I went to an Indian grocery store and the prices were very reasonable. All the spices, pickles, dals and chickpeas are overwhelming. I grabbed a bunch to see what I liked which brough me to your video. Thank you for posting! Beautiful kitchen by the way.
The big eye opener for me is how “generic” the term lentil is. In US stores, there are basically three colors of the same legume. Beans, for instance, would not be thought of in the same category. Thankfully, I have a great Indian market in my area. I can function with the specific names written down.
Very informative, thank you! Super useful for the non-natives who love the culinary traditions of the Indian subcontinent. One nitpicking note: “dal” is a broader term than “lentils” and includes lentils, beans, and peas. The English equivalent is “legumes“ (even more pedantically - “pulses”). The distinction becomes important for Europeans, b/c the translation to “green lentils “ is always interpreted as the flat disk pulse, not mung beans.
Loved this! I just realized moong dal us also known as mung beans! Would also love a vid explaining how and when you choose to add certain spices. I get confused why certain ones aren’t added in the beginning with the oil and added later etc.
Hello Chetna, I just love everything about lentils. When an Indian friend started teaching me how to cook food from southern India, I went out and found every different kind of lentil I could. Love their simplicity and their beauty. Love having them in the pantry. Unfortunately, a mouse got into them so I have to get containers like you have and restock. 🙄😃 Great rundown!
Dear Chetna, a superb run-down! I so agree: home-soaked chickpeas are best, a great use for a neglected pressure cooker (or Instant Pot, Ninja, etc.). I find dried ones approximately double in weight after a 6-8 hour soak, so 125g dried = about 250g cooked, the drained weight of a 400g can. Many recipes, especially American, mention only the canned version, but soaking is almost zero effort anyway (best in a fridge in warm weather, to limit unintended fermentation).
Thank you so much, this was fascinating. I’ve always wanted a lentil explanation, will feel more confident cooking Dal in the future. Absolutely love your channel ❤
Hi Chetna, I love Indian food but have never cooked it. Now due to health reasons I'm trying different things and your video so far is great and an eye opener on the different varieties of lentils. I will try some of your recipes soon. Thank you.
As someone who wants to introduce lentils into our diet, I’ve been overwhelmed by how many kinds I see in the store! Thank you for the rundown on the varieties.
Hi Chetna, I love watching your recipe videos. I love the way you present Indian recipes in English and make it sound all so easy to cook them. I wanted to know what containers are you using for storage in you kitchen pantry. i am trying to reorganise mine, but cannot makeup my mind.
Thank you for this video, it’s really nice to learn about the different types of lentils. Also, thank you for bringing up the issue of recipes which only mention “yellow split lentils” - I came across a few of those and after a couple of fails I gave up on recipes that didn’t clearly specify which type of bean or lentil to use. Love your channel 😊
Thanks Chetna. I have mainly used red lentils for dhal and chick peas for chole. We were on holiday in Amritsar and it was served at breakfast so I asked the chef for the recipe. I have this mysterious box of yellow lentils in the cupboard which has been there for some time. I am not sure if it’s Channa or Toor. I might take it to our Indian grocer for identification….. thanks for the video.
Woah! Finally I get excited about lentils because I hear a great teacher showing lentil- dummy- me these delicious beans! Yum Yum and a big "Thank You"...Teacher😂❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
Thank you so much! I have been collecting lentils and beans, making dal and Indian snacks with them but I really wasn't sure about the difference between them all and how they are used in cooking. I was really wondering too. I buy a lot of them from our local Indian Foods market. So healthy and delicious I am enjoying experimenting and learning.
This made me wonder which are the lentils I use for my tarka dal. They’re sold as red lentils in spain but they look very small compared to the Masoor dal you showed. But they also turn bright yellow once cooked. Their flavour I’d say is kind of root like, quite a bit starchy and very earthy and overall every time I eat them I can imagine I’m literally eating the beginning stage of a plant maybe like s sprout of some sort. I just love them so much! Great video! Really makes me want to get a hold on every kind of dal I can find! Hehehe
I am not that kind of person who thinks What am I going to cook tomorrow? So I mostly use red lentils because they cook quickly even without soaking. I also have some chana dal and chickpeas, but I use them only rarely. Your "collection" of dals is very impressive 🙂
Chetna, thank you so much! This is like a class on beans, peas, chickpeas, and lentils. 😃 You answered many of my questions. I just got an order today of various lentils and beans, including some special varieties (Black Beluga lentils and Harvest Gold lentils). Time for a tasting of pulses! ❤🫘🫛😋
Good breakdown. Problem is so many different names for things. UK English US English use different terms. Various names in different Indian languages let alone other languages around the world. Useful video. Well done
When you have time - please consider creating a separate playlist for all the lentils/dals videos I know you have VEGETARIAN RECIPES playlist and dals can be found there after scrolling through all the other vegetable curries in the same playlist That would be helpful. Thanks in advance 🙏
Omg I always thought Chana dal was the same as our yellow split peas and have been using those instead for years 🤦 the diversity of pulses is just amazing, I love them
Oily toor or arhar dal is coated with a thin film of oil and sun dried. This protects the lentils from insect pests. The milling of whole beans into split lentils has been an ancient practice in India. The break in curvature reduces the ability of insects to lay eggs as compared to whole lentils. Our forefathers were indeed brilliant and understood insect behaviour.
Fun video. I would ask A) why not whole pigeon pea, why only split as toor dal? 1) whey Besan? Why not other dal flours? And) Maybe some side-by-side dishes? Channa Dal only one version is the chickpea and the other the only change use the black eyes peas (for instance) and show the differences? Yes, there are a LOT of variety of legumes :) One red split dal I have yet to try that my local store has is a small split lentil that instead of the flat pale orange is vibrantly deep red-orange with greater shape. It's a few dollars more than my comfort level but certainly on my "will try" list :)
I love the sound of those red kidney bean burgers - I hope they will feature in a video on your channel, Chetna! Or if not, maybe in one of your books? Thank you so much for this - I certainly would have made the mistake you describe about using whole mung beans and then complaining that they didn't cook in time!
I love your vibrant radiant refreshing energy. I'm struggling to make asian bread properly can you show us how you make healthy roty out of the lentils any of the them really. Thank you Lovely
Are the green lentils you show also called mung beans? They are used for bean sprouts. When I think of green lentils I think of French green lentils or LePuy. They are really delicious and stay whole during cooking making for great salads. Try them.
Very useful video Chetna, thank you. Just wondering about one thing… I’ve seen Toor Dal sold as either plain/dry or oily? I’m guessing you use the plain and curious what the difference is?
Love this Chetna. Very helpful, thanks so much! I had a friend from India tell me that Toor dal was better than meat.😂 It was nice to hear your thoughts on it as well.
Hi Chetna another interesting blog. Can I ask you where you got those storage containers please as not seen them ones before. Also do you not live in the uk. Your blogs brings back so many memories of Indian cooking and Asian super markets parents use to go to and get the items you share in blog. Have you ever made yuca I can’t remember the Punjabi name for it but know my parents use to buy it and boil it and have it with tiny bit off salt on it. Is there a blog on how to make garbeji on your channel. ( cabbage).
Thanks for the video! It used to be very complicated for me to differentiated all the kinds of dals, specially when they come in whole and split but are considered different for different reasons ( like the cooking time like you explained) In Spain we consume a lot of brown lentils, but I don't think they are the same as the Masoor you showed. We have one that's called pardina which is smaller and then a bigger one called Castellana. We do have the split red kind, although they are marked as "bio" and are considerably more expensive for some reason. I was lucky to find a small store in my city that sells Moong, Urid, Masoor and chana dal. It does't have toor dal though but at least now I can try some recipes.
We have masoor dal which is actually brown lentils but here in UK you also find green lentils which is similar to masoor. I use both of these in the recipes which I've shown :D
Very good video! I cook with a lot of these and the family loves them all! I’m curious to know which one of the dals would be good mixed with sautéed onions as a stuffing for paratha’s, or flatbreads in general? Also could you substitute one for chickpeas in falafel?
you can actually watch my dal paratha video for that but to tell you now its - Moong spilt (yellow) or Toor or red lentils all these will work really well
In your Masala urad dal Do you use the whole black version or the shelled yellow ones :) i had only seen the yellow version and not realised may actually need black 😮😊
I tried to.make Lemon and Peanut rice from Hari Nayak's cookbook, but the yellow split peas he uses did not soften up at all...is there a big difference between US yellow split peas and Indian yellow split peas?
So in my experience (in the US) it’s 99% Masoor Daal (green) that I see and have cooked. It’s also what one gets if ordering something with lentils in it at a non-Indian restaurant. To me they are chalky so I’d love knowing whether other varieties do or do not have that quality. You mention how different they all taste but not in what way and that’s something I’d like to know. Also, in the varieties used in tempering how in HELL do you not break a tooth?!!! If a dried lentil is just flash cooked in oil, when they typically take 10-60 minutes in boiling water to soften, I’m not understanding how they could possibly get soft enough to chew. So, love what’s here so far but a deeper dive would be appreciated!
I just moved to the us and trust me when I say this I cannot live without my dal 😢 it’s been my comfort food back in India I did not realise how much it meant
Hello! I cannot find Toor Dal here. I just can get yellow split peas or yellow lentils (which seem to be peeled green lentils). Is there another name for Toor Dal? I've heard the term pigeon peas, but I cannot find this in shops as well. In the video, Toor Dal just looks like yellow split peas, but it all looks so similar.
I went to an Indian grocery store and the prices were very reasonable. All the spices, pickles, dals and chickpeas are overwhelming. I grabbed a bunch to see what I liked which brough me to your video. Thank you for posting! Beautiful kitchen by the way.
Thanks
Would you consider doing a recipe for each type of lentil?
These in my opinion are great opinions to have as food storage.
The big eye opener for me is how “generic” the term lentil is. In US stores, there are basically three colors of the same legume. Beans, for instance, would not be thought of in the same category. Thankfully, I have a great Indian market in my area. I can function with the specific names written down.
thats great
This is an awesome video! You should do a dal only cookbook! Do dry chick peas need to be cooked after soaking before using in salads?
Yes they do.
Very informative, thank you! Super useful for the non-natives who love the culinary traditions of the Indian subcontinent. One nitpicking note: “dal” is a broader term than “lentils” and includes lentils, beans, and peas. The English equivalent is “legumes“ (even more pedantically - “pulses”). The distinction becomes important for Europeans, b/c the translation to “green lentils “ is always interpreted as the flat disk pulse, not mung beans.
Loved this! I just realized moong dal us also known as mung beans! Would also love a vid explaining how and when you choose to add certain spices. I get confused why certain ones aren’t added in the beginning with the oil and added later etc.
So great. This is the lentil encyclopedia we’ve been looking for!🎉
I often cook up a full bag of kidney beans or chickpeas in the instant pot and freeze in portions equivalent to a can - really convenient
Hello Chetna, I just love everything about lentils. When an Indian friend started teaching me how to cook food from southern India, I went out and found every different kind of lentil I could. Love their simplicity and their beauty. Love having them in the pantry. Unfortunately, a mouse got into them so I have to get containers like you have and restock. 🙄😃 Great rundown!
Dear Chetna, a superb run-down! I so agree: home-soaked chickpeas are best, a great use for a neglected pressure cooker (or Instant Pot, Ninja, etc.). I find dried ones approximately double in weight after a 6-8 hour soak, so 125g dried = about 250g cooked, the drained weight of a 400g can. Many recipes, especially American, mention only the canned version, but soaking is almost zero effort anyway (best in a fridge in warm weather, to limit unintended fermentation).
Chetna this is the best explanation of the various dals I've seen for quite some time. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!!!
My pleasure 😊
Thank you so much, this was fascinating. I’ve always wanted a lentil explanation, will feel more confident cooking Dal in the future. Absolutely love your channel ❤
So enjoyable and I learned so much. Love to see you make meals with each of these. Excellent lesson!
Hi Chetna, I love Indian food but have never cooked it. Now due to health reasons I'm trying different things and your video so far is great and an eye opener on the different varieties of lentils. I will try some of your recipes soon. Thank you.
Thank you!!! This sounds like a book that is needed!!!💕🥰
😂
As someone who wants to introduce lentils into our diet, I’ve been overwhelmed by how many kinds I see in the store! Thank you for the rundown on the varieties.
🙏🏽
Hi Chetna, I love watching your recipe videos. I love the way you present Indian recipes in English and make it sound all so easy to cook them. I wanted to know what containers are you using for storage in you kitchen pantry. i am trying to reorganise mine, but cannot makeup my mind.
Thank you for this video, it’s really nice to learn about the different types of lentils. Also, thank you for bringing up the issue of recipes which only mention “yellow split lentils” - I came across a few of those and after a couple of fails I gave up on recipes that didn’t clearly specify which type of bean or lentil to use. Love your channel 😊
Thanks and glad you enjoyed this
I make healthy wraps with red lentils. I also absolutely love your Chana dal recipes, thank you Chetna.
Thanks Chetna. I have mainly used red lentils for dhal and chick peas for chole. We were on holiday in Amritsar and it was served at breakfast so I asked the chef for the recipe. I have this mysterious box of yellow lentils in the cupboard which has been there for some time. I am not sure if it’s Channa or Toor. I might take it to our Indian grocer for identification….. thanks for the video.
Woah! Finally I get excited about lentils because I hear a great teacher showing lentil- dummy- me these delicious beans! Yum Yum and a big "Thank You"...Teacher😂❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
Hope you enjoy
Thank you so much! I have been collecting lentils and beans, making dal and Indian snacks with them but I really wasn't sure about the difference between them all and how they are used in cooking. I was really wondering too. I buy a lot of them from our local Indian Foods market. So healthy and delicious I am enjoying experimenting and learning.
🙏🏽🙏🏽
This made me wonder which are the lentils I use for my tarka dal. They’re sold as red lentils in spain but they look very small compared to the Masoor dal you showed. But they also turn bright yellow once cooked.
Their flavour I’d say is kind of root like, quite a bit starchy and very earthy and overall every time I eat them I can imagine I’m literally eating the beginning stage of a plant maybe like s sprout of some sort. I just love them so much!
Great video! Really makes me want to get a hold on every kind of dal I can find! Hehehe
I am not that kind of person who thinks What am I going to cook tomorrow? So I mostly use red lentils because they cook quickly even without soaking. I also have some chana dal and chickpeas, but I use them only rarely. Your "collection" of dals is very impressive 🙂
Thanks
Chetna, thank you so much! This is like a class on beans, peas, chickpeas, and lentils. 😃 You answered many of my questions. I just got an order today of various lentils and beans, including some special varieties (Black Beluga lentils and Harvest Gold lentils). Time for a tasting of pulses! ❤🫘🫛😋
yeah
Thanks so much! I’ve been cooking with beans for many years and this really cleared up a lot as to why certain recipes never worked well.
WOW LEARNT SOMETHING NEW RE: DIFFERENT VARIETIES OF DAAL INFO. VERY USEFUL INDEED! THANK YOU🙏🌷💕
My pleasure
I was looking for information on lentils, the different types etc. So glad I come across your video.
Wow! Thank you so much for doing this Chetna 💗
My pleasure 😊
Thank you so much for all this information on dal!
Good breakdown. Problem is so many different names for things. UK English US English use different terms. Various names in different Indian languages let alone other languages around the world. Useful video. Well done
When you have time - please consider creating a separate playlist for all the lentils/dals videos
I know you have VEGETARIAN RECIPES playlist and dals can be found there after scrolling through all the other vegetable curries in the same playlist
That would be helpful. Thanks in advance 🙏
I agree, that would be so useful.
Omg I always thought Chana dal was the same as our yellow split peas and have been using those instead for years 🤦 the diversity of pulses is just amazing, I love them
Vey helpful, thanks Chetna. One question - I've seen oily toor and dry toor in Asian shops - what's the difference? Love your recipes!
Oily toor or arhar dal is coated with a thin film of oil and sun dried. This protects the lentils from insect pests. The milling of whole beans into split lentils has been an ancient practice in India. The break in curvature reduces the ability of insects to lay eggs as compared to whole lentils. Our forefathers were indeed brilliant and understood insect behaviour.
Fun video. I would ask A) why not whole pigeon pea, why only split as toor dal? 1) whey Besan? Why not other dal flours? And) Maybe some side-by-side dishes? Channa Dal only one version is the chickpea and the other the only change use the black eyes peas (for instance) and show the differences? Yes, there are a LOT of variety of legumes :) One red split dal I have yet to try that my local store has is a small split lentil that instead of the flat pale orange is vibrantly deep red-orange with greater shape. It's a few dollars more than my comfort level but certainly on my "will try" list :)
Thank you Chetna , this video was really helpful x
I like your dal storage containers. They look like they use space efficiently. Can you tell me what brand they are or where to find some?
I love lentils & legumes & Indian spices, so your video is very informative. Thank you very much.
Hi Chetna
How long would the whole urad dal take to cook in a pan if you don’t have a pressure cooker?
around 40-45 mins or more
@@FoodwithChetna Thank you😊
I love the sound of those red kidney bean burgers - I hope they will feature in a video on your channel, Chetna! Or if not, maybe in one of your books? Thank you so much for this - I certainly would have made the mistake you describe about using whole mung beans and then complaining that they didn't cook in time!
If you have not made Chetna's rajma, I highly recommend it!
I love your vibrant radiant refreshing energy. I'm struggling to make asian bread properly can you show us how you make healthy roty out of the lentils any of the them really.
Thank you Lovely
roti out of lentils? you will have to use some flour in it.....
Are the green lentils you show also called mung beans? They are used for bean sprouts. When I think of green lentils I think of French green lentils or LePuy. They are really delicious and stay whole during cooking making for great salads. Try them.
Very useful video Chetna, thank you.
Just wondering about one thing… I’ve seen Toor Dal sold as either plain/dry or oily? I’m guessing you use the plain and curious what the difference is?
Wow, that was fascinating. I didn't know there were so many different Lentils available. I only have Red and Yellow Split, I need to up my game! 😉🙏
Thank you so much. Very helpful information.
Love this Chetna. Very helpful, thanks so much! I had a friend from India tell me that Toor dal was better than meat.😂 It was nice to hear your thoughts on it as well.
Awesome video ❤ and information ❤
Thank you so much! That’s exactly what I was looking for 🙏
Thanks for the clarification. We needed that. Enjoy yr day.😊
Thankyou for sharing useful video
thank you . really helpfull . this will make shopping a whole lot easier.
Hi Chetna another interesting blog. Can I ask you where you got those storage containers please as not seen them ones before. Also do you not live in the uk. Your blogs brings back so many memories of Indian cooking and Asian super markets parents use to go to and get the items you share in blog. Have you ever made yuca I can’t remember the Punjabi name for it but know my parents use to buy it and boil it and have it with tiny bit off salt on it. Is there a blog on how to make garbeji on your channel. ( cabbage).
Thanks for the video! It used to be very complicated for me to differentiated all the kinds of dals, specially when they come in whole and split but are considered different for different reasons ( like the cooking time like you explained)
In Spain we consume a lot of brown lentils, but I don't think they are the same as the Masoor you showed. We have one that's called pardina which is smaller and then a bigger one called Castellana. We do have the split red kind, although they are marked as "bio" and are considerably more expensive for some reason. I was lucky to find a small store in my city that sells Moong, Urid, Masoor and chana dal. It does't have toor dal though but at least now I can try some recipes.
We have masoor dal which is actually brown lentils but here in UK you also find green lentils which is similar to masoor. I use both of these in the recipes which I've shown :D
thank you very much for your video, can u make the similar video about millets?😊
Great suggestion!
Great Video! I like your tall containers.
thanks
Thank you for this video. Very educational!
Thankyou
🙏🏽🙏🏽
Very good video! I cook with a lot of these and the family loves them all! I’m curious to know which one of the dals would be good mixed with sautéed onions as a stuffing for paratha’s, or flatbreads in general? Also could you substitute one for chickpeas in falafel?
you can actually watch my dal paratha video for that but to tell you now its -
Moong spilt (yellow)
or Toor
or red lentils
all these will work really well
@@FoodwithChetna👍🏽🥰
Great vid! Would love some meal prep ideas for using lentils for /with salads for work lunches etc (cold). Xx
Thank you. And I love your canisters.
👍🏼
Wow thank you so much excellent 👌 for sharing 😊
Thanks so much for this. I would really love if you put time stamps on this video if you can ❤
Gteat tutorial, thanks! I love lentils but only know a couple of ways to use them, so iI ook forward to exploring your recipes for more lentil dishes.
In your Masala urad dal
Do you use the whole black version or the shelled yellow ones :) i had only seen the yellow version and not realised may actually need black 😮😊
Great informative post. I learnt about Kala Chana.
Especially looking for a urad Dahl recipe. ( split) lemon rice sounds interesting.
You're a great teacher 😊
Fascinating, thank you.
Glad you enjoyed it
So so useful
Many thanks 🙏
Very very helpful, thank you soooo much
Thank you so much for this! ❤
Are the green lentils you show also called mung beans? They are used for bean sprouts.
Thank you! This was so helpful.
Love red lentils always always have them in the pantry
Which Dal do you use to make sprouted mung / bean sprouts for salads?
what about green lentils? can you do a recipe for it?
sure
Very helpful! Thank you!
Absolutely love lentil
I needed this - thank u
you are welcome
Great video, thank you 🙏
Glad you enjoyed it!
Thanks it was very informative
Very useful. Thank you
Can I soak chickpeas and store in fridge for like a week?
Thank you ❤️☺️
You’re welcome 😊
Great info thanks for sharing
Thanks for watching!
Thank you
Are there two types of white beans ? I have seen two. Little confused both look the same.
Very useful thank you
Thank You, Chetna
I tried to.make Lemon and Peanut rice from Hari Nayak's cookbook, but the yellow split peas he uses did not soften up at all...is there a big difference between US yellow split peas and Indian yellow split peas?
This is the best, I'm just starting to get into dal and I couldn't love it more. Thank you!
So in my experience (in the US) it’s 99% Masoor Daal (green) that I see and have cooked. It’s also what one gets if ordering something with lentils in it at a non-Indian restaurant. To me they are chalky so I’d love knowing whether other varieties do or do not have that quality. You mention how different they all taste but not in what way and that’s something I’d like to know. Also, in the varieties used in tempering how in HELL do you not break a tooth?!!! If a dried lentil is just flash cooked in oil, when they typically take 10-60 minutes in boiling water to soften, I’m not understanding how they could possibly get soft enough to chew. So, love what’s here so far but a deeper dive would be appreciated!
Tanks! ❤
Hi Chetna!! Can you please share the recipe of burger patty using rajma? TIA
Very interesting!
I just moved to the us and trust me when I say this I cannot live without my dal 😢 it’s been my comfort food back in India I did not realise how much it meant
Urad dhuli is ideal for making dahi bhallas-- Ummm Punjabi cooking rocks 👍🤪
Very good and
informative.
Now I know the difference between lentils and grams. I think😂
Hello! I cannot find Toor Dal here. I just can get yellow split peas or yellow lentils (which seem to be peeled green lentils). Is there another name for Toor Dal? I've heard the term pigeon peas, but I cannot find this in shops as well. In the video, Toor Dal just looks like yellow split peas, but it all looks so similar.
The spilt lentils is the chana dal and yes you can use those, just the tastes of all these lentils is different
@@FoodwithChetna
Thank you, I am a total beginner when it comes to cooking dals.😉