Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Channa Dal

When one of my students put up a request to learn how to make Channa Dal, I readily agreed. The class date and time was set. After all I cook Channa Dal all the time and hence that is a no brainer. But that night as I lay in my bed having a two way conversation with myself, I realized that it would be unfair on my part to teach my student a ready made recipe of Channa Dal. He will surely get enough courage to buy Channa Dal after the workshop but will not know what else to do with the product other than make that same recipe over and over again that too, provided he likes it in the first place. I have no right to waste his time and money for something that he can learn with a quick internet search. I might as well give him the recipe and spare him a trip and let him experiment at home by himself.
There is a reason for such a deep contemplation.
You see, learning a recipe and learning about one single component of a recipe are two different things. As an example, Dal Makhani is a recipe and there is only one way to make it with slight variations depending upon the cook. This dish also has Channa Dal as one of the ingredients even though the quantity is so less that many a times people forget to add it at all. Whereas ‘Channa Dal’ is like an open statement. It’s a component, an ingredient, a product by itself which can be cooked and used in so many ways that it is difficult to address all of them in a two-hour session.
It is one of the staples in Indian Cuisine with high protein value and low saturated fat, packed with nutritious carbohydrate like any other legume. It is also called Bengal Gram, resembles yellow split peas but belongs to the chick pea family or as many of us know them as garbanzo beans. The difference is the Channa dal is younger, smaller, split and sweeter version of chick peas but has a much lower glycemic index. Many believe that Chick Peas can be a good substitute for Channa dal in just about any recipe. But I tend to disagree. Since Chick Peas are a much older and a mature version of Channa Dal, they need a complex cooking process, more spices and longer cooking time than Channa Dal. Whereas, Channa Dal requires much less cooking and minimum of spices with simplest of processing.
Channa Dal inherently is a sweeter legume as compared to any other. All the regions of India cook this legume in their own special ways giving it their regional taste. East Indian version is to cook it with whole spices. The special ingredient which goes in is the sugar and the shredded or chopped coconut. The North Indian way is to cook it with garlic to add the warmth to tackle the regional cold but no onion. The South Indians add a little tamarind to complement the sweetness. The common factor remains that this legume is cooked most simply keeping its thicker consistency that plays a role in its texture. It is never much diluted with water to make it like a soup. It is only the Western region that cooks this Dal with Black or Green Split Gram (yet another legume that requires more explanation, may be later) and add onion, tomatoes and many other spices to the dish. Here, Channa Dal in its original form is usually used as a stuffing for the bread called Parantha (I feel a newsletter coming up on this) or in its ground form called Besan (another great topic for a newsletter) as the batter for deep frying for savory side dishes or appetizers. This particular style has been adopted throughout India and beyond because of its versatility.
Since I am from Bengal, I have been taught to cook it with coconut and whole spices. The influence of a cosmopolitan city like New Delhi has taught me to cook in other styles too. During my lazy days I like to cook it simply with green chilies and garlic. When I want to make it a one dish wonder, I also tend to add some complementary vegetables like bottle gourd. But my favorite remains the Western way. So, how can I teach my student only one way and one recipe? Isn’t it my duty as an instructor to introduce this legume in all its glory instead of underplaying it? There are atleast seven recipes that can be learnt with Channa Dal as its main component for each day of the week, yet all very different in taste and its preparation.
Hence I dedicate this month to Channa Dal where I will teach at least three ways to cook this legume in a single session. It is my intention to make my students self reliant on an ingredient and let them take it to a level that they are comfortable with its taste and cooking technique. You are most welcome to come in and learn more about this humble yet versatile legume.