Cholar Dal Temple Road Style

Cholar dal is a delicious Bengali dish served hot with luchi (fried bread) or peas kochuri or simple masala kochuri or dal puri. It’s bit sweet to taste. A delicious breakfast in then morning. Mostly every good sweet shope serve this delicacy in the morning . I remember that when we visit to kali temple either Kalighat that the famous among 51 shaktipeeth in the heart of our city Kolkata or little far from the city to Dakshineswar Kali mata temple which is famous for Ramakrishna Dev and Swami Vivekananda, after darshan and  puja on our way back home we use to have this delicious cholar dal either with luchi or peas kochori. There was a sweet shop in Dakshineswar which was my father's favorite destination for this cholar dal and kachori. We haven’t visited the shop for long after my father’s sudden demise but the taste till haunt me so try to recreate it at home. I am glad to say I am quiet successful to bring near exact taste of that cholar dal. They use very little spices and the dal is a sweet version and have a distinct smell of clarified butter and hing. I don’t know that they use  pure ghee or essence but the simple dal taste awesome. Hope you will love this cholar dal too.

Preparation time : 15 minutes
Cooking time : 30 minutes
Serves : 4 

Ingredients : 
250 grms cholar dal/ chana dal/ split and husked bengal gram
1 tsp ginger paste 
½ tsp hing/aseofitida
1  tsp turmeric powder
2 whole dry red chilly broken into halves
2 green chilly chopped
½  cup grated coconut 
3 to 4 tbsp of sugar 
½ tsp garam masala 
2 to 3 tbsp ghee/ clarified butter
Handful of golden raisin
Salt to taste

Methods Of Cooking:
Soak the dal overnight or 3 to 4 hours. Now wash the dal well. In a pressure cooker take 4 to 5 cups of water then add the washed dal. Pressure cook for 2 to 3 whistle or till the dal is cooked in such a way so that each grain separate but cooked throughly. Add salt and turmeric powder to the dal. Mix well. Now in a heavy bottom pan or kadhai heat ghee in medium flame. Add whole red chilly hing and garam masala to it. Then add grated coconut. Stir for 3 to 4 minutes. Now add the dal to it. Then add sugar, raisin and chopped green chilly. If needed then add a cup of warm water but remember the consistency of this dal will be semi thick. Let it cook for 5 to 6 minutes in high flame. Stir occasionally or else it can get charred at the bottom.

Now serve hot with phulko luchi or simple masala kachori or peas kachori.

Happy Cooking!