Legumes Love Affair

All About Lentils

A large number of Indians are vegetarians, and legumes are a very important and staple part of their diet. But even the non-vegetarian, who are also in a large numbers, if not larger than vegetarians, include legumes of all kinds in their diet, and prepare them in an unfathomable variety of delicious recipes. Lentils are also known as pulses, and are part of the legume family. Under the umbrella of legume are the plants which produce edible seeds such as lentils, beans, chick peas, soy beans, peanuts, and more. All dried legumes also grow in pods, and are referred to, by a lot of Indians, as daals, or pulses, and they are mostly the split and skinned  versions of lentils. The image above indicates the type of daal which are most popular. Red lentil is one of the most popular because it cooks very fast, and it changes to yellow as it cooks and falls apart very quickly making  it easy to prepare. Most other lentils (daals ) are not super hard to cook either. If you have time constraints, pressure cooker is a handy tool in any kitchen.

The popularity of lentils in vegetarian diet stems from the fact that they replace the meat portion by successfully providing the required proteins, which are essential for a balanced diet.  Apart from being a source of proteins, they are excellent source of folate, manganese, B1, B6, potassium, and fibre, making them very desirable for a balanced diet and good health.

There are some special recipes for lentils (daals, pulses) in which whole seeds are used for a  unique taste and color. Dal Makhani, and Kali daal are made with whole Urad which is white in its split version (urad) but has black skin and is called black gram. Skin  contributes to the luxurious appearance and texture of these dishes. Lentils have always been very popular but have gained popularity because of the emerging trends on the  vegan and vegetarian front around the world. So much so that it has become a predominantly visible ingredient in many cuisines across the globe, most notably throughout the Middle east, and also in Mediterranean cuisine. They are so versatile that possibility of their use in all courses on daily menus are endless. 

 Red lentils are an go-to ingredient in general, may be for the ease of cooking to save time,  but may also be for its preferred taste in some of the daal preparation such as, kahatti daal, and dry pasty daal called Mitthi (sweet) dal. But for recipes such as Samber, toor (archer) daal is used traditionally and is recommended. But traditionally dalcha has always been made with chana daal, bone-in lamb, eggplant or gourd to serve with vegetable palau (pilaf). Therefore, there are traditional norms for using certain varieties of daals for certain preparation and most people follow it. In my future posts I will include my favorite legumes (lentils, beans, etc.) and how they are used in daily diets by scores of people.