Description
Recipe Information for Dal Chicken:
Chicken & Lentil Curry (Dal Chicken) strikes the right mix between getting a healthy dose of fiber-rich, nutritious lentils and meeting that urge (need) for a cheeky bite of chicken, in my opinion. It's tasty, plus it has the added bonus of cooking faster and for less money.
List of ingredients for Dal Chicken:
For the Chicken
- 3tbsp oil
- 2 onions, chopped
- 1/2 bulb garlic, minced
- 1 medium sized chicken, bone in, curry cut (mine weighed 875g)
- 3 tsp salt, or to taste
- 0.5 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp red chilli powder
- 1 tsp cumin powder
- 2 tsp coriander powder
- 4 small tomatoes, chopped
For the Chana Dal (Lentils)
- 1 cup chana dal, soaked for at least one hour
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp salt
For the Tadka
Tadka is known as Tempering in English. Tempering is a cooking technique used in Pakistan, in which whole spices (and sometimes also other ingredients such as dried chillies, minced ginger root, or sugar) are roasted briefly in oil or ghee to liberate essential oils from cells and thus enhance their flavours, before being poured, together with the oil, into the dish your cooking.
- 1/2 cup oil
- 1.5 medium onions, thinly sliced
- 2 tbsp cumin seeds
- 4 dried red chillies
Preparation Steps for Dal Chicken:
01Begin by bringing all of the ingredients for chana dal (chana Lentils) to a boil over medium-high heat with plenty of water. Cook these until they are just cooked through, but still holding their shape. Reserve the cooking water.
02In a separate saucepan, heat the oil and add the chopped onions. Fry until they're translucent and golden brown.
03Combine the garlic, all of the spices, and the chicken. Fry everything until the chicken starts to brown.
04Add the chopped tomatoes, cover and simmer for 15 minutes
05Once the simmer time is up, uncover and add in the chana dal (chana lentils), as well as about one cup of the reserved water
06Bring everything to a boil, then reduce to low heat and continue to cook for another 20 minutes. You'll probably need to add additional water, so keep an eye on it and top it up as needed. Keep in mind that this curry has a propensity to absorb a lot of water, so make it a little more liquidy than it looks to be.
07Begin making the tadka once the curry is done. In a small frying pan over medium heat, heat the tadka oil and add the onions. Allow the onions to become golden in colour by constantly stirring them. Add the cumin and dried red chilies once the mixture has reached a light golden colour. Continue to fry and stir until the onions become dark golden. Immediately take off the heat and pour the oil over the Chicken.
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