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In
Indian cuisine Indian cuisine consists of a variety of regional and traditional cuisines native to India. Given the diversity in soil, climate, culture, ethnic groups, and occupations, these cuisines vary substantially and use locally available spices, he ...
, ''dal'' (also spelled ''daal'' or ''dhal''; pronunciation: , Hindi: दाल, Urdu: ) are dried, split
pulses In medicine, a pulse represents the tactile arterial palpation of the cardiac cycle (heartbeat) by trained fingertips. The pulse may be palpated in any place that allows an artery to be compressed near the surface of the body, such as at the nec ...
(e.g., lentils,
pea The pea is most commonly the small spherical seed or the seed-pod of the flowering plant species ''Pisum sativum''. Each pod contains several peas, which can be green or yellow. Botanically, pea pods are fruit, since they contain seeds and d ...
s, and
bean A bean is the seed of several plants in the family Fabaceae, which are used as vegetables for human or animal food. They can be cooked in many different ways, including boiling, frying, and baking, and are used in many traditional dishes th ...
s) that do not require soaking before cooking. India is the largest producer of pulses in the world. The term is also used for various
soup Soup is a primarily liquid food, generally served warm or hot (but may be cool or cold), that is made by combining ingredients of meat or vegetables with stock, milk, or water. Hot soups are additionally characterized by boiling solid ing ...
s prepared from these pulses. These pulses are among the most important
staple food A staple food, food staple, or simply a staple, is a food that is eaten often and in such quantities that it constitutes a dominant portion of a standard diet for a given person or group of people, supplying a large fraction of energy needs and ...
s in
South Asian countries South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz' ...
, and form an important part of the cuisines of the Indian subcontinent.


Use

The most common way of preparing dal is in the form of a soup to which
onions An onion (''Allium cepa'' L., from Latin ''cepa'' meaning "onion"), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus ''Allium''. The shallot is a botanical variety of the onion ...
, tomatoes and various spices may be added. The outer hull may or may not be stripped off. Almost all types of dal come in three forms: (1) unhulled or ''sabut'' (meaning whole in Hindi), e.g., ''sabut urad dal'' or ''mung sabut''; (2) split with hull left on the split halves is described as ''chilka'' (which means shell in Hindi), e.g. ''chilka urad dal'', ''mung dal chilka''; (3) split and hulled or ''dhuli'' (meaning washed), e.g., ''urad dhuli'' or ''mung dhuli'' in Hindi. Dal is frequently eaten with
flatbread A flatbread is a bread made with flour; water, milk, yogurt, or other liquid; and salt, and then thoroughly rolled into flattened dough. Many flatbreads are unleavened, although some are leavened, such as pizza and pita bread. Flatbreads ran ...
s such as '' rotis'' or '' chapatis,'' or with rice. The latter combination is called '' dal bhat'' in Nepali, Bengali and Marathi. In addition, certain types of dal are fried and salted and eaten as a dry snack, and a variety of savory snacks are made by frying a paste made from soaked and ground dals in different combinations, to which other ingredients such as spices and nuts (commonly cashews) may be added.


Etymology

The word ''dāl'' (dal) derives from the Sanskrit verbal root ''dal-'' "to split", which is inherited from Proto-Indo-European ''*delh₁-'' “to split, divide”.


Use by region

Dal preparations are eaten with rice, chapati and naan on the Indian subcontinent. The manner in which it is cooked and presented varies by region. In South India, dal is often called "paruppu". It is primarily used to make the dish called sambar. It is also used to make
paruppu In Indian cuisine, ''dal'' (also spelled ''daal'' or ''dhal''; pronunciation: , Hindi: दाल, Urdu: ) are dried, split pulses (e.g., lentils, peas, and beans) that do not require soaking before cooking. India is the largest producer of ...
that is mixed with charu and rice.


Nutrition

Cooked (boiled) dal contains 9% protein, 70% water, 20% carbohydrates (includes 8% fiber), and 1% fat. It also supplies a rich content (20% or more of the Daily Value, DV) of the B vitamin, folate (45% DV) and manganese (25% DV), with moderate amounts of thiamine (11% DV) and several
dietary mineral In the context of nutrition, a mineral is a chemical element required as an essential nutrient by organisms to perform functions necessary for life. However, the four major structural elements in the human body by weight (oxygen, hydrogen, carbon ...
s, such as iron (19% DV) and phosphorus (18% DV). Note: All nutrient values including protein are in %DV per 100 grams of the food item. Significant values are highlighted in light gray color and bold letters. Cooking reduction = % Maximum typical reduction in nutrients due to boiling without draining for ovo-lacto-vegetables group.


Common ingredients

* Pigeon pea, i.e., yellow pigeon peas, is available either plain or oily. It is called ''toor dal'' in Hindi. It is called ''thuvaram paruppu'' in Tamil Nadu, ''thuvara parippu'' in Kerala and is the main ingredient for the dish '' sambar''. In Karnataka it is called ''togari bele'' and is an important ingredient in '' bisi bele bath''. It is called ''kandi pappu'' in Telugu and is used in the preparation of a staple dish ''pappu charu''. It is also known as arhar dal in northern India. *''Chana dal'' is produced by removing the outer layer of black chickpeas and then splitting the kernel''.'' Although machines can do this, it can be done at home by soaking the whole chickpeas and removing the loose skins by rubbing. In Karnataka it is called . Other varieties of chickpea may be used, e.g., ''
kabuli Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Acco ...
dal''. *
Yellow split peas Split peas are an agricultural or culinary preparation consisting of the dried, peeled and split seeds of '' Pisum sativum'', the pea. Harvesting The peas are spherical when harvested, with an outer skin. The peas are dried and the dull-colour ...
are very prevalent in the Indian communities of
Guyana Guyana ( or ), officially the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern mainland of South America. Guyana is an indigenous word which means "Land of Many Waters". The capital city is Georgetown. Guyana is bordered by the ...
,
Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...
,
Suriname Suriname (; srn, Sranankondre or ), officially the Republic of Suriname ( nl, Republiek Suriname , srn, Ripolik fu Sranan), is a country on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north ...
, Jamaica, South Africa, Mauritius, Trinidad and Tobago, and are popular amongst Indians in the United States as well as India. There, it is referred to generically as dal and is the most popular dal. It is prepared similarly to dals found in India, but may be used in recipes. The whole dried pea is called ''matar'' or ''matar dal'' in India. The whole dried yellow pea is the main ingredient in the common
Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...
street food '' ghugni''. *Split
mung bean The mung bean (''Vigna radiata''), alternatively known as the green gram, maash ( fa, ماش٫ )٫ mūng (), monggo, or munggo (Philippines), is a plant species in the legume family.Brief Introduction of Mung Bean. Vigna Radiata Extract G ...
s (''mung dal'') is by far the most popular in Bangladesh and West Bengal (''moog dal'', (মুগ ডাল)). It is used in parts of South India, such as in the
Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia ** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nati ...
dish '' ven pongal''. Roasted and lightly salted or spiced mung bean is a popular snack in most parts of India. *''
Urad dal ''Vigna mungo'', also known as black gram, urad bean, urid bean, mash kalai, uzhunnu parippu, ulundu paruppu, minapa pappu, uddu, or black matpe, is a bean grown in South Asia. Like its relative, the mung bean, it has been reclassified from the ...
'', sometimes referred to as "black gram", is a primary ingredient of the south Indian dishes '' idli'' and ''
dosa Dosa may refer to: People * Bogoljub Mitić Đoša, Serbian actor * Csaba Dosa (born 1951), Romanian athlete * Dosa ben Harkinas * Dosa ben Saadia (935 - 1018), Talmudic scholar and philosopher * Dosa or Dossa Júnior * Edward Dosa-Wea Neufville ...
''. It is one of the main ingredients of East Indian (
Odia Odia, also spelled Oriya or Odiya, may refer to: * Odia people in Odisha, India * Odia language, an Indian language, belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European language family * Odia alphabet, a writing system used for the Odia languag ...
and
Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...
or
Assamese Assamese may refer to: * Assamese people, a socio-ethnolinguistic identity of north-eastern India * People of Assam, multi-ethnic, multi-linguistic and multi-religious people of Assam * Assamese language, one of the easternmost Indo-Aryan language ...
) '' bori'', sun-dried dumplings. The
Punjabi Punjabi, or Panjabi, most often refers to: * Something of, from, or related to Punjab, a region in India and Pakistan * Punjabi language * Punjabi people * Punjabi dialects and languages Punjabi may also refer to: * Punjabi (horse), a British Th ...
version is . It is called in Karnataka, in Bengali. It is rich in protein. * ''Masoor dal:'' split red lentils. In Karnataka, it is called ''kempu'' (red)'' togari bele''. *''Rajma dal'': split
kidney bean The kidney bean is a variety of the common bean (''Phaseolus vulgaris''). It resembles a human kidney and thus is named after such. Red kidney beans should not be confused with other red beans, such as adzuki beans. Classification There are d ...
s. * '' Mussyang'' is from dals of various colours found in various hilly regions of Nepal. * ''
Panchratna dal Panchratna dal (also ''panchmel dal'' in Rajasthani cuisine, ''mughlai dal'' in royal Persian cuisine and ''pancha dhal'' in Caribbean cuisine) is a dal very popular in India, Pakistan, Guyana, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago. As the name suggest ...
'' (Hindi) ("five jewels") is a mixture of five varieties of dal, which produces a dish with unique flavour. * ''Moth Bean'': is an Indian dal main ingredient for popular Indian snack bikaneri bhujia and Maharashtrian snacks misal and usal. * Pulses may be split but not hulled; they are distinguished from hulled dals by adding the word ''chilka'' (skin).


Split and whole pulses

Although dal generally refers to split pulses, whole pulses can be referred to as ''sabut dhal'' and split pulses as ''dhuli dhal''. The hulling of a pulse is intended to improve digestibility and palatability, but, as milling of whole grains into refined grains, affects the nutrition provided by the dish, reducing
dietary fibre Dietary fiber (in British English fibre) or roughage is the portion of plant-derived food that cannot be completely broken down by human digestive enzymes. Dietary fibers are diverse in chemical composition, and can be grouped generally by the ...
content. Pulses with their outer hulls intact are also quite popular in the Indian subcontinent as the main cuisine. Over 50 different varieties of pulses are known in the Indian subcontinent.


Preparation

Most dal recipes are quite simple to prepare. The standard preparation begins with boiling a variety of dal (or a mix) in water with some turmeric, salt to taste, and then adding a fried garnish at the end of the cooking process. In some recipes, tomatoes,
kokum ''Garcinia indica'', a plant in the mangosteen family (Clusiaceae), commonly known as ''kokum'', is a fruit-bearing tree that has culinary, pharmaceutical, and industrial uses. It primarily grows in the Western Ghats, especially the Goa and Konka ...
, unripe
mango A mango is an edible stone fruit produced by the tropical tree ''Mangifera indica''. It is believed to have originated in the region between northwestern Myanmar, Bangladesh, and northeastern India. ''M. indica'' has been cultivated in South a ...
,
jaggery Jaggery is a traditional non-centrifugal cane sugar consumed in the Indian Subcontinent, Southeast Asia, and Africa. It is a concentrated product of cane juice and often date or palm sap without separation of the molasses and crystals, and can ...
, or other ingredients are added while cooking the dal, often to impart a sweet-sour flavour. The fried garnish for dal goes by many names, including '' chaunk'', ''tadka/tarka'', ''bagar'', ''fodni'', and ''phoran''. The ingredients in the ''chaunk'' for each variety of dal vary by region and individual tastes. The raw spices (more commonly cumin seeds,
mustard seed Mustard seeds are the small round seeds of various mustard plants. The seeds are usually about in diameter and may be colored from yellowish white to black. They are an important spice in many regional foods and may come from one of three diff ...
s, asafoetida, and sometimes
fenugreek seed Fenugreek (; ''Trigonella foenum-graecum'') is an annual plant in the family Fabaceae, with leaves consisting of three small obovate to oblong leaflets. It is cultivated worldwide as a semiarid crop. Its seeds and leaves are common ingredients ...
s and dried red chili pepper) are first fried for a few seconds in the hot oil on medium/low heat. This is generally followed by
ginger Ginger (''Zingiber officinale'') is a flowering plant whose rhizome, ginger root or ginger, is widely used as a spice A spice is a seed, fruit, root, bark, or other plant substance primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices ...
, garlic, and onion, which are generally fried for 10 minutes. After the onion turns golden brown, ground spices ( turmeric,
coriander Coriander (;
, red chili powder, '' garam masala'', etc.) are added. The ''chaunk'' is then poured over the cooked dal.


See also

*'' Dal bhat'' * ''
Dal bati churma Dal Bati Churma is the most popular dish in Rajasthani cuisine. It is made of three components of '' bati'', ''dal'', and ''churma''. Dal is lentils, bati is a baked wheat ball, and churma is powdered sweetened cereal. ''Churma'' is a popular del ...
'' * '' Dal biji'' *
Ezogelin soup Ezogelin soup or Ezo gelin soup ( tr, Ezogelin çorbası, "the soup of Ezo the bride") is a common soup in Turkish cuisine. The main ingredients are bulgur and red lentils. The origin of the soup is attributed to Ezo the bride from Gaziantep. ...
*
Fasole bătută ''Fasole bătută '' or ''fasole făcăluită '' (literally 'mashed beans') or ''icre de fasole'' ('roe of beans') is a bean-based paste prepared in Romania and Moldova. This dip is traditionally made by mashing boiled beans and mixing them with ...
*
Lentil soup Lentil soup is a soup with lentils as its main ingredient; it may be vegetarian or include meat, and may use brown, red, yellow, green or black lentils, with or without the husk. Dehulled yellow and red lentils disintegrate in cooking, making a ...
*
Monggo The mung bean (''Vigna radiata''), alternatively known as the green gram, maash ( fa, ماش٫ )٫ mūng (), monggo, or munggo (Philippines), is a plant species in the legume family.Brief Introduction of Mung Bean. Vigna Radiata Extract G ...
(Philippine version of dal) * Pea soup


References


Further reading

* {{Legume dishes Andhra cuisine Bangladeshi soups and stews Bengali cuisine Bihari cuisine Indian soups and stews Indo-Caribbean cuisine Legume dishes Lentil dishes Muhajir cuisine Nepalese cuisine Pakistani soups and stews Plant common names Punjabi cuisine Rajasthani cuisine Uttar Pradeshi cuisine Sri Lankan legume dishes Gujarati cuisine Kutchi cuisine Indian cuisine Pakistani cuisine Fijian cuisine