Langar Wali Dal

Langar Wali dal /Maa Chole ki Dal. Earthy, rich, full of texture, and creamy, this dal will take your taste buds on an adventure of Indian home cooking.

This dal is easy to prepare and is often served as a community langar dish and can be paired with rice or dal. This dal is also vegan and gluten-free, making it the perfect one-pot meal.

Why Is It Called Maa Chole ki Dal/Langar Wali Dal?

Maa/Maah means split black gram or kali urad dal and chole means Bengal gram lentil or chana dal. This dal is made by combining these two and a few Indian spices. So you will ask why the nomenclature of langar wali dal?

Actually, this lentil or dal dish is regularly served in the langar of gurudwaras all over over the world, especially Punjab.

The unusual combination of these two lentils makes this dal a unique dish. Have you ever tried this? If not, it's not too late. You will love each and every spoonful of this Langar Wali Dal.

What Ingredients Are Used in Making Langar Wali Dal?

The main ingredients are of course split black gram dal/Kali urad dal and yellow Bengal gram lentil. Having said that, if you don't have split black gram dal you can always use whole black gram dal in this recipe. You just need to soak the whole lentil for 8 hours or overnight.

A few spices like turmeric powder, red chilli powder, cumin seeds, dry red chilli, asafoetida, ginger garlic paste, green chillies, chopped tomato and chopped onion with salt are the other ingredients.

You can always sprinkle a little bit of lime juice or fresh cilantro on top of it to enhance the taste. Your Langar Wali dal /Maa Chole KI Dal will shine through.

What Can You Serve With Langar Wali Dal?

This dal is served with roti in the gurudwaras but at home, you can have whatever you like to eat with it. Personally, I am a rice eater and I love to eat a bowl full of this dal with some rice and some salad.

Sometimes I get a little bit greedy for a heavenly taste and pour a dollop of ghee on top of the rice dal. Boy, you cannot beat this taste and I will prefer that over any meal.

You May Also Want To Check Out These Lentil Recipes-

Dal Palak/Lentil Soup with spinach

Rajma Masala/Red Kidney Beans Curry

Black Eyed Beans / Lobia Curry

Dal Tadka

How to Make This Lentil/Dal in the Instant Pot-

Traditionally, this dal is prepared in a big pot over the traditional chulha or clay stove for long hours. Since we can't do that now, I liked to make it in the pressure cooker previously, and since the last few years, the Instant pot has been perfect for this.

Firstly, wash and soak the lentils for 30 minutes. Then, cook them on high pressure for 20 minutes with just turmeric and salt. Release the pressure naturally.

After that, prepare a simple yet flavourful tadka in a pan or in the Instant Pot after removing the boiled lentils in a bowl. Next, pour 2 tbsp of ghee or oil into the Instant Pot or pan.

Add cumin seeds, asafoetida and dry red chilli as well. Add ginger-garlic paste to it and then stir it till the raw smell is gone.

After that, make a masala/spice paste of onions, tomatoes, and all the other spices by stirring everything continuously. If you think they are sticking to the bottom, use one or two tbsps of water to scrape that.

Then, mix the boiled lentil with that and cook for 2-3 minutes on low flame. Add 2 cups of water for a thick dal, however, if you want a thin one, add one more. Then, cook it for two to three minutes more and remove it from the stove. Garnish it and serve.

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