Langar Dal |Amritsari Dal

If you have ever tasted Lagar wali dal in Gurudwara, I am sure you have that taste lingering on somewhere till now. Rich creamy and delicious Punjabi kali langar dal tastes almost divine. Also known as maa chole ki dal, this dal is easy to make. Follow along while I share how I make this simple recipe of Langar wali dal.

Why Is This Called Langar Wali Dal?

This dal got its name because this is a Dal recipe that is mostly cooked and served in Gurdwara Langar. Langar is basically a community meal where people sit together and relish Guru ka Prasad called langar.

People contribute money, grains, legumes, fresh produce and then with all these things meals are cooked and served to everyone. So Langar is cooked as per the supply of ingredients. Meals are served irrespective of cast cread or race, probably that makes it even better.

Even this Dal which is known as langar wali dal ideally used to be a mix of dals which people contributed. SO as far as I have heard from elders there is no fixed recipe but general idea of how this delicious dal is cooked. { If you have any other input please share with me in the comment below I would love to add them here}

For me, this dal always reminds me of my grandmother, who used to cook maa chane ki dal in a much different way. She used to make it in the tandoor (clay oven) rather than cooking in the pressure cooker as our generation does.

Whenever we used to visit our village, she used to make tandoori paranthas, served with a big blob of freshly churned white butter. After cooking the breakfast, she would put this dal in a big earthen pot called a kunni that is why sometimes people call it kunni dal too. The kunni was placed in the tandoor and dal was slow cooked for about 2-3 hours on very slow fire.

Because of long slow cooking over the wood fire, the dal was quite smoky and had a unique flavour. Finally, she used to add tadka to prepare this creamy Punjabi tadka dal for lunch. A simple heavenly meal with the unique aroma of little smoke and we kids devoured it tandoori onion parantha.

Though I do not have the patience to cook it in tandoor nor we have space, I still try to make tadka/tempering like her. Oh! I do miss that smoky taste but can’t afford to cook in a clay oven these days. Here goes my recipe of Punjabi Langar ki Dal.

Ingredients for Langar Wali Dal

You need two types of lentils for this. Chana Dal (split Bengal gram ) and Urad Dal. You can either use whole urad dal or broken urad dal (but never washed or white urad). I typically use broken black urad dal/ Mah ki dal. 

Spices: Whole cumin, Coriander powder, garam masala powder, red chilli powder, turmeric powder, asafoetida 

Fresh: Ginger, green chilli, coriander for garnish

Fat: Ghee/butter

How to Cook Langar Dal

As I mentioned above best-tasting dal is typically slow-cooked. But in a pressure cooker or Instant pot, the time reduces considerably. Only making Punjabi tadka takes time. You can even reduce that time if you have my onion tomato masala ready in the fridge.

If you are into meal prep this dal recipe is pretty much dump together everything and let it cook kind of recipe.

Step by Step pictures Recipe

Mix both dried lentils/dals (chana dal and urad dal) and  wash them first. Wash nicely 3-4 times till water in which you wash dal runs clear and looks clean.

Along with both dal add water, salt, turmeric powder, red chilli powder, hing/asafoetida and tomato-onion masala.

Now pressure cook this dal for 4-5 whistles if you are using the regular pressure cooker.

To make Langar wali dal in Instant Pot put together everything I have mentioned in the above step.  Set the instant potion pressure mode for 20 min.

Next, allow the pressure to release naturally and on the side make simple Punjabi tadka. Tadka is also known as baghar or tempering. This is the most important part of cooking any Indian dal recipe.

For making tadka/tempering/bhaghar add ghee in a pan switch on the heat.

after ghee melts, Add cumin, chopped ginger, green chillies, whole red chillies and coriander powder and garam masala powder.

Once everything starts sizzling, pour this tadka over the cooked dal and mix it.

You know what’s the best part of tadka is 🙂 the sizzling sound of spices and masala Isn’t it 🙂 So make sure to pour some dal in tadka pan and put that back in the pressure cooker. Now mix that nicely and your langar wali dal is ready to be served.

Langar Dal Recipe Video

Recipe Notes and Tips

• All Dals generally thicken as they cool down. This dal also thickens as it cools down so keep the final consistency accordingly in final step of cooking.
• If there are leftovers, you can reheat leftover dal by adding a bot of hot water to correct it's consistency. 

How to Serve It

Dal is served typically with tandoori roti or paratha. But we love it with missi roti or simple roti as well.

Serve it on a plate with some boondi raita, papad, achar on the side for a comforting meal like it is served in Langar. Or pour a ladleful of maa chana dal over steaming hot rice and enjoy a comforting meal this dal tastes delicious anyways. 

More Dal Recipes To Try

Dal Makhani

Instant Pot Masoor Dal

Masoor Dal 

Khatti Dal

Punjabi Sabut Moong Dal

Sookhi Urad dal