Andrea's Daal Crash Course

Daal (lentils) is a staple dish in South Asia. South Asians eat this nearly everyday, and depending on how it's cooked, it can be really delicious, or... not so much. :) There are so many more varieties of daal here than we have in the west, so here is a pictorial crash course on the different varieties and their names. But don't ask me how to use them or cook them. :) My house helper cooks our lunch, and I couldn't tell you how to make her delicious daals. One of these days I'll watch her and post a few recipes.

Such a huge thanks to AndreaS for sending these pictures of all the varieties of daal with their names in Hindi. I still have yet to master all these different varieties! :)

Split green moong daal

Whole green moong daal

Tur daal

Left to right:

-Whole urad daal

-Split black urad with skin

-Split washed white urad daal

Whole Masoor daal

Channa daal (split chickepeas)

Starting at one o'clock and going clockwise:

- Split Masoor daal

-Tuvar daal

-Moong daal

Below is Split Masoor daal again...