Afghan Dal Chana-Style Lentil Bowl

About This Recipe

Split pea and lentil dishes appear regularly in Afghan home cooking, often referred to broadly as dal, simmered with tomato, garlic and warming spices until thick and deeply savory. A distinguishing feature of many Afghan-style dals is the chaka, a fried garlic and dried mint topping (or a garlic-tomato oil, as used here) spooned over the finished dish right before serving, adding a final burst of aroma that cooking the garlic into the pot from the start wouldn't achieve. Yellow split peas hold their shape a bit better than red lentils through a longer simmer, giving the stew some textural interest rather than turning into a completely smooth puree. A good squeeze of lemon at the end lifts the earthy lentils, a common finishing touch across many Afghan bean and lentil dishes. Served with warm naan or rice, this bowl makes a filling, inexpensive vegetarian meal, with the fried garlic topping doing most of the flavor work — don't skip it, since the dal underneath is intentionally kept fairly plain to let that finishing garnish shine.

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 1.5 cupsyellow split peas(rinsed)
• 5 cupswater
• 0.5 tspturmeric
• 1onion(diced)
• 2 tbspoil
• 2 tbsptomato paste
• 1.5 tspfine sea salt
• 6 clovesgarlic(thinly sliced, for topping)
• 3 tbspoil(for topping)
• 1 tspdried mint(for topping)
• 1lemon(juiced)

Instructions

1. 1

   Simmer the split peas

   Combine split peas, water and turmeric in a pot. Bring to a boil, skim any foam, then reduce heat and simmer 25 minutes.

2. 2

   Add the base

   Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a skillet, cook onion 6 minutes until soft, stir in tomato paste and cook 1 minute, then add this mixture to the split peas along with salt.

3. 3

   Continue simmering

   Simmer the dal 10-15 minutes more, stirring occasionally, until thickened and the split peas are tender but still holding some shape.

   Stir occasionally toward the end — split peas can stick and scorch on the bottom of the pot once the liquid reduces.

4. 4

   Make the fried garlic topping

   In a small pan, heat 3 tablespoons oil over medium heat. Fry garlic slices 2-3 minutes until golden, then remove from heat and stir in dried mint immediately.

5. 5

   Finish with lemon

   Stir lemon juice into the dal and taste, adjusting salt as needed.

6. 6

   Serve topped with garlic

   Ladle the dal into bowls and spoon the fried garlic-mint oil generously over the top before serving.

Variations

• •

  Add a diced potato to the simmering split peas for a heartier, more traditional version.

• •

  Use red lentils instead of split peas for a faster-cooking, smoother-textured dal.

• •

  Add a pinch of chili flakes to the fried garlic topping for extra heat.

Storage

Refrigerate up to 4 days in an airtight container; the dal thickens considerably when chilled. Reheat over low heat with extra water stirred in to loosen it back up.

Frequently Asked Questions