Chataka Dal is a spicy flavorful Dal from the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is made from yellow split pigeon peas simmered along with tomatoes, then seasoned with a spicy chili tempering. Gluten-free, soy free and nut free.
I grew up in Maharashtra state and the dishes of this particular cuisine have a special place in my heart! Simple dals, bhaji like my jackfruit brown chickpea bhaji, saoji , kohlapuri, and Zunka are already on the blog! You can find misal pav and Amti dal in my cookbook.
This Chataka dal is another dish I love – it’s a simple dal with few ingredients but trust me, it’s far from simple in taste. It’s fiery with the added chili powder tempering. As always, you can adjust the spice level to your preference.
To serve, I serve with flatbread or rice. This dish goes incredibly well with rice but you could also serve this with cauliflower rice.
Dals are soul food with many variations from various states and regions in India.
There are several types of Dals and legumes used in Indian cuisine. You can see a list with pictures here.
This Chataka dal is quick and delicious. Traditionally it used 1-2 tablespoon of the Indian chili powder, but that is going to be a lot of heat for most . So I use less. You can use whichever lentils or split peas you have for this recipe. Just cook them long enough until tender and then add the tempering/Tadka.
More daal recipes:
- Sabut Masoor Ki Daal; Spiced Lentil Soup
- Dhaba Style Butter Dal (vegan)
- Vegan Handi Lentils (Creamy Indian Dal)
- Instant Pot Dal Bukhara; Dump and Done Creamy Black lentils
- Spicy Urad dal
Chataka Dal Spicy Maharashtrian Toor Dal
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup (126 g) toor dal (split pigeon peas) You can also use chana dal (split skinned brown chickpeas) or Moong dal (split mung beans)
- 1 tomato chopped small
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
- 1/4 teaspoon turmeric
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 4 cups (950 ml) water
For the tadka/tempering:
- 2 teaspoons oil
- 1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1/8 teaspoon asafoetida (hing)
- 12 curry leaves fresh or frozen or dried
- 6 to 8 cloves of garlic finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon Kashmiri chili powder or use paprika
- 1 teaspoon cayenne or use 1/2 teaspoon cayenne and 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- Lemon juice and cilantro for garnish
Instructions
- Cook the split peas or lentils: wash the lentils/dal and soak in hot water for 10 minutes then drain and add to a sauce pan. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix. Cook over medium heat, partially covered. Depending on the dal it will take anywhere between 35 to 55 minutes.
- If using chana dal, use a pressure cooker and pressure cook 18-20 minutes. It might take up to 2 hours in a saucepan if the dal is too old.
- To pressure cook the dal, use only 2 cups of water and add the rest of the ingredients with the washed and drained dal to an instant pot or pressure cooker and pressure cook for 10 minutes for the split pigeon pea / toor dar, 6 minutes for moong dal and 18 minutes for chana dal. Let the pressure release naturally for 10 mins then quick release, then open the lid.
- Make the tempering. Add oil to a skillet over medium high heat. Once the oil is hot, you can check the oil by putting 1 or 2 mustard seeds and see if they start to change colour immediately. If they don’t then let the oil get hot for another minute or 2. If they pop out immediately, the oil is a bit too hot, reduce heat a bit and continue.
- Add the mustard seeds to the hot oil and cook until either the mustard seeds pop or change color and lighten significantly. Then add the cumin seeds and mix well for a few seconds. Then reduce the heat to medium and add the curry leaves, asafoetida and mix in for another few seconds. Then add garlic carefully and mix in really well.
- If you’re using an electric stove, take pan off the stove because the electric stove takes longer to reduce the heat. Also add in 1 more teaspoon of oil if pan is overheated.
- As soon as the garlic is starting to turn golden, mix really well then add in the Kashmiri chili powder, cayenne and mix in. Take the pan off heat.
- Drop this tadka/tempering into the dal. I usually put the dal into a serving container before adding the tadka so that tempering can be swirled in and not mixed in completely.
- If your tempering doesn’t have enough oil then you can add in a few splashes of water to get all of the tempering and pour this hot tempering all over the cooked dal. Swirl it in.
- Garnish with lemon juice and cilantro and serve immediately, with flatbread, bhakri or rice. This Chataka dal goes incredibly well with rice.
Notes
- It’s a spicy dal, to reduce the heat you can reduce the cayenne and the Kashmiri chili powder.
- Serve with sides like poriyal, jackfruit bhaji , crispy potatoes or some eggplant and potatoes.with sorghum bhakri flatbread
- this dal is gluten free, soy free and nut free.
- No Garlic: omit the garlic and add a pinch more asafetida and 1/2 teaspoons dried fenugreek leaves
Nutrition
Ingredients:
- this dal is made with split pigeon peas. You can also use chana dal
- 1 tomato, chopped small
- For the tadka/tempering we heat oil and add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, asafoetida, and curry leaves
- garlic, finely chopped
- ground spices: turmeric and chili powder, cayenne
- chopped cilantro and lemon juice
Tips:
- It’s a spicy dal, to reduce the heat you can reduce the cayenne and the Kashmiri chili powder.
- Its gluten free, soy free and nut free.
How to make Chataka Dal:
Cook the split peas or lentils: wash the lentils/dal and soak in hot water for 10 minutes then drain and add to a sauce pan. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix, cook over medium heat, partially covered.
Depending on the dal it will take anywhere between 35 to 55 minutes.
To pressure cook the dal, use only 2 cups of water and add the rest of the ingredients with the washed and drained dal to an instant pot or pressure cooker and pressure cook for 10 minutes for the split pigeon pea / toor dar, 6 minutes for moong dal and 18 minutes for chana dal. Let the pressure release naturally then open the lid.
Make the tempering. Add oil to a skillet over medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot, you can check the oil by putting 1 or 2 mustard seeds and see if they start to change color immediately.
Then add the mustard seeds to the hot oil and cook until either the mustard seeds pop or change color and lighten significantly. Then add the cumin seeds and mix well for a few seconds.
Then reduce the heat to medium and add the curry leaves, asafoetida, and mix in for another few seconds. Then add garlic carefully and mix in really well.
If you’re using an electric stove, take the pan off the stove because the electric stove takes longer to reduce the heat and will tend to burn the garlic. Also, add in 1 more teaspoon of oil if the pan is overheated. As soon as the garlic is starting to turn golden, mix really well then add in the Kashmiri chili powder, and cayenne and mix in. Take the pan off the heat.
Drop this tadka/tempering into the dal. I usually put the dal into a serving container before adding the tadka so that the tempering doesn’t completely mix in.
If your tadka doesn’t have enough oil then you can add in a few splashes of water to get all of the tempering and pour this hot tempering all over the cooked dal.
How to serve Chataka Dal
Garnish with lemon juice and cilantro and serve hot with roti, flatbread or rice. It goes well with rice.
Chataka Dal is a spicy dal. To reduce the heat of this dish, you can reduce the cayenne and the Kashmiri chili powder.
Traditional recipe would need to add 1 tablespoon of the chili powder, but that is doing to be a lot of heat. So I use less. On the side you can serve some poriyal, jackfruit bhaji , Zunka, crispy potatoes or some eggplant and potatoes. It’s gluten free, soy free and nut free.
Maneesha
Another slam dunk hit Indian recipe, Richa! I made it for dinner and it was absolutely PERFECT! thank you so much!
Richa
Awesome!!