Pahadi Chainsa Bhaat is a quintessential Uttarakhand dish made with urad dal. It is healthy and wholesome, a fitting ode to the region.
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Pahadi Chainsa Bhaat is more than just food; it’s a cultural experience. It is also known as Chainsoo or Chainsu in many regions. Chainsa is the name of the dish and hence it is served with rice (bhaat), often the combo is called Chainsa Bhaat.
It’s often prepared for lunch during the winter season, family gatherings, or even as a comforting meal.
The dish embodies the warmth and simplicity of Uttarakhand’s Cuisine, reflecting the region’s emphasis on locally sourced ingredients and earthy flavours.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Split Urad Dal (chilka urad) cleaned, washed and roasted
- Paste of garlic, ginger, green chilli, coriander stalks, and seeds
- Seasoning of salt, turmeric, red chilli and coriander powder
- For Tadka, ghee, asafoetida (hing), black mustard seeds, dried red chillies
- Jumboo is an aromatic herb from Uttarakhand. It gives a strong flavour, and aroma to Chainsa and also makes it easy to digest. It is an optional ingredient.
- Wheat Flour slurry gives a thick consistency to Chainsa. But I prefer a slow cooking method to get that creamy consistency.
- Fresh coriander leaves and green chilli for garnishing
How To Make Chainsa
Step 1: Prepare the Urad Powder
- Clean and wash urad thoroughly under running water until the water runs clear.
- Soak for 10 minutes and drain.
- Now air/sun dry it on a clean muslin cloth. No moisture should remain.
- Dry roast the dried urad in a pan over low heat, till it becomes slightly brown and a nutty/roasted aroma, is released.
- Allow to cool down a bit. Grind to a coarse powder.
Step 2: Make fresh paste
- In a mortar and pestle make a coarse paste of garlic, ginger, green chilli, coriander seeds and stalks using ⅛ teaspoon of salt and water.
Step 3: Cook Chainsa
- In a heavy bottom kadhai, heat mustard oil.
- Add asafoetida and mustard seeds.
- Once seeds start spluttering, add fresh paste and fry for 1 – 2 minutes.
- Next, add urad powder, stir to combine, and fry for 2 – 3 minutes.
- Add water. Continuously stir to avoid lump formation.
- Bring the chainsa to boil while continuously stirring.
- Now reduce the heat, and add salt, turmeric, chilli, and coriander powder.
- Now let chainsa simmer and cook over low heat till it is thick and creamy, and the dal is nicely cooked. This takes 20 minutes.
Step 4: Tempering (Tadka)
- Heat ghee in a small pan.
- Add dried red chillies and jumboo. Cook for 10 – 20 seconds.
- Pour this sizzling tadka over the Chainsa.
- Cover and let Chainsa sit for 5 minutes before serving.
Add freshly chopped coriander and green chilli. Serve Pahadi Chainsa warm with bhaat (cooked rice), lai ki sabzi, and mooli ka thechua.
Tips for Authentic Flavor
- Use Ghee liberally in tadka. It adds richness and depth, making the dish authentic. Also, helps in digesting the protein.
- Stick to simple spices. Avoid overpowering the dish with garam masala, excessive chillies, or readymade pastes. The simplicity is what makes the dish stand out.
- Cook Slowly: If time permits, slow-cook dal in a heavy bottom kadhai instead of adding wheat/rice flour slurry.
- Wash the Urad. Many chainsa recipes suggest making the dish without washing the lentils. It is very harmful and makes the dish difficult to digest. I usually wash a big batch of urad, dry it out nicely, roast it and store it.
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Pahadi Chainsa Bhaat Recipe
- Mixer Grinder
- Heavy Bottom Kadhai
- Tadka Pan
Ingredients
- ⅓ Cup split urad (chilka urad)
- 1 tablespoon mustard oil
- ½ teaspoon mustard seeds (rai)
- ⅛ teaspoon hing (asafoetida)
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
- ¼ teaspoon red chilli powder
- ¼ teaspoon coriander powder
- 1 teaspoon salt or to taste
- 3 Cup water
Ingredients For Paste
- 2 garlic cloves
- 2 green chilli
- 1 inch ginger
- 5 – 6 fresh coriander stalks
- 1 teaspoon coriander seeds (sabut dhaniya)
Ingredients For Tadka
- 1 tablespoon ghee
- 2 dried red chilies
- 1 tablespoon Jumboo (optional)
Ingredients For Garnish
- handful of fresh coriander leaves, chopped
Instructions
- Clean and wash urad thoroughly under running water until the water runs clear.
- Soak for 10 minutes and drain. Now air/sun dry it on a clean muslin cloth. No moisture should remain.
- Dry roast the dried urad in a pan over low heat, till it becomes slightly brown and a nutty/roasted aroma, is released.
- In a mortar and pestle make a coarse paste of garlic, ginger, green chilli, coriander seeds and stalks using ⅛ teaspoon of salt and water.
- In a heavy bottom kadhai, heat mustard oil. Add asafoetida and mustard seeds.
- Once seeds start spluttering, add fresh paste and fry for 1 – 2 minutes.
- Next, add urad powder, stir to combine, and fry for 2 – 3 minutes. Add water. Continuously stir to avoid lump formation.
- Bring the chainsa to boil while continuously stirring. Now reduce the heat, add salt, turmeric, chilli and coriander powder.
- Now let chainsa simmer and cook over low heat till it is thick and creamy, and the dal is nicely cooked. This takes 20 minutes. At this stage, if you think its not creamy enough, add wheat flour slurry. And if it's too thick add little hot water.
- For tadka, Heat ghee in a small pan. Add dried red chillies and jumboo. Cook for 10 – 20 seconds. Pour this sizzling tadka over the Chainsa. Cover and let Chainsa sit for 5 minutes before serving.
- Add freshly chopped coriander and green chilli.
- Serve Pahadi Chainsa warm with bhaat (cooked rice), lai ki sabzi, and mooli ka thechua.
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