Laxmi Daily Feast Unpolished Chana Dal

Chana dal is delicious and used in soups, salads, curries, sweets and rice dishes, the legumes are also roasted and powered into chickpea flour (besan). This flour is gluten free and is mainly used to make batters for pakodas like onion pakoda or aloo pakoda, for making pancakes or chillas and to make the famous Besan ladoos. Maharashtrians eat the simple Palak Chana Dal while Sindhis make the wholesome Sai Bhaji. The Gujaratis eat it with bottle gourd in a Doodhi Chana Dal Subzi while the Assamese make a delicacy called Booter Dal. All of these can be accompanied with roti and rice to make whole meal. Chana dal is baby chickpeas that has been split and polished. It looks and tastes like small kernels of sweet corn, and is one of the most popular ingredients in indian recipes. Dried chana dal is available all year round, and is easy to store. it can be used to make chutneys as well as be used as thickener in many recipes, showing how versatile it is.