This is Bengali Cholar Dal Nutty with chickpeas or chickpeas, and has a firm but wonderful sweetness from the coconut and raisins. This is a delicious, unique and comforting dal that is usually served at celebratory meals, but its simplicity makes it a great weeknight recipe.
What are chickpeas?
Chhola dal (chickpea dal) is a Bengali-style lentil recipe made with chickpeas or chhola (“Cholla” in Bengali), coconut, jaggery and raisins. Bengalis also refer to it as nakal ki chola dal, which means chickpeas with coconut, or Niramish chola dal, which means vegetarian chickpeas.
Dal has a robust sweetness from toasted coconut, raisins and jaggery with a spicy kick to it, making it unique among the plethora of Indian dal recipes.
Recipes for cholla dal almost always begin by warning you that it is a special occasion dish served at Bengali weddings or other celebrations. Although its simplicity tempts one to break that hallowed tradition and marks it as the perfect dal for a weeknight meal. This is one of my favorite Bengali recipes and I am so excited to share it with you.
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Why you’ll love this recipe
- Easy recipe. The chickpea dal recipe has a slightly longer ingredient list than this Bengali dal with panchphodan. But once you cook the lentils it only takes a few minutes to make. Scoop out the spices from a jar, throw them into the saucepan and you’re done. So delicious for so little work!
- Uniquely delicious. The combination of sweet and spicy makes it a taste buds. Kids will love it and you’ll find yourself making it again and again.
- nutritious. Lentils are definitely great for you, and even the sweetener in these lentils comes from healthy sources – jaggery, an unrefined brown sugar, raisins and coconut. Like all pulses, these chickpeas contain fiber and protein.
- Soy-free, nut-free, vegetarian and gluten-free. These pulses will work in most diets.
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See the recipe card below for the exact amounts of all ingredients.
- Chana Dal (chickpeas/chickpeas). Chickpeas or split chickpeas come from brown chickpeas, not the beige chickpeas we also call garbanzo beans.
- bay leaf. They are added to lentils while cooking and they impart a subtle yet delicious aroma.
- the oil. Any neutral oil is fine, including avocado oil, grape seed oil, sunflower oil, safflower oil, or peanut oil. Use mustard oil if you have it as it will be used by Bengali cooks. Always heat the mustard oil to the point of gently smoking before adding the mustard seeds.
- Spices: turmeric, black mustard, cloves, cardamom, Cinnamon sticks, Cumin, cardamom, Dry red chillies And garam masala.
- ginger
- raisins. Golden raisins are ideal, but black raisins will do.
- fresh coconut or desiccated coconut. You will need small slivers of coconut for this recipe. You can find fresh coconut at health food stores like Whole Foods and some supermarkets. Desiccated coconut, called “copra”, is available in Indian grocery stores. Either will work in this recipe. But if you can’t source them, use ¼ cup coconut milk instead and add it at the end of cooking.
- molasses. It is an unrefined sugar. Piloncillo is a great alternative. Or use coconut sugar or any brown sugar.
Serving advice
- Chickpeas are usually eaten with luchi — small, puffy, deep-fried bread made of fine flour. You can serve chola dal with puri, which is very similar but made with whole wheat flour, which makes them healthier.
- You can also make roti for frying pulses.
- Serve the chickpea dal with rice and vegetables like aloo posto and Indian lime pickle.
Storage instructions
- Keep in fridge: Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to four days.
- freeze: Store in a freezer-safe container and refrigerate for up to four months.
- Reheat: Melt the dal and reheat it in the microwave or oven. Add little water and check the salt if needed.
Recipe FAQs
This is a Bengali chana dal recipe and the chana dal is the star here. You won’t get the real taste and experience of chickpeas without it. Sorry, but this is not an ingredient you can substitute in this dish.
Although it contains some jaggery and raisins, these are unrefined sugars and pulses are very healthy. It contains only 137 calories, four grams of protein and seven grams of fiber per serving.
sure To make an instant pot gram dal, use the saute function for steps 2 and 3. Add uncooked, washed chickpeas to the liner with three cups of water and cook under manual pressure for 10 minutes. Release pressure normally or force release after 10 minutes. Remove the lid, return the Instant Pot to the Saute function and continue with step 5.
More Indian Dal Recipes
If you like this gram dal, check out other Indian vegetarian recipes at Holy Cow Vegan!
Cholar Dal
This Bengali chickpea dal is nutty with chana dal or chickpeas, and has a firm but wonderful sweetness from the coconut and raisins. This is a delicious, unique and comforting dal that is usually served at celebratory meals, but its simplicity makes it a great weeknight recipe.
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Serving: 8 serving
Calories: 137kcal
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instructions
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Wash the lentils. Add turmeric powder and bay leaves. If you are using an Instant Pot, cook the lentils in 3 cups of water under manual pressure for 10 minutes. Cook in an Indian style pressure cooker with four whistles. If using a saucepan, first soak the lentils for a few hours. Drain the water, add fresh water to cover the lentils by a few inches, and bring to a boil. Let the lentils cook, covered, until they are soft and tender but still hold their shape.
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Heat oil in a saucepan. Add mustard seeds and when they splutter, add cloves, cardamom pods, cinnamon stick and red chillies. Fry for a minute until the cardamom looks puffy, then add the coconut slivers, if using, and fry until the coconut turns light golden brown. Watch carefully as coconut can burn quickly.
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Add raisins and ginger, fry for 30 seconds, then add coriander powder and cumin powder. Mix
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Pour a cup of cooking stock or water over the cooked lentils or lentils. Mix well and bring to a boil over medium heat. Cover and let the lentils simmer for 10 minutes.
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Add jaggery and mix it. Follow with garam masala. Mix well and let the dal cook for another five minutes. It should have a rather thick consistency with little visible liquid. Serve hot with steamed rice or puri.
Recipe notes
- If you can’t find fresh coconut or desiccated coconut, use ¼ cup coconut milk instead. Add it to the saucepan after the garam masala and just before turning off the heat in step 5.
Storage instructions
- Keep in fridge: Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to four days.
- freeze: Store in a freezer-safe container and refrigerate for up to four months.
- Reheat: Melt the dal and reheat it in the microwave or oven. Add little water and check the salt if necessary.
nutrition
Calories: 137kcal | Sugars: 23g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fats: 0.3g | Monounsaturated fats: 1g | Potassium: 80mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 39IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 59mg | Iron: 2mg
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