Now that I have managed to grab your attention with the title, let me explain what this dish it all about. This is a curry in which cooked split moong daal and vegetables of choice are simmered in tomato, onion based gravy and flavored with Chole Masala. This is a one pot dish which has goodness of lentils and vegetables. This is also a good deviation to try from the usual Chana Masala.
I learnt this recipe from a friend and colleague Ro. Now both Ro and me work in the same office but in different groups. Both of us are from the state of Karnataka and so we have some commonalities in terms of food and language. We share food ideas and exchange recipes many times.
At the office we do not take lunch break and work through lunch. Lunch times are loony for me and that is when my belly rules my mind. With stomach rumbling and aroma of other people’s food waffling through I cannot think clearly. It is one of those times during which even steamed cabbage and boiled broccoli seems delectable and appetizing.
Anyway, on one such muggy afternoon there was this flavorful, aroma from Ro’s cubicle that I could not take it any longer and just had to walk by and find out what she had got for lunch. She told me that she had brought this daal curry flavored with Chole masala, her own creation and gladly passed on the recipe to me. Ro has a knack for explaining recipes; it has an element of enthusiasm and suspense. So when she told me this one pot recipe the first time I wept………. With joy that isJ. Thanks Ro for sharing this recipe.
When I went home that day, I did not waste any time in trying out the recipe. Hard pressed for times, I usually look for such simple, delicious and nutritious recipe. This is a one pot meal and the clean up is also a breeze. This forms a great accompaniment with Rotis/Chapathis and also rice.
Any type of daal or vegetables can be added to this, Moong daal, masoor daal etc. I added cauliflower, peas and potato while Ro added Brinjal(Eggplant) and potato. Either way the taste is wonderful.
Ingredients
- 1 cup vegetable of choice ( I used cauliflower, peas, potato)
- ¾ cup moong daal
- ¾ cup chopped onion
- 2 medium tomatoes chopped
- 1 tbsp grated ginger
- 1 tbsp grated garlic
- Chilli powder
- Turmeric powder
- Chana masala/ chole masala (powder per taste, any brand)
- Cumin seeds
- Coriander leaves for garnishing
- Oil, salt
Preparation:
- Grate the ginger and garlic and keep aside.
- Pressure cook the moong daal using sufficient water until soft and mushy.
- Cook the vegetables in water separately as well.
Method:
- Take a heavy bottom pan, add the oil. Add cumin seeds, next add the ginger and garlic and sauté until the garlic turns light brown.
- Now add the onions and stir until it turns transparent.
- Add the chopped tomatoes, salt and cook until the raw smell of tomato is gone.
- Add chilli powder, chana masala powder, and mix well. Add more oil at this time if dry.
- Add the cooked vegetables along with the water and continue to cook covered. Mash the cooked daal, so that there are no lumps and add to this.
- Simmer for a while until the gravy blends with the daal. Check for seasonings.
Finally garnish with coriander leaves before serving.
This is such a nice curry,looking so delicious.. must try.
looking very nice n mouthwatering..i will definetely try it
daal gravy with chole masala and veggies..sounds very interesting. Looks very delicious too!the next time i go to Indian store, am sure to buy some chole masala:)
Moongdhall with Channa, new and tempting dish! Will definitely want to give a try sometime soon!
hi,
am sure many curious foodies will get pulled seeing the title 
Fab.. U.. ..lous!!!! what a simple and superb innovation. Actually this stuff reminds me of dhaba daal…god! so yummy….this one is a MUST try…without miss.I’ll give u 3 stars for the recipe and 2 stars for the snap, hmm…that makes 5/5 
Thanks gurl! Happy cooking 
U’ve hit the bull’s eye! I did a long jump straight here looking at the title
TC
Thts Awesome recipe….wht a nutritious and at the same time,flavorful recipe,Do pass on Thanks to you frnd RO too..
Bookmarked it and will try it out soon..and i mean real SOON
sorry i mean Your friend*
It’s nice to work with another Karnatakite at work place, lucky you. We have lot of Pakistanis here who work here, but not many Indians. There is one Indian woman who try to use me the “Homemaker” as her baby sitter but aint gonna happen!;D
Great recipe and quick too with chole masala. Have you tried Kitchen King masala in veggies? Makes so yummy and creamy gravies.
He hehee Supriya.. I cheat & put Chole Masala even in Dum aloo sometimes.. It tastes awesome!! Whenever i want change with simple dal or veggies i add any kinda spicy powder masala to it:-) Now see how many variations of food u can have.
that title did get me curious .. this is such an easy recipe, am sure it must be full of flavors .. i’d love to try this sometime
Lovely recipe for sure and love the use of dal for the base. Lunch times are the ones I miss most especially for conversation and recipe exchange.
The chole masala must add such a lovely kick & twist to this veggie dhal – fabulous!
Thats a great one-pot dish, healthy and easy. I tend to use different masalas in different curries, but never thought of using chole masala in a dal recipe. Looks delicious.
Delicious recipe, with all veggies in it.I liked the idea of adding chole masala powder
I havenever had this, but it looks so so yummy delcious.
aiooo kannadiga na?? Where are you located? Which part of karnataka are you from? Give me your mail and phone number.. (clearly you can sense how desperate I am!) sakath agi ede nimma chole!
very different recipe… looks great. yummy with rotis.
Chole masala in simple curry is delectable.
Thanks Madhu that was quick. This is delicious and easy to prepare.
Thanks Lavanya. I have to thank Ro for this recipe.
Tch tch Keerthana, go get some chole masala girl. Thanks for the warm comments though.
Thanks Sharmilee. The taste is pretty good and goes well with Rotis too.
Thanks Suparna. That was sweet of you. I will take all the stars that you can give me
Thanks Alka. I sure do have to thank my friend for that. I hope she is reading this
. Ro, are you seeing the adulation that you are getting?
Asha, yeah it is good to talk in Kannada. One is that feeling of bonding, the other thing is nobody around knows what we are talking about he he
Loved the idea of Kitchen King,I will use it in some curries.
Jeez Soma, that is very clever of you. Even I like some spices in my daal other than ginger and garlic. That gives in a kick ins’t it?
Thanks Deesha. Do give it a try I am sure you will love it.
ISG, thanks. I agree the conversation is fun, the rest of the politics, expectations is not
know what I mean?
Thanks Laavanya. Hope you get to try this.
Thanks Pavani. This is a time saver too. We don’t have to make a differnt daal and sabji each time. Clever eh?
Thanks Pavithra. Please do try this.
HC, this is very cool and you need to try this.
SJ, you desperate girl
I am from Bangalore. But currently reside in the US.
Thanks Mahimaa. I agree, this is differnt from many things that I make too.
Thanks dear Cham. The chole masala makes all the differnece.
Lovely pics!! great one pot dish for rotis
Tempting photos..I too add chole masala for the veggies. This is something different..and looks delish.
Wow.. looks very very tempting.. I have a small packet of chole masala reserved.. will make this over the weekend .. with phulka’s it will surely taste great
Combo sounds new t me..looking delicious…
Looks nice recipe..
Looks delicious, chole masala gives regular dal a zing
i have chole masala that needs to be used up. thank you. i adore anyrhing with moong dal or whole moong.
chole masala with moong dal! Never tried this before. Looks delicious. I’ll have to give it a try for sure. Thanks for the recipe RC. You are a sweetheart
oh this is a great curry in a hurry! if that picture is anything to go by, it must have tasted awesome!!
I made this curry today,it turned out very well.Thanks a lot for the wonderful recipe.