What is chana dal?

Jump to:

• What is it?
• Chana dal vs. roasted chana dal
• How chana dal is used in Indian cooking
• Chana dal compared to other dals
• How long to cook chana dal
• Where to buy it?
• Substitutes for chana dal
• Recipes that use chana dal

What is it?

Chana dal is a type of dal or lentil that is used in Indian cooking. Chana dal is also known as kadala paruppu in Tamil. The word "chana" when translated to English is chickpea, so many are surprised to learn that chana dal is actually whole chickpeas that are processed to remove their skin and then cut into smaller discs. This blog post goes in-depth about chana dal, the lentil. However, if you want a how-to on making dal, the dish, check out this blog post which covers various ways of cooking dal (pressure cooker vs. stovetop) and common mistakes and solutions so that you can make your perfect dal.

Chana dal vs. roasted chana dal

At the Indian grocery store you may encounter chana dal and something that looks similar which often goes by the names roasted chana dal, roasted dalia split, or roasted bengal gram.

Chana dal and roasted chana dal are both made from split and hulled chickpeas, but as the name suggests the roasted chana dal has been roasted and cooked whereas the chana dal is raw.

• Roasted chana dal can be eaten on its own as a snack! It is like eating a peanut-like nut but with its own subtle flavor profile.
• Roasted chana dal is used in thicker chutneys. This ingredient is especially used in coconut chutney to thicken it but also to emulsify or become creamy and homogenous.
• Chana dal is used in dals and other curries and thought of as a "faster cooking chickpea" compared to the whole chickpea.

Roasted Dalia Split Chickpeas

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How chana dal is used in Indian cooking

• Chana dal can be used in any recipe that calls for whole chickpeas. The way chana dal is split makes it faster to cook than regular chickpeas. This is often the biggest attraction to using chana dal over whole chickpeas.
• Chana dal is often used in dal recipes where this dal provides texture and heft!
• Chana dal is also often dry roasted and added to different podis (spice blends). One example is milagai podi where the chana dal adds a nutty flavor to the podi. Another use case is in sambar podi where the dal gives a silky/thick texture to the resulting sambar that is made from the sambar podi.
• Chana dal is also used to make a South Indian fritter called masala vada.
• Does it need to be soaked? Yes - just like chickpeas, chana dal cooks more evenly when it is soaked before cooked.

Chana dal compared to other dals

Chana dal, compared to split moong dal or split masoor dal, is much thicker. It takes much longer to cook compared to its counterparts but also results in a dal with more texture than other split dals. You can learn more about other common varieties of Indian dals in this blog post.

How long to cook chana dal

If using chana dal to make a dal or curry dish, the timing of cooking chana dal varies based on:

1. If you soaked the dal
2. The method of cooking (pressure cooker vs. stovetop)

Rule 1 is that soaked dal cooks faster than un soaked dal. Rule 2 is that cooking dal in a pressure cooker is faster than stovetop. Chana dal is a thicker variety of dal so it is *highly* recommended to soak the dal at least 4 hours and up to overnight before cooking. If you are in a rush you can also soak the dal in hot water for ~1 hour.

Once soaked, chana dal can cook in an electric pressure cooker (aka Instant Pot) on high pressure for ~15 minutes; or you can add water to a pot and bring it to a rolling boil and cook on the stovetop for ~25-30 minutes. These times will increase substantially if you do not give the chana dal a soak. If you are looking for a more detailed blog post on cooking dal, check this blog post out which is the ultimate guide to cooking dal.

Where to buy it?

Chana dal is typically sold in Indian supermarkets and Asian supermarkets. It is more rare to find chana dal at an American grocery store. In addition, it is pretty easy to find chana dal online on Amazon.

Chana Dal

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Substitutes for chana dal

Here are some of the best substitutes for chana dal....

• Whole Chickpeas. This is almost a 1:1 swap with the only difference being an increased cook time. This is a great substitute for dals as well as for masala vada (crunchy South Indian fritter).
• Split Toor dal (hulled) - Toor dal is dal that is also thick and requires roughly the same soaking and cook time. It is slightly thinner than chana dal so the times may be faster.

Recipes that use chana dal

This is a high level overview on chana dal! Please leave a comment below letting me know what you thought of this article and if it was helpful to you! I always love hearing your questions and your comments 🙂