mg
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