12 Uses of Chana Dal
Chana dal is a split lentil, also known as baby chickpeas, which is very popular in Indian Cuisine. It is highly nutritious, delicious and is used in both sweet and savory recipes due to its rich taste and aroma. Moreover it can be used to make chutneys as well as be used as thickener in many recipes, showing how versatile it is.
Basic Chana Dal Recipe
1. Besan, a type of flour, is made by grinding up chana dal. This flour is gluten free and is mainly used to make batters for pakodas like onion pakoda or aloo pakoda, for making pancakes or chillas and to make the famous Besan ladoos.
Besan Laddoo
2. Chana dal is used all over India to make dals, curries and subzis. Maharashtrians eat the simple Palak Chana Dal while Sindhis make the wholesome Sai Bhaji. The Gujaratis eat it with bottle gourd in a Doodhi Chana Dal Subzi while the Assamese make a delicacy called Booter Dal. All of these can be accompanied with roti and rice to make whole meal.
Palak Chana Dal
3. It used to make a very famous Sindhi breakfast dish called Dal Pakwan which is a whole meal in itself.
Dal Pakwan, Sindhi Dal Pakwan Breakfast Recipe
4. Chana Dal is a very famous ingredient in many tikkis and pakodas, the most famous being the south Indian Dal Vada. Dal vada is flavored with onions, ginger and coconut which makes it a crowd pleaser.
Dal Vada
5. Many a times chana dal is added to rice delicacies for the slight crunch like in an Andhra style pulao or all in one meal – Chitranna Rice.
Chitranna Rice ( South Indian Recipes )
6. Chana Dal can also be stuffed into parathas to make something sweet or savory. Puran Poli is a Maharashtrian sweet roti stuffed with coconut, jaggery and chana dal which is had on festive occasions.
Puran Poli, Maharashtrian Puran Poli Recipe
7. South Indian cuisine is big on using chana dal in many of their food items, including chutneys.
Many chutneys from the south like the Mysore chutney and the Coconut thuyaval use chana dal in abundance.
Mysore Chutney
8. Along with other spices, chana dal is used to make curry powder and Rasam powder.
Roasted Chana Dal Chutney
9. Various sweets can also be made with chana dal.
The most famous one is besan ladoo, which is made with besan (Bengal gram flour) but you can use whole chana dal to make a delectable Chana dal halwa.
Chana Dal Halwa ( Indian Cooking)
10. You can make many snacks with chana dal. These snacks can be deep fried like Chana Dal puris or steamed like a Gujarati Mixed Dal Handvo.
Mixed Dal Handvo
11. It is fried or roasted, mixed with masala and served on the streets as Masala Chana Dal.
Fried Chana Dal, Savoury Jar Snack
This masala dal is further added to different street foods like Bhel puri and Sev puri.
12. Chana Dal is used as a tempering to add to Curd rice or some type of curries.
Dudhi and Chana Dal Sabzi
To know about Recipes using Chana Dal, check out our collection.