Recipe Coconut Gram Dal

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

I have a recipe book that contains meat. The only reason it survives on my shelf is that it has the most wonderful original Indian Dals in it, and most are vegetarian and easy to make dairy-free for my allergy. However, this recipe is "accidentally vegan".
No pictures, because it is really hard to get a decent picture of any dal.

Ingredients
250g kala chana (brown chickpeas), soaked overnight
1 tbsp urid dal
2 tbsp sesame seed oil
thumb-sized piece of ginger, finely grated
2 tbsp spring onions, sliced
1 tsp mustard seeds (I usually do 50:50 yellow and black mustard seeds)
2-3 dried red chillies (deseeded and sliced)
100g freshly grated coconut (you can cheat with frozen if it is available)
2 tbsp tinned coconut milk/1 tbsp coconut cream (freeze the remainder in ice-cube trays for next time)

To serve
1 lime
1 green chilli
salt and pepper

Method

1. Boil the kala chana and urid dal together, in a pan with a lid, in 700ml of water until soft and set aside.
2. Add the oil to a saucepan, heat and briefly fry the grated ginger with the spring onion. Don't over-fry them.
3. Add the mustard seeds, and as they pop, add the chillies and toss.
4. Before the fumes of the chillies tickle your throat, add the dal mixture and stir into the contents. Bring them to a simmer, stir in the grated coconut, and take the pan off the heat. Add in the coconut milk/cream, mix well and let it rest for a few minutes before serving with rice, a slice of lime, and sliced raw green chillies.

Modified from The Dal Cookbook, by Krishna Dutta

 

[karadekoolaid]

That's a keeper.
I bought some kala chana last time I was in the US, and haven't used them yet, so this might well be an opportunity.
I'd personally (because I'm a chilehead) leave the dried red chiles whole, and add a few chopped green chiles at the end.

 

[Z-Cook]

Nice recipe. Haven't made dal for ages. Must remedy that. For some reason I've never used kala chana or not knowingly. Either that or not realising if there's a big difference?

 

[badjak]

Nice recipe. Haven't made dal for ages. Must remedy that. For some reason I've never used kala chana or not knowingly. Either that or not realising if there's a big difference?

Quite a big difference. The brown chickpeas are a bit smaller, take a bit longer to cook and have a more nutty flavour.
I like them, although I would not use them for hummous

 

[Z-Cook]

Quite a big difference. The brown chickpeas are a bit smaller, take a bit longer to cook and have a more nutty flavour.
I like them, although I would not use them for hummous

Ok, good to know. Might have to look for/order in for this recipe, then.

 

[Morning Glory]

No pictures, because it is really hard to get a decent picture of any dal.

Its really not. Its all about the tarka ( topping).
Example:
Recipe - Chana Tarka Dal