Vegan Richa

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Indian Dals Names

Indian Dals Names - List of legumes and pulses names in hindi and english | Vegan Richa

Depending on where you buy the Dals, Spices and pantry ingredients from, they might use just the English names, both English and Hindi names, or just the Hindi/Indian names (eg. in Indian stores). English names sometimes also depend on the country or shop (for eg yellow lentils can mean any of the yellow dals, but in the US in mostly petite yellow lentils are used for Mung dal(split mung bean)). Take a picture of the Grocery list from Page 12 in my book to take with you while shopping. It has both the English and Hindi names and variation of the names mentioned to make it easy to find the right spice, herb or dal!

This Page is a short Guide with the commonly used Legumes -Dals, Pulses, Lentils, beans, peas in Indian Cuisine with their common English names and Hindi names.

Indian Dal Names in Hindi and English. Glossary of Lentils, legumes, beans. | Vegan Richa

Legumes and Dals

English/ Hindi Indian Dals Names

Black Eyed Peas – Raungi, Chawli, Lobhia

Black Gram Lentils, Split and skinned – Urad Dal 

Black Gram Whole – black gram lentils – Sabut Urad (these are not black beans, not beluga lentils, not caviar black lentils). They look like black mung beans. 

Chickpeas, Brown  (Bengal Gram)- Kala Chana

Chickpeas, green – Cholia / Hara Chana

Chickpeas, split – (Split Bengal gram, split brown chickpeas) , Chana Dal 

Chickpeas, white – Garbanzo Beans, Kabuli Chana, Safed Chana,  Chole

Kidney Beans, red – Rajma

Lentils, brown (whole) – Sabut Masoor

Lentils, Red/orange/pink (split brown lentils) – Masoor Dal

Lentils, yellow petite – (Split Mung Beans) – Mung Dal

Mung Beans (green gram whole) – Hare Moong

Pigeon Peas, split – Arhar, Tuvar, Toor 

Yellow split Peas

 

Common Substitutes

Split chickpeas (Chana Dal), split pigeon peas(Toor Dal) and Split peas can be used interchangeably. Toor dal will cook faster than the others.

Red Lentils (Masoor Dal) can be used instead of Petite yellow lentils (Mung Dal). Mung Dal will take a few minutes longer to cook through. 

Mung Beans and Lentils can also be used interchangeably. Soak mung beans before use. 

Green Lentils can be used to substitute brown lentils

 

*Chickpea flour and Besan 

Chickpea flour in the US is generally ground white chickpeas. Besan is ground brown chickpeas (Kala chana, bengal gram). See the different chickpeas in the picture above. Besan is also ground finer than chickpea flour. Because of these differences, chickpea flour generally makes a thicker batter and needs more water to achieve the similar consistency as besan batter if the recipe was written for besan. The reverse applies to recipes written for chickpea flour. In general this does not matter much and both can be used interchangeably in recipes. However, if used in baking you might need to adjust the liquid accordingly.

Find out where to buy lentils beans and other pantry items locally or online on the Pantry Page. 

 

Comments

  1. Hi Richa, I found this post extremely useful and would like to add a link to it on my blog. I have done so already to help my readers identify different Indian Dals. Please let me know if you have any concerns 🙂 Thank you for the lovely pictures and the information.

    Reply

  3. Thank you, so much for your amazing web site. It is making the preparation of awesome and healthy Indian dishes and meals, plus much more, so easy and fun.

    I really appreciate it. So does my wife!

    Best wishes,
    Quanah

    Reply

  4. Hi Richa, I have stumbled upon your blog, and it’s great! i love Indian cooking, and all the different pulses can be confusing, so this is very helpful. I have a dal recipe from Rick Stein’s India where he calls for yellow tur dal or chana dal. Could I use yellow split peas? Thank you. I have now liked your FB page too.

    Reply

    • Yes you can use yellow split peas instead of tur dal or chana dal. They have similar cooking times. Tur dal cooks 5-10 mins or so earlier than split peas

      Reply

    • They might be available in Indian stores. Dehusked whole masoor is available in some other stores as well with different names as whole red lentils etc.

      Reply

  8. Hi Richa,

    Are yellow split peas commonly used in India? I thought they may be labelled as some type of ‘dhal’ but it doesn’t appear to be the case as you point out in your excellent guide.
    I purchased a bag of yellow split peas as they were very cheap – $1.55 for a kg bag, here in Australia. That’s much cheaper than all of the other dried legumes I regularly buy – and recently lentils have increase in price. Mostly I use whole chickpeas and whole brown or red lentils (also called black lentils here) but will try the yellow peas for a change.

    Reply

    • No there are no yellow split peas as fas as i know. There are many specific split peas that are yellow in color like the toor dal (split pigeon pea), chana dal (split chickpea ) , vatana (dried green pea, whole or split), safed vatana ( split white pea) etc. You can use split yellow peas to sub any of these. the cooking times are similar for the split pea family.

      Reply

  11. Dear richa it was really helpful to know about so many Dal’s,but I was searching English name for chaula dal ( the one we use to make paush bada in Rajasthan)

    Reply

  13. I cooked some yellow split peas the other day. I did not know what they were since a friend gave them to me. I was able to identify them through your photographs. Thank you!

    Reply

  15. Hi Richa ! Awesome website, I have been following you for quite a long time and love your book !! I have a question : you haven’t put any picture of the Chana Dal under Indian Dals Names…is there a reason or is it because Chana Dal is also known under a different name ??
    Thank you !!

    Reply

  17. Richa, what is green split pea? Is there an Indian name for it? I find it in my coop and also see some recipes call for it. Thank you.

    Reply

  18. Thanks for the pics. I had always thought red lentils were tuvar dal, and made my Rasam with it. *shrug* oh well, it was still delicious and warming on a cold day. I know that you’re supposed to let the broth separate from the solids, but I like it mixed up. Thanks again for the clarification.

    Reply

  19. Hi Richa
    Shared infos are good.
    However, since i m from Malaysia, I have some confusion on the definition of lentils and legumes here. Designation being used are in Hindi and English which is very confusing.
    Seeking your expertise advise.

    1. What is the different between GOTA and DAL? If i understood well, URAD is whole peas while DAL is in split form. Is that correct?

    2. What are BEANS in Hindi?

    3. What are PEAS in Hindi?

    Reply

    • Gota is the whole lentil that is has its skin removed. So for ural, there is whole urad which is the whole black matpe beans, then urad gota, which is the beans with no skin (so beige matpe beans), ural dal is the split version which can be with or without skin.

      Beans generally have names for each type in hindi. Kidney beans are rajma, moong beans are mooong etc.

      Peas are matar in hindi. so hara matar (green peas), safed matar ( white peas) etc

      Reply

  22. Namaste.
    I have been given a package of red chana. Googled for information and it lists black chana. Are these two the same, or different? What is the best way to cook them? Pressure cooker? Any advice would be great. Thank you, dhanyavad. Have a wonderful day.

    Reply

  23. I just wanted to thank you, as so many others have already done, for posting the information on names and types of dhals and the pictures were exceedingly helpful. I have quite a few Indian cookbooks and almost none of them give the interpretation needed to actually know what to buy, much less look for. I really did find this post super useful and printed it straight-away and placed into protector sheets. Sorry, but yes, I’m so old school. Much love to you.

    Reply

  24. Holy smokes, as we sometimes say. You are very helpful. I would love it if you would give is Hindi lessons, Richa. I am becoming more and more fascinated with India. Actually, I have been fascinated all my life since I could read. Have you read any books by Neel Mukherjee? I recently discovered his books. I just finished “A Life Apart,” and have just started “The Lives of Others.” Wow! When one is reading big family books about India, one needs a family tree to refer to. The same with “A suitable Boy,” which I have not finished because it’s quite a “wade” through. I have started it twice but now my attention is distracted by Neel. All the same, Vikram Seth is a wonderful writer! So….I got here because I needed to know if yellow split peas are OK for your “Spiced Indian Lentil Soup” I found on Facebook today. I am going to go start that “soup” right now even though I want to go back to my book instead. Your cookbook is arriving tomorrow, just in time for my birthday. I hope it will help me with the constant dilemma of “what to make for dinner?” We have been eating plant based for about two years and we sometimes get pretty repetitive with what we prepare and eat for dinner. Thanks for your hard work writing it!

    Reply

    • 🙂 i havent heard of Neel. i should look those books up.

      You would need a longer cooking time for the split peas and also some more water. Cook them until tender and continue with the tempering.

      Reply

  25. Richa

    Good evening
    beautiful images . Do you permit to reuse with their names please let me know

    Thank you
    Regards
    Nilesh

    Reply

  31. Thank you for this resource, it’s been so helpful! If a recipe calls for the split version of a pulse and I just have the whole one on hand (right now I have whole mung bean & the recipe says mung dal for example), how would I adjust amounts & cooking times?

    Reply

    • whole pulses take longer to cook and need more water/liquid. It would depend on the recipe. Dals or soups might work but recipes like kitchari where there is rice with the dal etc will not work as the rice would overcook with the additional time for the whole pulses.
      i should add a general cooking time table to this page.

      Reply

  32. Hi richa I found it very useful among all the sites of the most important thing is that the new information I get from these site thanks. ….

    Reply

  34. Thanks, but pls be informed Kala Chana is Bengal Gram Whole or Split( Chana Daal). Chick peas is Kabuli Chana. I am sorry but kindly recheck.

    Reply

  36. Thanks! This was helpful. I just bought more chana dal and when I got home I saw that I had a jar labeled toor dal and that it looked similar to the chana dal so I thought I had perhaps labeled it incorrectly.

    Reply

  37. I want to do a recipe (Masala Lamb & Lentils) that uses 1/2 cup split gram lentils (soaked for 6 hours), or substitute split yellow peas. I couldn’t get either in my small town store. Is there any other substitution I could make instead?

    Reply

  38. Hello! I find that the names of the different dals can be very confusing. Today I went to our local Indian grocery and bought a bag of Masoor Dal. When I got home, I saw that I had mistakenly bought “Masoor Malka” My question: Is MASOOR MALKA simply red Masoor Dal that has no skin, and is not split?
    Is it cooked just like split Masoor Dal? I see “Sabut Masoor” on your list, but I believe that has the brown skin attached. Below the Sabut Masoor on your list is “Masoor Dal”, but you describe all Masoor Dal as “split”. Could you tell me something about Masoor Malka? It does not look split. Thank you!

    Reply

    • Yes Malka is not split. Dal is split and has no skin. Malka has no skin but is not split, sabut is whole lentil ie. not skinned, not split. Malka version is not used as commonly as dal and sabut versions.
      Cooking time wise, the Dal will cook the fastest, within 11 mins in a saucepan. Malka takes 18-20 mins, Whole lentils take 30 to 45 mins in a saucepan depending on their age etc. You can use Malka in recipes that call for dal. Just cook a bit longer.
      I’ll add Malka pics eventually.

      Reply

      • Thank you so much, Richa … your reply was very clear. I tried out the masoor malka and it was nutty and delicious. After about 35 minutes soaking (it was making some strange crackling noises as it soaked and increased in volume) it cooked on the stovetop in about 20 minutes – just as you said!

        Reply

  39. Hi,

    Good evening!

    This post is wonderful!

    Still, I have a confusion I would like to know Is “Red gram and Toor dal is the same name or both are different pulses because yesterday, I went to the supermarket and asked about RED GRAM dal. but, they said to take “TOOR DAL”

    Kindly explain in this regard.

    I look forward seeing your reply comment.

    Reply

    • Red gram is the whole form of toor dal. Also called pigeon pea. The pigeon peas that are whole and not skinned are red in color. They are skinned and split to make toor dal. Like how sabut masoor is brown and and masoor dal is pink.

      Reply

  40. All these names are so confusing.
    I think this difference is because of different region.
    Some time it’s Gram and sometimes Lentils

    Well I was searching for Moong/ Moong Daal’s English names.
    Result is Green Lentils\Green Gram.
    Sorry for bad English.
    Jai Hind

    Reply

  42. Great compilation Richa, Request you to explain the difference between the following dals (better if you could add pics for the missing ones)

    Yellow Split Peas
    Split Pigeon Pea
    Split Chickpea (Brown)
    Yellow Lentil

    and also between the following dals

    Black Gram Whole
    Black gram lentils
    Black beans
    Beluga lentils
    Caviar black lentils
    Black mung beans

    Reply

    • thanks. They are all different beans, most of those pics are already there. some beans like black beans are not native to india although now they are available. But there are no traditional indian recipes that use them

      Reply

  43. Great post on the different types of dal. In the beginning, I was not able to understand the content clearly but when I started reading your post with the help of your image it will help me a lot to identify the different types of dal.

    You have thoroughly explained the different types of Indian dal which clearly differentiate each other. Moreover, I am planing to buy your book and a little bit excited to know about more interesting stuff.

    Thank you.

    Reply

  45. Hi there Richa
    Love the info on the beans is it possible to put it in PDF.
    I have been looking at your book/s not sure how many you have got in English.
    As i am in South Africa our bookshops will only order the books from their source
    if they can get hold of it. Would like to know more about the book before i buy
    and the recipe index as i am a newbie in Indian vegan cooking. Thanks for awesome
    recipes.
    G

    Reply

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