Chana dal namkeen or dal moth is one of popular snack in North India along with mong dal moth. My mom used to make this for Holi, Diwali or just for a snack. This is one of most easy namkeen recipe with minimal ingredients easily available in your pantry. It's spicy, tangy, crunchy, tasty and that's why also known as dal moth chaat.

Pair with tea or coffee it's a great tea time snack, perfect to munch on and have a book to read, what else we can ask for. I make this in small batches but my mom used to do in large batch which use to last for months. We can do the same with mong dal and dal moth is actually made from whole masoor dal, Agre ki dalmoth is made from whole moth dal which goes as namkeen/mixture with thin sev or we can also use ompodi, fried cashews etc.

Since Holi is around the corner I thought of posting this simple namkeen recipe, you can make this well in advance to have a hassle free holi celebration. Try this and you going to love it.

Ingredients for Chana Dal Namkeen or Chana Dal Moth

• Chana Dal - 1 cup
• Oil - To Deep Fry
• Salt - 1/4 tsp or To Taste
• Chilli Powder - 1 tsp
• Citrus Acid - 1/2 tsp or Amchur (Dry Mango) Powder - 1/2 tsp

Method:

1. Wash and soak chana dal 3-4 hours or over night.
2. Rinse again 2-3 times and spread evenly washed dal in a kitchen towel or thick cotton cloth for 15-20 minutes so all the water is absorbed and dal becomes dry.
   If required, change towel to make dal dry.

3. Heat oil in a wok(kadai) until smoking point, add dal in batches and fry until golden brown/crispy or until the 'shh' sounds eases from oil and keep in kitchen tissue to remove excess oil.
   
   You can see in the above & below pictures bubbles in oil while dal was added and when the dal gets fried there's almost no bubbles remains.

4. Repeat same for rest of dal.
5. Once all the dal gets fried, add salt, chilli powder and citrus (or amchur powder) and mix well. Allow the mixture to cool completely before storing in air-tight container.

Here our chatpata Chana Dal namkeen is ready.

Variations

• You can add crushed black pepper and black salt.
• You can do same with Moong Dal.

Enjoy!