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Cooking daal

How do you cook safaid channa so they are soft?

“Safaid chane naram kaise pakayein?”

2 min readUpdated October 2026By The Rice Guy
The short answer

Soak overnight (8 to 10 hours), drain, then cook in fresh water with a small pinch of baking soda: about 4 to 5 whistles in a pressure cooker or 1 to 1.5 hours in a pot. Add salt near the end.

Step by step

  1. Rinse and soak overnight in plenty of water.
  2. Drain, cover with fresh water by about 5 cm.
  3. Add a small pinch of baking soda.
  4. Pressure cook 4 to 5 whistles, or simmer covered 1 to 1.5 hours.
  5. Check: one chickpea should squash easily between your fingers.
  6. Add salt, then use for chaat, cholay or pulao.
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