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Easy to make and packed with flavor, this chana dal (split chickpea curry) is a pared-down version of a classic Indian/Pakistani recipe. It’s been adapted so you can make it with common spices in a standard Western kitchen, yet it maintains all the bold flavor.
save this recipe!For this curry, chickpeas are split and polished, resulting in a different texture than whole chickpeas (while maintaining the same health benefits). It makes for the perfect hearty and cozy dish that’s good all week long.
Chana dal typically uses a long list of flavorful and authentic spices that can be hard to get in the States. So, I’ve taken that list and simplified it so you don’t need to go to a specialty food store to get the ingredients.
Reader rating
“Just made this with red lentils, absolutely delicious 😋. Thank you so much!” —Christine
a little history
Chana dal is a delicious, comforting, simple curry dish inspired by the traditional dal found in Pakistani or Indian recipes. The taste of dal differs by region, but the inspiration for this particular dish hails from the Indian subcontinent.
“Chana” is chickpeas, and “dal” is split peas, lentils, or chickpeas. Therefore, chana dal is split chickpeas in soup or curry form!
here’s what you’ll need
This chana dal recipe consists of just 9 ingredients, and that includes water, salt, and spices!
- Dried Chana Dal: For this recipe, we’ll be using dried chana dal, which are split chickpeas you can buy in the store near the dried beans.
- Onion and Tomatoes: You can use either white or yellow onion for this recipe. Choose your favorite! Diced tomatoes are used to add some hearty umami to this recipe.
- Spices: Ginger and garlic will help to season this dish. To give this meal its Indian-inspired flavor, we’ll be using garam masala.
- The Basics: I like to use ¼ tsp of salt and a splash of olive oil for this recipe, but you can use as much or as little as you’d like.
- For Serving: I love to serve it with rice and a squeeze of lemon. It’s also delicious with a bit of yogurt on top!
let’s make it
This is one of the easiest chana dal recipes ever. Though you’ll need almost 2 hours, most of that is spent letting the chana dal soak!
- Soak the split chickpeas: Add chana dal to a pot and cover with water. Let soak for 1 to 2 hours and strain before using.
- Make your base: Heat oil over medium heat in a large skillet, pan, or pot, then add onion, ginger, garlic, and garam masala. Cook until onion is softened and fragrant (about 3 minutes), then add the whole can of diced tomatoes, strained chana dal, and water.
- Cook it all: Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, until chana dal is soft enough to be pinched between two fingers (about 25 to 40 minutes). Add more water, as needed, until chana dal has cooked through. Season with salt, taste, and add more salt/garam masala as needed.
- Serve it up: Serve warm with rice and garnish with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice and fresh cilantro.
what to serve it with
And if you’d like a fresh vegetable side dish to pair with your chana dal, choose from these spring roll options:
- Vegan Rainbow Spring Rolls are not only gorgeous but delicious and quick to put together.
- Thai Green Curry Spring Rolls take the flavor of curry and package it up into a handheld roll.
Cheater’s Chana Dal
Ingredients
- 1 cup dried chana dal (split chickpeas), can sub whole chickpeas*, 200 g
- 2 Tbsp olive oil, 30 mL
- 1 white or yellow onion, finely diced
- 2 Tbsp fresh grated ginger
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tsp garam masala
- 1 14.5-oz can diced tomatoes, 400 g
- 1 ½ cups water, 355 mL
- ¼ tsp salt
- To serve: rice, lemon, cilantro, yogurt
Instructions
- Soak: Add chana dal to a pot and cover with water. Let soak for 1 to 2 hours (or 8 hours, if starting in the morning before work). Strain before using.
- Base: Heat oil over medium heat in a large skillet or pot, then add onion, ginger, garlic, and garam masala. Cook until onion is softened and fragrant (about 3 minutes), then add the whole can of diced tomatoes, strained chana dal, and water.
- Cook: Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until chana dal is soft enough to be pinched between two fingers (about 25 to 40 minutes). Add more water, as needed, until chana dal has cooked through. Season with salt, taste, and add more salt/garam masala as needed.
- Serve: Serve warm with rice, a squeeze of fresh lemon juice, and fresh cilantro. I also love it with a dollop of plain yogurt and some homemade naan!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information calculated by Sarah Bond, degreed nutritionist.
did you make this?Leave a comment below and tag @liveeatlearn on social media! I love seeing what you’ve made!
Loved this! Ace!!!
So happy to hear it, Anthony! 😀
Made this for dinner and it turned out great. Added in 1tps cumin, 1/2tsp curry powder, 1/2tsp turmeric, 1tsp coriander and instead of water added chicken stock. Awesome for a white girl ‘indian’ dinner. Served with rice, steamed broccoli and cauliflower. All my kids loved it too and they’re 3 and 1 year olds.
So happy to hear it, Tash! Sounds delish with those additions! 😀
I really loved this. I did add a few boneless chicken thighs for my partner, but otherwise I followed the instructions. Very flavorful. I made 1.5x the recipe so I could be sure to have extra leftovers.
This will definitely be in the regular rotation.
So happy to hear it, Sarah! 😀
Love this! Easy to make, delicious and healthy-ish. I added the spices Tash suggested and am so glad I did. Greek yogurt on top, rice and I’m full for hours.
I was so disappointed in this recipe–I soaked my split chick peas for 8 hours, and cooked them for 2 hours but still not done so into the instapot for 30 minutes…still not done and very little flavor. Ruined my dinner and my mood.
Sounds like you used dried Chana Dal and/or they were past the use by date/stored in a non-air-tight way. The flavor comes from the spices, so you didn’t use enough. “Real” Chana Dal uses Cumin, Black Pepper, Cinnamon, Red Chili, Garlic and Ginger. I only see garlic and ginger mentioned in this recipe, and they are the least used in Pakistani Chana Dal – I use powdered spices, so if you put in 1TBS of garlic and ginger, you should use 1.5TBS Red Chili, 1.75TBS Cinnamon, 2TBS Black Pepper and 1-2TBS Cumin – Don’t be put off this great meal by a “white-washed” version of the recipe
I forgot to mention “Garam Masala” – Garam means Hot and Masala means Spices – There is no universally agreed product that is “Garam Masala” its just a mix of Some/All of these spices in varying quantities · Cumin · Coriander · Cardamom · Black pepper · Cinnamon · Cloves · Nutmeg – i personally NEVER use garam masala as i cant stand cloves.
Products labelled Garam Masala can vary from brand to brand/country to country – Its kind of like saying Gravy is an ingredient!!
Just made this with red lentils, absolutely delicious 😋. Thank you so much x
Don’t put any salt in until the chickpeas are cooked as it will slow and even stop them from absorbing the water. This applies to all pulses.