Cholar Dal with Roti
Bengal's festive chana dal, cooked with coconut pieces, whole garam masala and a gentle sweetness; usually served with luchi, here with whole-wheat roti.
- Region
- West Bengal
- Status
- Traditional; roti instead of fried luchi
- Diet label
- Strictly vegetarian, egg-free
- Time
- Soak 1 h · Prep 15 min · Cook 35 min
- Serves
- 3
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Good for
- Lunch, festive meals
- Tags
- Good source · High fibre · Soy-free · Whey-free
- Allergens
- Gluten (roti), milk (ghee, curd)
Nutrition (estimated)
- Calories
- 520 kcal
- Protein
- 22 g
- Carbs
- 77 g
- Fat
- 12 g
- Fibre
- 16 g
Headline values are for the full plate.
| kcal | Protein | Carbs | Fat | Sat fat | Fibre | Total sugars | Protein per 100 kcal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cholar dal only (about 250 ml) | 235 | 11 g | 28 g | 8 g | 4 g | 8 g | 5 g | 5.0 g |
| Full plate: dal, 2 rotis, 100 g curd | 520 | 22 g | 77 g | 12 g | 6 g | 16 g | 10 g | 4.0 g |
Good source. Contains 5 g sugar and 10 g raisins for 3 servings (about 4 g sugars per serving from these). Values checked against IFCT 2017 on 14 Oct 2026.
Ingredients
- 150 g chana dal · ½ tsp turmeric · 5 g salt
- 15 g fresh coconut, in small slivers · 10 g raisins · 5 g sugar
- 10 g ghee · 1 tsp cumin seeds · 2 bay leaves · 2 dry red chillies · 3 green cardamoms · 3 cloves · 1 small cinnamon stick · 10 g ginger, grated · pinch of hing
- Plate: 210 g whole-wheat atta for 6 rotis · 300 g curd
Method
- Soak chana dal 1 hour. Pressure-cook with turmeric and 500 ml water for 3 whistles; the grains should be soft but hold shape.
- Heat ghee; fry the coconut slivers until golden. Remove.
- In the same ghee, add cumin, bay leaves, red chillies and the whole spices for 30 seconds, then ginger and hing.
- Add the dal, 150 ml water, salt, sugar, raisins and coconut. Simmer 8 minutes until thick enough to coat a spoon.
- Serve with rotis and curd.
Protein optimisation
- Chana dal supplies 10.5 g per serving, rotis 8 g, curd 3.5 g.
- Boost: serve with a side of 100 g chhena or paneer bhurji (+18 g protein, +260 kcal for the side).
- Lower sugar: omit the sugar and raisins; the dal is still traditional in many homes without them.
Variations, serving and storage
- Regional: Odia version — omit sugar, add a little panch phoron.
- Substitution: luchi for festive meals (about 120–150 kcal each, deep-fried).
- Storage: 3 days refrigerated.
- Food safety: reheat until boiling.
- Meal prep: excellent.
Nutrition values are estimates calculated from the Indian Food Composition Tables 2017 (ICMR-NIN) and typical product labels. They have not been laboratory-analysed and will vary with your ingredients, brands and cooking. Recipes are for healthy adults and are general information only, not a substitute for advice from a doctor or qualified dietitian. If you are pregnant or breastfeeding, cooking for children, have food allergies, or live with kidney disease, diabetes or any other medical condition, please take professional advice about your diet. From the collection Protein-Rich India by Dr. Shantanu Deshpande · drshantanudeshpande.com