Channa Dahl with Rice Pilaf

Recipe: Channa Dahl Recipe »

I am SO excited to share this channa dahl - it's nourishing, warmly spiced and utterly delicious. I first tasted a version in a pub (yes, really) and begged the chef for the recipe; the one I'm sharing here can be made on the stovetop or in a pressure cooker and is easily adapted to be vegan.

I don't think anyone really expects a pub to have the best dahl you've had but I had to admit that the dahl at Penny's Hotel in Potts Point was delicious. This recipe was a team effort with head chef Adam Finlay and his team. Many of them are Nepalese and this dahl was a collaboration by the whole Penny's kitchen team. And they were kind enough to share the recipes with me for the dal, rice pilaf and raita!

Tips For Making Channa Dahl

1 - The dal, raita and rice pilaf are truly wonderful together and may require a trip to the Indian grocery store. I prefer buying from these stores than the supermarket. Not only is it cheaper but it's a small business too and they will have everything there even items like mustard oil and whole black cardamom which you may not be able to find at the supermarket.

2 - Channa or Chana Dal or Dahl is made with dried split chickpeas. These legumes are yellow in colour and are the basis for this wonderful curry.

3 - Do you need to pre-soak Chana Dal? Not necessarily but it helps and cuts down cooking time. Weigh the chana dal and then soak it for 1 hour to overnight. The chana dal will swell up. Just make sure to discard the soaking liquid and rinse well under running water. Presoaking makes the dahl easier to digest too.

4 - You can replace the ghee with oil if you want to make this vegan (and omit the raita). If you don't have ghee you can use butter.

5 I've also given instructions for making this in the Instant Pot or pressure cooker. The only difference is that you will cook the onion mixture first and then the chickpeas. You also need less water as there is less evaporation when cooking in a pressure cooker. It does thicken up slightly upon cooling too.

I love making this dish in the pressure cooker too because it is so fast and it's something that I like to bring to Elliott family gatherings as everyone can eat it. Recently, we found out that Mr NQN's Araluen had to go into hospital for some major surgery. What was supposed to be a routine operation turned bad when they accidentally snipped an important vessel and she had to go under anesthetic another 3 times to try and fix the problem. That turned into another major surgery and an extra 2 weeks in hospital plus the 6 weeks recovery from the original operation. Poor Araluen has been trying to see the positive side of things but it's hard. We've visited her a couple of times and she has lots of friends and flowers in her room but obviously she'd rather be at home recovering.

Mr NQN tried to cheer her up by making Araluen laugh. When their mother Tuulikki rang, he answered Araluen's phone. He pretended to be their father Roger (who lives in Thailand) at the hospital dropping in to take Araluen to Thailand. I think for a good few minutes he had her fooled and we could hear the chirps of surprise from the other end of phone. It was also good to see Araluen laugh!

So tell me Dear Reader, do you like dahl? What do you usually eat it with?

Channa Dahl

An Original Recipe by Lorraine Elliott

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 25 minutes - 1 hour (depending on method)

This recipe needs to be started the day before (soaking of the chickpeas)

Serves: 2-3 people

• 300g/10.6ozs dried split chana dal or split chickpeas, soaked overnight, rinsed very well
• 10g/0.4oz ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons/5g ground turmeric
• 2 teaspoons/5g garam masala or curry powder
• 2 teaspoons/5g sweet paprika
• 10g/0.4oz salt
• 1litre/2.1pints water (can also use vegetable stock or chicken stock)
• Ghee or oil for frying
• 300g/10.6ozs finely diced brown onion
• 50g/1.7ozs crushed garlic
• 50g/1.7ozs grated ginger
• Extra salt and pepper to taste

Step 1 - In a large pot add the spices (cumin, turmeric, garam masala or curry powder, paprika) and heat on medium heat and dry fry until fragrant. Then add the drained and presoaked split chickpeas, salt and water/stock and bring to a boil. Simmer with the lid slightly off until the dal is almost falling apart. This may take up to 1 hour.

Step 2 -Meanwhile, in a pan, add the ghee and caramelise the onion until starting to brown. Then add garlic and ginger and cook until fragrant for 1-2 minutes. Stir this into the dal mix once cooked and season to taste if needed. Add salt and pepper to taste if needed.

Pressure cooker/Instant Pot directions. Set Instant Pot to saute and dry fry the spices (cumin, turmeric, garam masala or curry powder, paprika) until fragrant. Add the ghee or oil and fry the onion and fry until caramelised (this takes around 6-8 or so minutes). Add the garlic and ginger and sauté for 1 minute. Scoop out of the instant pot and set aside. Then place the drained but soaked chana dal and water or stock (only add 800ml/1.7pints) and set to 15 minutes. Release pressure and add the onion and spice mixture and stir in. Season with salt and pepper to taste. This will thicken slightly upon cooling.

Serve with raita and rice pilaf (recipe below)

Rice Pilaf

• 50g/1.7ozs ghee
• 50ml/1.7flozs olive oil
• 100g/3.5ozs finely diced onion (brunoise)
• 2 teaspoons nigella seeds
• 1 star anise
• 2 whole black cardamom pods
• 350g/12.3ozs basmati rice (I like brown basmati rice)
• Stock to cook rice (I use chicken stock but use vegetable if keeping it vegetarian)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon chicken stock powder (optional)

Step 1 - Heat the ghee/butter olive oil in a medium saucepan on medium heat until the butter has melted. Add the onion and spices (nigella seeds, star anise, cardamom pods) and sweat until the onion turns translucent. Add the rice and coat with butter. Add the stock, salt and chicken stock powder and bring to the boil.

Step 2 - Place lid on top and steam on the lowest heat for 20 minutes (do not remove lid while steaming). Remove lid and fluff the rice with a fork.