chana dal

I found out about chana dal from the blog of David Mendosa, who writes about diabetes. I stumbled onto his blog after I realized that the way I have been eating has a lot to do with a good diabetes diet. David has quite a bit of information about chana dal, along with many chana dal recipes. Apparently, this relative of chickpeas has one of the lowest glycemic indices, with almost no effect on blood sugar. It's also high in protein and very high in fiber. Sounded perfect. So I ordered some from Bob's Red Mill.

Most sources say to soak it overnight or to cook it in a pressure cooker, but on the package from Bob's Red Mill it said to cook it for about 20 minutes. So I decided to treat it like lentils.

Cut up and cook bacon slices until almost crisp.
Saute thinly sliced onions and small chunks of carrots in the bacon fat.
Add one Ancient Sweet pepper (I first mentioned them here), sliced into small bits.
Add one chopped jalapeño.
Add to taste chipotle, ground coriander, garam masala, and black pepper.
Add stock or water, and cook until done.

I served it (to myself) on bulgur, with a small dollop of yogurt for twang. Lovely. I think this legume is going to become a staple in my kitchen.