(repost from 2015)

I used to feel sorry for my Indian colleagues, especially the vegetarians.  Each day for lunch they would eat a bowl of what looked like mush.

“Poor creatures,” I said to myself.  “All they can eat is lentils.”

Then I tried a few Indian “lentil” recipes, and they were delicious.  That opened up a whole new avenue and aspect of Indian cooking that I didn’t know about, and continues to fascinate.

First I learned that dhal (or dal) isn’t just lentils.  It’s the Hindi word for legumes/pulses, so that includes lentils, peas, and beans.

I’m going to jump in to the six most popular forms of dhal, with some pre-notes, some inter-notes and lots of post-notes.

The Six Most Popular Types of Dhal

A note about names:  some types of dhal have different names, presumably because of which part of India you’re from.  The Internet isn’t especially helpful in this respect, so I’ve included alternative names, but not minor spelling variations, e.g. “kabli channa” = “kabuli chana.”

Most dhal are used in their hulled/husked and split form, but some are used whole.  These pics are all about the split varieties, with the exception of sabat urad dhal.

Clockwise from top, the first two are lentils:

1) Yellow lentils, toor/toovar dhal.

2) Pink lentils, masar/masoor dhal.  Pink lentils unfortunately when cooked lose their lovely pink/salmon color and turn yellow.  They are interchangeable with yellow lentils in cooking.

The next two are beans:

3) Mung beans, moong dhal.  Unsplit and sprouted, they are mung beans commonly used in Chinese food.

4) Sabat urad/maan/kali dhal. In their husked and split version, they’re known as urad dhal. In their whole form, they’re know as “special” dhal. Recipe will follow.

Again from top and clockwise, two of these (top and left) are peas.

5) Chana dhal.  These look remarkably similar to split yellow peas, but aren’t.  I don’t think I could tell the difference (and they cook the same), but others could.

5a)  Your basic supermaket green lentils, an unhulled and unsplit version of what?  I don’t know, so I don’t use them in Indian cooking.

6) (cooked) Kabuli channa/aka chickpeas or garbanzos.

Post-notes:

1)  This post has been a bit dry, no pun intended.  I can only encourage you to explore the wonderful world of dhal, maybe starting with the Masala Dhal recipe, one of my faves, that I posted previously.

2) There are three basic ways to cook dhal:  cook them until they turn to mush and/or puree them, then at the last minute stir in tadka (spiced ghee, butter or oil); soak them, then cook them so the individual grains remain separate and whole; or as part of a stew with other vegetables or chicken/meat/fish.

3) Of course you can mix it up, vary the spices, and I often add vegetables like cauliflower florets or chopped summer squash.

3) Don’t try to cook any sort of dhal quickly.  If you use a high boil, you’ll end up with a mixture of mushy outsides and undercooked and grainy insides, which is unpleasant.  This applies especially to the larger types like kabli channa, but works well for all.

Cheers,

-R