Welcome to another Indian Cooking 101 Class (read about my Indian Cooking 101 series here). I am your “professor” Ashley Singh Thomas (I use the title “professor” very loosely here, heh). Today’s post is about the different types of legumes used in Indian cooking (scroll down to see large photos of each type of dal).
Before we get started, please know these are just some of the legumes used in Indian cooking. I’ll update this post as I continue to add recipes to my blog, calling for different legumes.
What is the difference between legumes, pulses, lentils, beans?
Everything I just mentioned falls under the legume family. Pulses are dried seeds (which includes dried lentils and dried beans). So everything you see in this post is considered a pulse, and all pulses are considered legumes (but not all legumes are pulses… that’s not really important right now but just FYI).
This is just extra information that I’m sharing with you because I know there have to be a few of you wondering. No one uses the word pulse in real life though (right?), so feel free to forget this information as I doubt you’ll need it in the “real world.”
What is Dal?
Dal has two meanings.
- Dal translates to lentil.
- Dal is also a lentil-based dish.
Let’s use dal in a sentence! So, I might say to my husband, “Roby dear, can you pick up some dal from the Indian grocery store after work so that I can make you dal for dinner tonight?”
Typically I’d be more specific and would ask him to pick up a particular type of dal (like masoor or chana dal). Basically, you need dal (lentil) to make dal (lentil soup).
While you can make a dal out of any pulse, typically, the word “dal” only shows up in the name of a pulse if it is a split lentil. For example, chana dal = split chickpeas, whereas if I am referring to whole chickpeas, I would say chana or chole. I would not say I am making chole dal.
One more interesting thing to know about legumes used in Indian cooking is that the same legume can be used in several different ways: whole, split, with the “skin” on and with the “skin” off. A good example of this are the last three photos of legumes in this blog post, which all actually come from the same black legume: whole black lentils (whole urad dal), whole skinless black lentils (whole skinless urad dal), split and skinless black lentils (split and skinless urad dal).
All you really need to know:
I don’t want to be one of those professors who bombards you with material that isn’t ever going to show up on an exam. Let’s prepare you for your real-life legume exam – you know, the one you’ll be taking as you cruise through the aisles at your local Indian grocery store.
The ONLY thing you need to take away from this “lesson” is what these legumes look like so that when you go to the store, you can figure out what to buy. And the good thing is that these days a lot of packaging has the English name of the legume listed.
Okay before we get to it I have to plug my book – I have several different types of dal recipes in my cookbook which is available here: Indian Food Under Pressure (apparently I am also one of those professors who uses her own book in class and refers to it often…) 😂
Black-Eyed Peas
Other Names: Lobia, Cow Pea, Chawli, Raungi
Recipes that call for Black-Eyed Peas:
Chickpeas
Other Names: Garbanzo Beans, Kabuli Chana, Safed Chana, Chana, Chitte Chole, Chole
Recipes that call for Chickpeas:
- How to Cook Chickpeas in an Instant Pot
- Tamilian Chickpea Sundal
- Butter Chickpeas
- Punjabi Chole/Chana Masala
- Kung Pao Chickpeas
- Chikar Cholay
Brown Chickpeas (Kala Chana)
Other Names: Bengal Gram, Desi Chickpeas
These brown chickpeas are more nutty in flavor than garbanzo beans.
Recipes that call for Brown Chickpeas:
- Brown Chickpeas in Coconut Curry (Kadala Curry)
- Spiced Brown Chickpeas (Sookha Kala Chana)
- Punjabi Brown Chickpea Curry (Kala Chana)
Split Chickpeas (Chana Dal)
Other Names: Split Bengal Gram, Split Desi Chickpeas
When you split and skin brown chickpeas (the photo above this one), you get chana dal. This yellow lentil is what’s inside brown chickpeas (kala chana). Besan, known as chickpea flour, is made using chana dal, whereas chickpea flour in American grocery stores is made using garbanzo beans.
Recipes that call for Split Chickpeas/Chana Dal:
Recipes that call for Besan (Chana Dal Flour):
Whole Mung Beans
Other Names: Green Gram, Sabut Moong, Green Moong
Recipes that call for Whole Mung Beans:
Small Yellow Lentils (Moong Dal)
Other names = yellow split mung beans
When you split a whole mung bean (the green lentil photo above this one), you get moong dal. This tiny yellow lentil is what’s inside whole moong (green lentil).
Recipes that call for Small Yellow Lentils/Moong Dal:
- Khichdi – Rice Lentil Porridge
- Kerala Parippu Curry
- Palak Moong Dal
- Moong Dal Payasam (dessert)
- Moong Dal Halwa (dessert)
Split Pigeon Peas (Toor Dal)
Other names = tuvar, arhar
Recipes that call for Split Pigeon Peas/Toor Dal:
- Spiced Yellow Lentils (Toor Dal)
- Dal Dhokli (Dal with Noodles)
- Masala Dal
- Lentils with Goat (Dal Gosht)
- Kerala Parippu Curry
- Dill Lentil Soup
Kidney Beans
Other Names: Rajma
Recipes that call for Kidney Beans:
- Rajma
- American Chili (not Indian)
Red Lentils (Masoor Dal)
Recipes that call for Masoor Dal:
- Red Lentil Dal
- Pumpkin Dal with Red Lentils
- Lentils with Goat (Dal Gosht)
- Dal Makhani
- Dill Lentil Soup
- Sweet Potato Pie Dal Soup
- Ham & Red Lentil Soup (not Indian)
Whole Black Lentils (Whole Urad Dal)
Other Names: Black Gram, Maa ki Dal
Recipes that call for Whole Black Lentils (Whole Urad Dal):
Whole Skinless Black Lentils (Whole Skinless Urad Dal)
Recipes that call for Whole Skinless Black Lentils (Whole Skinless Urad Dal):
Split and Skinless Black Lentils (Split and Skinless Urad Dal)
CYN says
Thank you so much for this!
A story I read about diets for diabetic dogs, where the author insisted chana dal was the truth and the way, eventually led me here because, as we now know, this doesn’t really tell us enough (or me, ‘being OCD’.)’Okay then, but why not the whole chickpea?’ And then, which exact garbanzo are we talking, do you think? Did she mean then Desi Chana Dal (Des dal for short?) And hey, why not while I’m here: Which is better for felafal?
Fast forward: Might you be abe to tell me which type and/or version of chick pea would be the least glycemic? Avoiding sugar or it’s triggers is our objective here.
Cheers!
Ashish says
Chana Dal is processed from whole chickpeas at an early stage and then split polished. It has different properties versus whole chickpeas. They aren’t really substitutes for each other, either in flavour or taste.
Chana Dal is also referred as Bengal Gram and hence the flour made from it (Besan) is called Gram Flour.
For an authentic Falafel recipe, you will need whole chickpeas (white / kabuli).
Finally, to the glycaemic index (GI) for lentils: all of them score low on GI but Chana Dal has a very low score of 8, hence the suggestion by the doctor. In comparison, whole chickpeas have GI of 33
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
Thanks, Ashish! Just want to add that chana dal is made from brown chickpeas (different from garbanzo white chickpeas) 🙂
Arshia says
Very nice Info. Thanks.
M says
As someone who has inherited every single one of these in a glorious pantry from 2 moms, and is completely unsure of how to use 95% of them, this is an invaluable post. Thank you.
My Heart Beets says
I’m so glad you found this post useful 🙂 I hope you’ll let me know what you think of any recipes you try!
Andre says
Wow just what I was looking for! I’m interested in South Asian cuisine and I often stumble upon the non-english name of the legumes so this page will be very helpful. Thank you so much 🙂
My Heart Beets says
Hi Andre, I’m happy to hear that you found this useful 🙂
Bhuvi says
You forgot the Queen (Mallika) of Dals – Malka – Whole Red Lentils! And the most common ones when you think of the word ‘Lentil’.