Chana dal — split and husked black chickpeas — occupies a unique and beloved position in Indian dal cooking, combining the satisfying, nutty, slightly sweet flavour of chickpea with the quicker cooking time and pleasant, slightly granular texture of a split lentil. Larger and more substantial than most other dal varieties, chana dal holds its shape beautifully during cooking, producing a satisfying, textured preparation rather than dissolving to a smooth purée. Lioncroft's Chana Dal is carefully sourced and cleaned to ensure the consistent quality and reliable performance that everyday cooking demands.

Chana dal is enormously versatile across Indian regional cuisines. In Bengal, it is cooked with pumpkin, coconut, and mustard oil for a characteristically aromatic dal. In South India, it is used as a tempering ingredient — fried in oil at the start of cooking until golden and nutty — adding texture and flavour to chutneys, rice dishes, and vegetable preparations. In Maharashtra, it forms the basis of the beloved puran poli filling — slow-cooked with jaggery and cardamom until it becomes a sweet, fragrant paste that is stuffed into thin, griddle-cooked flatbread. Chana dal is also dried and coarsely ground to produce the coarse flour used in certain snack preparations. Rich in protein, fibre, and slow-releasing carbohydrates, Lioncroft's Chana Dal is a deeply nourishing, wonderfully flavourful staple of the Indian kitchen.