Daal Chana Most loved
چنے کی دال
Split chickpea lentils cooked low and slow until each grain holds its shape, finished with a garlic-and-cumin tarka in desi ghee.
Plate · serves 1
Rs 260
A day in our kitchen
Nothing here is cooked in advance.
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The daal goes in to soak
Chana, mash and masoor, each washed and soaked separately — the step most kitchens skip, and the reason our daal holds its shape.
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Masala ground by hand
Whole cumin, coriander and red chilli, roasted and ground fresh. No packet masala, ever.
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Slow simmer on a low flame
Two and a half hours in a heavy degh, stirred often, never pressure-cooked into paste.
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Rice on, orders open
Basmati boiled in small batches through the day so no plate ever gets rice that's been sitting.
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Tarka at the last minute
Garlic crackling in desi ghee, poured over your portion as it's boxed. That sound is the whole point.
Assalam-o-Alaikum
We started because we missed home food.
Daal Chawal began in a family kitchen in Karachi, cooking for friends who were tired of oily takeaway and too busy to cook. Word spread the way it does with good food — one neighbour at a time.
We still cook in small batches, in the same kitchen, with the same three daals. If a degh doesn't turn out right, it doesn't leave the house. That's the only quality control we've ever needed.
The Daal Chawal kitchen
Cooking in Karachi, every single day