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 Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...

: दाल,

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

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.,

lentil The lentil (''Lens culinaris'' or ''Lens esculenta'') is an edible legume. It is an annual plant known for its lens-shaped seeds. It is about tall, and the seeds grow in pods, usually with two seeds in each. As a food crop, the largest pro ...

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, and form an important part of the

cuisines of the Indian subcontinent Cuisine of the Indian subcontinent includes the cuisines from the Indian subcontinent comprising the traditional cuisines from Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Staples and common ingredients Chapati, ...

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 The tomato is the edible Berry (botany), berry of the plant ''Solanum lycopersicum'', commonly known as the tomato plant. The species originated in western South America, Mexico, and Central America. The Mexican Nahuatl word gave rise to th ...

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 Husk (or hull) in botany is the outer shell or coating of a seed. In the United States, the term husk often refers to the leafy outer covering of an ear of maize (corn) as it grows on the plant. Literally, a husk or hull includes the protective ...

or ''dhuli'' (meaning washed), e.g., ''urad dhuli'' or ''mung dhuli'' in

. 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 ''

roti Roti (also known as chapati) is a round flatbread native to the Indian subcontinent. It is popular in India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Maldives, Myanmar, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Guyana, Suriname, Jamaica, Trinid ...

s'' or ''

chapati Chapati (alternatively spelled chapatti, chappati, chapathi, or chappathi; pronounced as IAST: ), also known as ''roti'', ''rotli'', ''safati'', ''shabaati'', ''phulka'', (in East Africa) ''chapo'', (in Marathi) ''poli'', and (in the Maldives) ...

s,'' or with

rice Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima ''Oryza glaberrima'', commonly known as African rice, is one of the two domesticated rice species. It was first domesticated and grown i ...

. The latter combination is called ''

dal bhat Dal bhat ( ne, दालभात, ur, دال بھات, bn, ডাল ভাত, gu, દાળ ભાત, mr, डाळ भात, as, দাইল ভাত ''dail bhat'' / ডালি ভাত ''dali bhat'') is a traditional meal from th ...

'' 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 The cashew tree (''Anacardium occidentale'') is a tropical evergreen tree native to South America in the genus ''Anacardium'' that produces the cashew seed and the cashew apple accessory fruit. The tree can grow as tall as , but the dwarf cult ...

) may be added.

Etymology

The word ''dāl'' (dal) derives from the

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

verbal root ''dal-'' "to split", which is inherited from

Proto-Indo-European Proto-Indo-European (PIE) is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Indo-European language family. Its proposed features have been derived by linguistic reconstruction from documented Indo-European languages. No direct record of Proto-Indo-E ...

''*delh₁-'' “to split, divide”.

Use by region

Dal preparations are eaten with rice,

and

naan Naan ( fa, نان, nān, ur, , ps, نان, ug, نان, hi, नान, bn, নান) is a leavened, oven-baked or tawa-fried flatbread which is found in the cuisines mainly of Western Asia, Central Asia, Indian subcontinent, Indonesia, Ma ...

on the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...

. 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 Charu is a word derived from Sanskrit that refers to something beautiful, graceful and pure in a spiritual sense. The word also means “one who is radiant and graceful” And is often used in the Ramayana for praising Lord Rama. It refers to ...

and rice.

Nutrition

Dal Fry Tadka, Cumin Rice, Roasted Papad on the side

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 The Reference Daily Intake (RDI) used in nutrition labeling on food and dietary supplement products in the U.S. and Canada is the daily intake level of a nutrient that is considered to be sufficient to meet the requirements of 97–98% of health ...

, DV) of the

B vitamin B vitamins are a class of water-soluble vitamins that play important roles in Cell (biology), cell metabolism and synthesis of red blood cells. Though these vitamins share similar names (B1, B2, B3, etc.), they are chemically distinct compounds th ...

folate Folate, also known as vitamin B9 and folacin, is one of the B vitamins. Manufactured folic acid, which is converted into folate by the body, is used as a dietary supplement and in food fortification as it is more stable during processing and ...

(45% DV) and

manganese Manganese is a chemical element with the symbol Mn and atomic number 25. It is a hard, brittle, silvery metal, often found in minerals in combination with iron. Manganese is a transition metal with a multifaceted array of industrial alloy use ...

(25% DV), with moderate amounts of

thiamine Thiamine, also known as thiamin and vitamin B1, is a vitamin, an essential micronutrient, that cannot be made in the body. It is found in food and commercially synthesized to be a dietary supplement or medication. Phosphorylated forms of thi ...

(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 Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from la, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, right in f ...

(19% DV) and

phosphorus Phosphorus is a chemical element with the symbol P and atomic number 15. Elemental phosphorus exists in two major forms, white phosphorus and red phosphorus, but because it is highly reactive, phosphorus is never found as a free element on Ear ...

(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 The pigeon pea (''Cajanus cajan'') is a perennial legume from the family Fabaceae native to the Old World. The pigeon pea is widely cultivated in tropical and semitropical regions around the world, being commonly consumed in South Asia, Southeas ...

, 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 The chickpea or chick pea (''Cicer arietinum'') is an annual legume of the family Fabaceae, subfamily Faboideae. Its different types are variously known as gram" or Bengal gram, garbanzo or garbanzo bean, or Egyptian pea. Chickpea seeds are high ...

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 Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...

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''.

A thali with daal roti bhindi ki sabzi and mango pickle

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-coloure ...

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, Suriname, 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 Bengalis, Bengali street food ''ghugni''. *Split mung beans (''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 cuisine, Tamil dish ''Pongal (dish)#Ven pongal, ven pongal''. Roasted and lightly salted or spiced mung bean is a popular snack in most parts of India. *''Vigna mungo, Urad dal'', sometimes referred to as "black gram", is a primary ingredient of the south Indian dishes ''idli'' and ''Dosa (food), dosa''. It is one of the main ingredients of East Indian (Oriya cuisine, Odia and Bengali cuisine, Bengali or Assamese people, Assamese) ''Bori (food), bori'', sun-dried dumplings. The Punjabi cuisine, Punjabi version is . It is called in Karnataka, in Bengali. It is rich in protein. * ''Masoor dal:'' split red

s. In Karnataka, it is called ''kempu'' (red)'' togari bele''. *''Rajma dal'': split kidney beans. * ''Mussyang'' is from dals of various colours found in various hilly regions of Nepal. * ''Panchratna Dal, Panchratna dal'' (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 fiber, dietary fibre 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, unripe mango, jaggery, 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 seeds, asafoetida, and sometimes fenugreek seeds and dried chili pepper, red chili pepper) are first fried for a few seconds in the hot oil on medium/low heat. This is generally followed by ginger, garlic, and onion, which are generally fried for 10 minutes. After the onion turns golden brown, ground spices (turmeric, coriander, chili powder, red chili powder, ''garam masala'', etc.) are added. The ''chaunk'' is then poured over the cooked dal.

Use

Etymology

Use by region

Nutrition

Common ingredients

Split and whole pulses

Preparation

See also

References

Further reading