Matar Dal and White Peas (Safed Matar): Soaking, Ragda, Chaat

If your “chana daal” turned into a pea-smelling mush in 20 minutes, you probably bought matar daal. Matar dal is simply dried peas, split, and safed matar is the same pea kept whole: cheap, filling and perfectly good to eat once you know what you’ve got. Soak white peas 6 to 8 hours, give them 4 to 5 whistles, and they’re ready for ragda, chaat or pani puri. Below: how to tell matar from chana daal, timings for each form, three recipes and the soak-water check for dyed green peas.

What is matar dal, and what is safed matar?

Same pea. All of these come from the ordinary garden pea, left on the plant until the pods turn papery and the seeds dry rock hard, and the only real differences are the colour of the variety and whether the miller has skinned and split it.

Fresh green peas are a different kitchen story altogether, covered in our guide to picking sweet matar and freezing it. This article is only about the dried ones.

Matar dal vs chana dal: how to tell them apart

Matar daal is cheaper than chana daal, and loose matar is sometimes mixed into chana daal or sold as it. Not dangerous. Just not what you paid for.

• Shape: matar halves are neat, round and smoothly domed, like a split ball. Chana daal halves are uneven, with a hump on one side and a small pointed tip where the sprout would grow.
• Colour: matar is a flatter, chalkier yellow. Chana daal is a warmer golden yellow with a slight gloss.
• Smell when cooking: matar smells clearly of peas. Chana daal smells nutty.
• Texture: matar falls apart into a thick, floury puree. Chana daal stays firmer and holds its grains.

If a batch cooks in half the expected time and goes to mush, suspect matar, and compare with the timings in our chana daal soaking and cooking guide, where properly soaked chana daal still needs a good 3 to 4 whistles and keeps its grains.

Myth: matar daal is “fake daal”

Videos sometimes call matar daal fake chana daal, as if it were something man-made. It isn’t. It’s a real pulse with a long history in desi and British kitchens alike (split pea soup is the same thing). The problem is only mislabelling, and the fix is buying from a shop you trust or a sealed, labelled pack.

How many hours to soak white peas

Six to eight hours, or overnight, in three to four times their volume of water, because white peas drink a lot and roughly double in size. In summer, change the water once or move the bowl to the fridge after 8 hours so it doesn’t turn sour.

Forgot to soak? Boil the washed peas hard for 2 minutes, cover, switch off and leave them for an hour, then cook as soaked. Cooking them straight from dry takes a long time, usually 8 or more whistles, and gives an uneven result with split skins and hard centres. A small pinch of baking soda in the soak water softens stubborn old peas. Only when needed. It dulls the flavour and destroys some B vitamins.

Split matar daal needs far less: 1 to 2 hours.

How to cook white peas for pani puri, ragda and chaat

For 1 cup (about 190 g) soaked safed matar, use 3 cups water, 1/2 tsp haldi and 1/2 tsp salt in the cooker. Timing depends on the dish.

• For pani puri and chaat (peas whole, soft but holding shape): 3 whistles on medium, then natural release.
• For ragda (soft, half mashed): 4 to 5 whistles, or 1 whistle on high and 15 minutes on low.
• Open pot: 60 to 90 minutes of gentle simmering, soaked, topping up with hot water.

Press a pea between your fingers: it should squash with no gritty centre, and if it doesn’t, give it another whistle rather than another hour of guessing, keeping the cooker no more than half full because peas foam like every pulse.

Simple ragda

1. Cook 1 cup soaked safed matar for 4 to 5 whistles as above. Mash about a third of the peas with a ladle.
2. Heat 1 tbsp oil. Add 1/2 tsp zeera, a pinch of hing, 1 chopped onion and 1 chopped green chilli, and fry 4 minutes.
3. Add 1/2 tsp lal mirch, 1/2 tsp dhania powder and 1/2 tsp chaat masala, then the peas and 1 cup hot water.
4. Simmer 10 minutes, stirring, until it’s thick and pourable. Add salt to taste.
5. Serve over aloo tikki with imli chutney, green chutney, chopped onion and sev.

Safed matar chaat

1. Drain 2 cups whole, 3-whistle white peas and let them cool.
2. Add 1 boiled, cubed potato, 1 chopped onion, 1 chopped tomato and 1 chopped green chilli.
3. Season with 1 tsp chaat masala, 1/2 tsp roasted zeera powder, salt, 2 tbsp imli chutney and the juice of half a lemon.
4. Toss, top with hara dhania, and eat within a few hours.

For pani puri, fill the puris with a spoon of these warm peas and a little boiled potato, and keep the tamarind and mint water in the fridge. At street stalls, the water is the part that makes people ill, not the peas.

A plain matar daal, and what a katori gives

Soak 1 cup split matar daal for 1 to 2 hours, then cook it with 3 cups water and 1/2 tsp haldi for 3 to 4 whistles, or simmer 40 to 50 minutes in an open pot. It breaks down into a thick, slightly sweet puree. Finish with a zeera, garlic and red chilli tarka, or cook it with chopped lauki or aloo, as Bengali homes do with their matar daal. Salt goes in at the end.

A katori of medium matar daal, made from about 35 g dry, gives roughly 8 g of protein and a few grams of fibre, about 120 kcal before the tarka. Whole safed matar in ragda or chaat gives a bit more fibre per katori. Ordinary, solid numbers.

Does matar cause gas?

Yes, sometimes. Dried peas, whole ones especially, carry skins and fermentable sugars that gut bacteria turn into gas. Soaking and discarding the water, cooking until fully soft, adding hing and zeera, and smaller helpings all help. Split daal is usually easier than whole white peas.

Dyed dried green peas: the soak-water check

Dried green peas fade as they dry and age, and some traders colour them back to a bright, fresh-looking green with dyes that were never meant for food. A simple soak can hint at it.

1. Put 2 tbsp dried green peas in a clear glass with 1 cup plain water.
2. Leave them 30 minutes, stirring once.
3. Hold the glass against a white surface. Plain peas give pale, faintly yellowish or slightly greenish water. A strong, bright green that looks like food colouring is a warning sign.
4. Rub a soaked pea on white tissue. Green that comes off easily is another sign.

This check suggests. It doesn’t prove, and a clean result doesn’t guarantee purity either, because only a lab can confirm what’s in a batch. If the water turns bright green, don’t taste it or cook it; return the pack. Our wider guide to dyed peas, bhindi and chillies covers the fresh vegetables. Whole safed matar and plain yellow matar daal are not usually dyed, but the same rule applies to any colour that bleeds.

Storing dried peas and cooked ragda

Dry peas and matar daal keep up to a year in an airtight jar in a cool, dry place. Cooked peas and ragda keep 2 days in the fridge, chilled within 2 hours, or a month frozen in portions; reheat until steaming and loosen ragda with hot water. Soaked, drained peas keep a day in the fridge. For more pulses, see Grains, Daals & Pulses.

Matar dal and white peas: your questions