Dal For Sindhi Dal Pakwan

Dal Pakwan is a classic breakfast dish from Sindhi, Indian cuisine. Chana dal is served with Pakwan (crispy fried bread), drizzled with tamarind chutney, green chutney and chopped onions.

Sharing an authentic recipe to prepare this lip-smacking chana dal. This dal is traditionally served with pakwan, but it goes well with roti, puri, or paratha. 

 

Jump to:

• About Dal Pakwan 
• Why You'll Love This Dal
• Ingredients
• How To Make Chana Dal For Dal Pakwan
• Pro Tips
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Serving Suggestions
• Storage
• Popular Sindhi Recipes
• Dal For Sindhi Dal Pakwan
• Pro Tips

About Dal Pakwan 

Dal pakwan is a popular, Sindhi breakfast dish, relished by all ages. Dal pakwan consists of mainly two components - dal and pakwan. Typically, chana dal is served over Pakwan (crispy fried bread), drizzled with imli ki chutney, dhaniya phudina ki chutney and chopped onions.

Dal pakwan is a bit time-consuming, it takes some time and patience to fry the pakwan. But, once you have it, trust me every bite is worth the effort.

We all need a treat every once in a while, isn't it. I prepare Dal pakwan, occasionally to treat my family. With little planning you can make some amazing dish, that will sure bring smile on everyone's face. And the best part of this dish is that, you can make this dal pakwan using pantry ingredients.

Please see I have split this post in half, I will be covering how to make the chana dal for dal pakwan in this post. Please refer to my post for Pakwan that goes with this chana dal. Enjoy this authentic Sindhi breakfast - Dal Pakwan. 

This classic dish is mainly served as a breakfast but makes an excellent brunch or a snack. 

Why You'll Love This Dal

• simple, comforting and tastes amazing
• uses basic pantry ingredients
• made with split chickpeas, easily available
• high in protein, and is quite filling
• tempered with simple flavors using cumin seeds and asafetida

 

Ingredients

• 1 cup chana dal (split chickpeas)
• 2 cups water for pressure cooking
• ½ teaspoon turmeric powder 
• 1-2 tablespoon tamarind or lemon juice, adjust to taste
• salt to taste 

Dry Spices:

• 2 teaspoon coriander powder
• ½ teaspoon cumin powder 
• ½ teaspoon dried mango powder
• ½ teaspoon red chili powder, adjust to taste

For The Tempering:

• 2 tablespoon oil
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• ⅛ teaspoon asafetida

For The Garnish:

• handful of fresh cilantro
• 1 red onion, chopped
• 1 lemon, cut into wedges

How To Make Chana Dal For Dal Pakwan

This dal is very easy to make and tastes amazing! The only time consuming part is soaking the dal. However, you can skip the soaking part and cook the dal little longer, it still tastes yum.

With simple, basic tempering, this dal comes together in no time. I think the simplicity of this dal is what makes it so flavorful and delicious. The main flavors in the dal come from the tempering.

Tempering or tadka gives soul to this dish. This dal is tempered with most basic ingredients - flavorful cumin seeds, asafoetida and some aromatic Indian spices.

Some tamarind juice or lemon juice is added to add some tangy flavor to this dal. Sharing the Chana Dal that is served with Pakwan (crispy fried bread). You can make this dal in an Instant Pot or a stove top pressure cooker.

Instant Pot Chana Dal

You will need Instant Pot

As with all the lentils, I prefer to soak the lentils, even if it is for 5-10 minutes. I think soaking not only reduces the cooking time, but most importantly it enhances the flavors and helps eliminate any impurities in the lentils, beans or grains. If you prefer cooking the dal without soaking, simply increase the cooking time. Follow these simple steps for making this delicious dal pakwan Chana dal in Instant Pot.

Step 1: Wash and soak the chana dal in water for 4 hours. After 4 hours, drain the water from the dal.

Note: You can do a quick soaking of dal. In a pot bring some water to a boil, now add washed and rinsed chana dal, cover and let it sit for around 45-60 minutes. After an hour, the chana dal will almost be double in size. Discard the water the chana dal was soaked in, rinse the dal and dal is ready to be used as suggested.

Note: You can also cook this dal without soaking, double the cooking time and add an extra ½ cup of water.

Pic Shown: Left - dry chana dal, Right - chana dal soaked for 4 hours

Step 2: Add drained dal, water, turmeric and salt to taste. Close the Instant pot lid with vent on sealing position. Turn ON Instant Pot to MANUAL / PRESSURE COOK mode (high) for 20 minutes. Let pressure release naturally, around 10 minutes.

Step 3: Open the Instant Pot, check the consistency of the dal, if desired add some water. I added around ½ cup of hot water.

Step 4: Sprinkle dry spices – coriander powder, dried mango powder, red chili powder over the dal.

Step 5: Prepare the tempering for the dal on a stove top. On a high heat, in a sauce pan, add oil. When oil is hot add cumin seeds, asafetida, wait for cumin seeds to crackle. Turn OFF the heat. Pour the tempering over the dal.

Step 6: Add lemon or tamarind juice to taste. Turn ON Instant Pot to SAUTE mode (more), bring dal to a gentle boil. 

Step 7: The consistency of this dal is semi-thick. Slightly mash the dal with the back of the spoon. Turn OFF Instant Pot.

Step 8: Dish out the dal in a serving bowl. Garnish with some fresh cilantro. Enjoy Dal Pakwan Chana Dal ( split chickpeas) with Pakwan (crispy fried bread), roti, paratha or poori (fried Indian bread).

Stovetop Pressure Cooker Chana Dal

Follow the same recipe as discussed earlier. After the first whistle, reduce the heat to medium and cook for 20 minutes. Rest of the recipe is same as Instant Pot.

Pro Tips

Soaking the chana dal is not required. However, it does help enhance the flavor and creaminess of the dal. Soaking the dal also reduces the cooking time and also removes any impurities in the dal.

The dal thickens over the period of time. Add some water to adjust the consistency of the dal.

Since, this dal does not require a lot of ingredients, it gets most of the flavors from the tempering. You can add spices as per taste.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use any other lentils?

Yes, you can use other lentils in combination with chana dal such as mung dal (with or without the husk), whole moong.

Note: Depending upon the type of lentils used, the taste of the dal will vary.

Can I add garam masala?

I personally, don’t prefer any other spice, in this recipe. However, if you like to add some additional flavor, feel free to use garam masala.

How to make dal tangy?

You can use tamarind pulp, lemon, or lime juice, for tangy flavor.

Serving Suggestions

This dal does not need any elaborate sides, you can relish this yummy dal with Pakwan, (crispy fried bread) or any Indian bread such as roti, paratha, or poori.

Storage

Dal stays fresh for 3-4 days in the refrigerator. Store it in a air-tight, glass container.

Dal can be frozen for up to a month. Freeze it in a freezer safe container. Defrost it in the refrigerator, heat and serve.

Popular Sindhi Recipes