Green Daal with Panch Phoran has a Bengali touch, just because it uses this highly aromatic 5 spice blend. This daal is fashioned after a ‘green daal’ that featured on the menu of my favorite neighborhood Bong restaurant. They have closed shop long ago, but I do remember the daal. I could not find a lot of references to this daal on the web. I keep thinking it is split green chana daal or split peas, the one we use to make split pea soup. But I haven’t found that daal in stores in India anywhere.

Some recipes on the web used whole green moong, so I am using a mix of split green moong daal and chana daal. This comes closest to the texture of the daal I remember. The Panch Phoran is the star here, and we do not want to overpower it with other spices. But I am using a ginger garlic paste and some garam masala. The combination of these spices gives this green daal with panch phoran a pretty complex flavor.

The daal can get a bit strong in flavor so add a dollop of ghee while serving. If you remember, I blogged about a gingery green daal at the beginning of #30daysofdaal. Although the same daal is used here, the tastes could not be farther apart.

The chana daal here is more for bite and texture and it also adds some creamy thickness, even though it remains whole. Have you checked out my dry chana daal with onions recipe yet? As I go through different daals, the chana daal is coming into prominence in the recipes now. Another Bengali Daal, the cholar daal is made entirely with chana daal and I may be posting that recipe too as part of #30daysofdaal.

Check out this green daal with panch phoran. I promise it is something extraordinary.

Green Daal with Panch Phoran

Green Daal with Panch Phoran is actually an easy recipe and very different from everyday flavors. Try this on a weeknight for a change.

#30daysofdaal is close to the finish line and as they say, the last lap is always the most difficult. Thank you for your support and stay tuned for more.