Chana dal sundal recipe with step by step pics. Sundal is tempered and sautéed dry dish made with legumes and peanuts. Sundal recipes come from the Tamil Nadu cuisine. This kadalai paruppu sundal is a delicious sundal variant made with cooked bengal gram which is later tempered with spices, curry leaves and coconut. Makes for an excellent vegan, healthy side dish.
Chana dal sundal tastes too good with the nutty flavor of chana dal in each and every bite.
Making sundals with various legumes or beans also add an additional dose of protein in a vegetarian meal. Chana dal sundal is also called as kadalai paruppu sundal where ‘kadalai paruppu’ is the Tamil word for chana dal.
Sundals are very easy to make. Different varieties of sundals are made and served to the goddess during Navratri festival. For the nine days of Navratri festival, each day one variety of sundal is made and offered to the goddess. They are also prepared during Janmashtami and Ganesh Chaturthi.
i have shared some sundal recipe before:
- Rajma sundal
- Sweet corn sundal
- Channa sundal recipe (white chickpeas sundal)
- Konda kadalai sundal recipe (kala chana sundal)
Sundals can also be made on regular days. Generally, I make the traditional recipe of sundal without adding any spices or masala. So when I make rasam or vathal kuzhambu, I also end up making a poriyal or a sundal as a side dish.
For chana dal sundal, You do have to take care while cooking chana dal. they should not become too soft or pasty. The chana dal should be cooked well, yet retain its shape. You can choose to cook chana dal in a pot or a pan or a pressure cooker.
For this recipe I have soaked chana dal and then cooked them in a pan. If cooking in a pressure cooker, then cook soaked chana dal for 1 whistle on medium flame.
Sundals can be served as side dish with the main course or you can just have them as a snack. Chana dal sundal tastes very nice and you can just have it as a snack.
How to make Chana Dal Sundal Recipe
A) soaking chana dal
1. Rinse 1 cup chana dal in water for a couple of times. Take the lentils in a bowl and add 1.5 cups of hot boiling water.
Cover the bowl with a lid and soak chana dal for an hour. You can even soak chana dal in water (at room temperature) for 3 to 4 hours or overnight.
2. Later drain all the water.
B) cooking chana dal
3. Add the soaked chana dal in a pan.
4. Add 2.5 cups of water.
5. Add ½ teaspoon salt and stir.
6. Keep the pan on the stovetop.
7. Cover with lid and on a medium-low to medium heat begin to cook the chana dal. Alternatively, you can cook chana dal in a stovetop pressure cooker for 1 whistle.
8. When the water starts frothing (roughly after 7 to 8 minutes), remove the lid and cook chana dal without the lid on medium heat.
9. Do check at intervals when the chana dal is cooking.
10. Cook the lentils till they are cooked perfectly and still retain their shape. Taste a few lentils to check if they have cooked well. Cooking soaked chana dal takes about 30 minutes in a pan.
11. Then drain all the water and keep the cooked lentils aside.
Making chana dal sundal
12. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in another pan or kadai. Keep the heat to a low and add 1 teaspoon of mustard seeds.
13. Then add 1 teaspoon of urad dal.
14. On a low heat stirring often fry both mustard seeds and urad dal.
15. Fry till the mustard seeds crackle and the urad dal turn golden.
16. Then add 10 to 12 curry leaves, 1 to 2 dry red chillies (broken and seeds removed) and 1 generous pinch asafoetida (hing).
17. Mix and fry for a few seconds till the red chilies change color.
18. Now add the cooked chana dal or kadalai paruppu.
19. Add salt as per taste.
20. Mix very well and sauté for 2 to 3 minutes on a low flame. If there is any moisture or liquid in the chana dal then cook till the moisture gets dried.
21. Lastly add ¼ cup fresh coconut.
22. Mix and switch off the heat.
23. Serve chana dal sundal as a snack or as a side with your everyday meals. You can garnish with some fresh coconut or a few coriander leaves if you want.
Few more delicious Bengal gram recipes on the blog are:
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Chana Dal Sundal | Kadalai Paruppu Sundal
Ingredients
for soaking chana dal
- 1 cup chana dal (husked and split bengal gram)
- 1.5 cups hot boiling water for soaking
for cooking chana dal
- 2.5 cups water for pressure cooking
- ½ teaspoon salt
for tempering
- 2 tablespoons oil, can use peanut oil, sunflower oil or coconut oil
- 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
- 1 teaspoon urad dal
- 10 to 12 curry leaves
- 1 to 2 dry red chillies, broken and seeds removed
- 1 generous pinch asafoetida (hing)
- salt as required
- ¼ cup fresh coconut
Instructions
soaking chana dal
- Rinse 1 cup chana dal in water for a couple of times. Take the lentils in a bowl and add 1.5 cups hot boiling water. Cover and soak chana dal for an hour.
- Later drain all the water.
cooking chana dal for sundal
- Add the soaked chana dal in a pan and add 2.5 cups water.
- Also add ½ teaspoon salt and stir.
- Keep the pan on stove top.
- Cover with lid and on a medium-low to medium flame begin to cook the chana dal. Alternatively, you can cook chana dal in pressure cooker for 1 whistle.
- When the water starts frothing, remove the lid and cook chana dal without lid on medium flame.
- Do check at intervals when the chana dal (kadalai paruppu) is cooking.
- Cook the lentils till they are cooked perfectly and still retain their shape. Taste a few lentils to check if they have cooked well.
- Then drain all the water and keep the cooked lentils aside.
making chana dal sundal
- Heat 2 tablespoons oil in another pan or kadai. Keep flame to a low and add 1 teaspoon mustard seeds and 1 teaspoon urad dal.
- On a low flame stirring often fry both mustard seeds and urad dal.
- Fry till the mustard seeds crackle and the urad dal turn golden.
- Then add 10 to 12 curry leaves, 1 to 2 dry red chillies and 1 generous pinch asafoetida (hing).
- Mix and fry for a few seconds till the red chilies change color.
- Now add the cooked chana dal or kadalai paruppu.
- Add salt as per taste.
- Mix very well and sauté for 2 to 3 minutes on a low flame. If there is any moisture or liquid in the chana dal then cook till the moisture gets dried.
- Lastly add ¼ cup fresh coconut.
- Mix and switch off flame.
- Serve chana dal sundal. You can garnish with some fresh coconut or a few coriander leaves if you want.
Notes
- This recipe can be halved
- If cooking in pressure cooker, then soak lentils for an hour in hot water. Then pressure cook for 1 whistle on medium flame.
- You can add more coconut if you want.
- When serving a drizzle of lemon juice on the chana dal sundal also tastes good.
Nutrition Info (Approximate Values)
This Chana Dal Sundal post from archives first published in January 2018 has been updated and republished on January 2023.
The second sentence says it’s made with peanuts. But none are added anywhere. Did you forget the peanuts??
The sentence means that there are many variants of sundal and one of them is made with peanuts. So the chana lentils replace cooked/steamed peanuts in the recipe. No peanuts are added in this recipe.
Lovely recipe. You can just eat it like a snack. This brought back memories of my mother’s cooking. She used to make this quite often when I was growing up way back. I am going to make this one of these days.
thank you rom. yes chana dal sundal can be eaten as a snack. for most of us, food memories are pleasant memories. thanks for sharing. do try the recipe and i hope you will like it.
Your recipes are yum n perfect
Just made methi theplas
Thanks Nandita. Glad to know that you are liking the recipes.