Beef Cholar Dal Curry Recipe

The chewiness of cholar dal makes it a great side to have with porota or ruti (bread). Off the top of my mind this is the only dal you can have for breakfast. Especially Beef Cholar dal Curry with porota is one of my favorite breakfasts.

Of all the Dals (lentil), Cholar Dal is arguably the most versatile of them all. The versatility is true both in terms of how you can cook it and how you can eat it.

Cholar Dal is also different from other Dals when you consider the liquidity as well. Masoor dal is completely liquid with no existence of the original Dal seeds. Cholar Dal is made from hemispheric pieces of Chola (Chickpea) and in the final dish these pieces are visibly present. Depending on how much the Dal was boiled, you will have different levels of chewiness. Ideally the Cholar dal should be boiled around 70%. The pieces of Chola should not fall apart by themselves but they will break under slight pressure. These solid pieces of hemispheres give the Dal the chewy feeling which no other dal has.

Now Cholar Dal is the most presentable of all the Dals. What I mean is it is a dal you can serve to invited guests on special occasions. Masoor dal, moong dal, or any of the other mainstream Dals are not usually served in Dawats/invitations. Moreover, usually these occasions have polao instead of boiled rice and the more liquidy Dals do not go well with polao. In these situations Cholar Dal comes to rescue Bengali’s love for dal. Cholar Dal tastes great with polao. The different ways to cook Cholar Dal can make it more premium when mixed with other premium ingredients. Or just even special ingredients like Narikel (coconut) can make the dal feel more special than other dishes.

Another iconic use of Cholar Dal is in Hindu Temples. During specific Pujas polao and Cholar dal are served as “proshad”. And this variation of proshad is especially sought after because it’s a refreshing change from the usual Khichuri and Niramish Torkari (vegetable curry) usually served in Temples. The Cholar Dal, and the polao, served in Temples is of course vegan. Meaning it does not contain any onion, garlic, or ginger. This vegan Cholar Dal is also served during special religious occasions in Hindu households. And just for clarity, Beef Cholar Dal Curry is not allowed in all practicing Hindu households since Hindus are forbidden from eating beef.

The chewiness of cholar dal makes it a great side to have with porota or ruti (bread). Off the top of my mind this is the only dal you can have for breakfast. Especially Beef Cholar Dal Curry with porota is one of my favorite breakfasts.

Now the last thing I wanna say regarding Cholar Dal, the sheer number of different ways you can cook it. You can add coconut for a sweeter tasting dal, you can add any meat for the flavour of the meat to persist in the dal, you can add vegetables for the taste of vegetables. There are even some unusual dishes made with Cholar dal that aren’t for everyone. One of them being Cholar Dal with goat head curry.

Cholar Dal goes really well with all kinds of meat. But Beef Cholar Dal Curry is particularly iconic in Bangladesh. This dish is most commonly cooked in the weeks following Qurbanir Eid when the majority of Bangladeshi fridges are filled with beef.

Beef Cholar Dal Curry has a stronger flavor than normal Cholar dal. Cooking beef requires more species than cooking plain dal. So the dish has extra spices added along with the flavor of beef itself.

Small cubical pieces of beef are used for the dish. One great thing about the dish is that you don’t always need solid meat, you can use bony pieces or leftover pieces of meat. These less-meaty pieces work great in adding the flavor of beef to the dish. It also makes the dish more accessible to people of different economic classes. Making it truly a dish of every Bangladeshi household.