Chana Dall
They can be eaten as a quick snack with some pickle, used as substitute burgers, or served with rice and/or a salad for a filling and delicious main meal. They are vegan (so milk and egg-free), wheat-free, low in fat, high in protein. On top of all that they’re easy to make.
Ingredients:
200g chana dall
2 tsp whole cumin seeds
2 tsp ground coriander
1 red chilli pepper chopped Salt to taste
Groundnut oil for shallow frying
The problem is that many foods high in carbohydrates send our blood sugar levels skyrocketing. But when I found the food of my dreams a couple of years ago, I ignored it because I had no idea what it was.
Chana dal is a practically unknown in the West, but is becoming available here too. Chana dal is a bean that comes from India, where they appreciate it very much.
My interest in chana dal began when I started gathering information for my Web page about the glycemic index, which ranks foods on how they effect our blood sugar levels. This index measures how much your blood sugar increases in the two or three hours after eating.
The glycemic index is about foods high in carbohydrates. Foods high in fat or protein don't cause your blood sugar level to rise much. But the problem, many experts believe, is that people with diabetes should limit how much fat and protein they eat.
My initial reaction was to take Bengal gram dal out of the glycemic index, because the number was almost unbelievably low. It has almost no effect on your blood glucose level. This is something that is very important to anyone with diabetes and to many other people as well.
Chana dal may not be the end of my quest for tasty food that is good for me. Maybe scientists will invent the perfect food sometime in the 22nd century. Meanwhile, I keep on eating my chana dal and encourage you to try it too, whether or not you have diabetes.
This bean looks just like yellow split peas, but is quite different because it doesn't readily boil down to mush. It's more closely related to garbanzo beans, or chickpeas.