Types of dal: masoor, toor and urad, and how to cook them

In Indian cooking, dal means two things: hulled, split pulses (lentils, pigeon peas, beans) and the thick soup or sauce made from them. In Polish shops dal is usually sold as "soczewica" (lentils), even when it is not a lentil at all. The three you will meet most often are masoor dal (red lentils), toor dal (pigeon peas) and urad dal (black gram, sold in Poland as black lentils).

Reading a dal pack, in English, Hindi and Polish

The Indian names tell you which plant the dal comes from and how it has been processed. The words worth knowing:

• dal / dhal / dall: split seeds, usually hulled;
• whole / sabut: whole seeds;
• chilka: split, with the skin on;
• dhuli / washed: split and hulled, clean;
• gota: whole seeds with the skin removed.

So "urid dal chilka" is black split halves with skin, while "urid whole gota" is white, whole, skinless grains. Spellings vary (urad, urid, udad), but it is the same plant.

Polish labels add another layer. The words you will see are:

• soczewica czerwona: red lentils, the Polish name for masoor;
• gołębi groszek: pigeon peas, the Polish name for toor or arhar;
• soczewica czarna: black lentils, the usual Polish shop name for urad;
• połówki łuskane: split and hulled (the same as dhuli);
• połówki: split; cała / całe: whole.

A pack labelled "Soczewica czarna połówki łuskane Urid Dal" is therefore white, split urad dal.

Masoor dal: red lentils

Masoor dal is hulled red lentils in halves. It is orange in the pack and turns yellow when cooked. It cooks fastest of the three, in about 15 to 20 minutes, and needs no soaking. It breaks down into a smooth, creamy sauce, which makes it right for everyday dal, soups and food for children. Whole masoor has a brown skin and takes longer. If you are new to Indian cooking, start with masoor dal.

Toor dal (arhar): pigeon peas

Toor dal, also called arhar dal or tuvar dal, is split pigeon peas (Cajanus cajan). In English it is sometimes sold as "yellow lentils", although it is a different plant. The halves are yellow, slightly larger than lentils, with a mild, slightly nutty taste. It is the base of sambar and rasam in South India and of dal tadka in the north. Toor dal takes about 30 to 40 minutes in a pan, less in a pressure cooker. Some packs say "oily": the seeds carry a thin coat of oil. Rinse them several times in warm water before cooking.

Urad dal: black gram

Urad dal comes from the black gram bean (Vigna mungo), which Polish shops sell as black lentils. You will find it in three main forms:

• whole black grains: for dal makhani, the creamy dish with butter and cream; they need soaking overnight and long cooking;
• split with skin (chilka): for thick North Indian dals;
• white, split and hulled: for idli and dosa batter, for vada and for South Indian tadka, where it is fried briefly in oil with mustard seeds.

Ground urad dal is the flour used to make papadum. Another common pulse flour is besan from chickpeas, covered in our post on gram flour (besan).

How to cook dal

A simple dal tadka with masoor or toor dal:

1. Rinse 1 cup of dal several times, until the water runs almost clear.
2. Add 3 cups of water and half a teaspoon of turmeric and simmer on a low heat. Skim off the foam.
3. Cook until the grains fall apart (masoor about 20 minutes, toor about 35 minutes). Salt at the end.
4. In a separate pan, heat 2 tablespoons of ghee or oil. Add a teaspoon of cumin seeds, then 2 chopped garlic cloves, dried chillies and a chopped onion.
5. When the onion is soft, add a chopped tomato and fry for a few minutes.
6. Pour the tadka into the dal, stir and scatter fresh coriander on top. Serve with rice or chapati.

The same method works for moong dal: see moong dal and mung beans. White urad dal is also half of the batter in our dosa and idli recipe.

Where to buy dal in Poland

Red lentils in a large pack: masoor dal Udhaiyam 2 kg. Toor dal is for example toor dal Udhaiyam 1 kg, and hulled urad dal is urid dal split Udhaiyam 500 g. All types are in the lentils category. Little India has shops in Warsaw, Kraków, Wrocław and Gdańsk and ships orders online.