Lentil Recipes - Types of lentils

How to cook Lentils
for lentil curry and lentil salads

Lentil recipes are an important part of any vegetarian diet. There are many types of lentils that are used in making lentil curry, lentil salad or lentil soup.

Lentils are widely used in vegetarian cooking for their nutritional value. Lentils are one of the healthiest food ingredients.

Lentils include pulses, beans, dals, legumes. They contain high level of proteins, vitamin B1, dietary fiber, minerals, iron ect. They are rich in protein next to soya.

Lentils are recommended for diabetics. Lentils are used whole or split.

Whole masoor - lentilsWhole masoor - lentils

Whole lentils are more nutritious because of their husks. When the husk - skin is removed from the whole lentil and the lentil is split, the split lentil is referred to as dal, daal or dhal in Indian languages.

The cooked lentil recipe, a dish either made with whole or split lentil is also called as Dal.

So the Indian Dal which you get in restaurants is made with a variety of whole or split lentil. The dals are referred according to the variety of lentil that is split.

The lentils are used to make a main dish such as Khichadi - a rice and lentil dish, to make a side dish such as mung bean curry or to make a snack as fried chickpeas.

The cooking time of lentils is short. The split lentil, that is called dal, cooks still faster.

It is combined with rice as it has similar cooking time such as in Khichadi . Cooked lentils become thick so water is used to thin it.

Lentils are used to make snacks, salads, curries, side dishes, sweets etc.

Whole or split lentils and flours made from lentils are used.

How to cook lentils? Indian Lentil Recipes

Types of lentils - whole and split lentil varieties


Rasam, Sambar recipes with toor dal - yellow lentils

Split yellow lentils - Tuvar dal - Arhar dalSplit yellow lentils - Tuvar dal - Arhar dal

South Indian thin lentil soup. Served as appetizer, soup, and also with Plain Steamed Rice.

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Sambar - Vegetable and lentil dish - with Onion and tomatoes.

Serve with Idli, Plain Steamed Rice and Dosa

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Mixed vegetable sambar

Mix veg sambar is served with plain rice or with idli. 

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Green bean Sambar - French bean/string bean sambar

green bean sambar - 500x363

Green bean/ french bean/string beans sambar is a south Indian recipe.

It is served with rice, dosa, idli, meduvada etc.

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Dal - dhal - daal recipes

Masoor dal - Split lentilsMasoor dal - Split lentils

Chickpea - garbanzo beans recipes

white chickpeas - Kabuli chana - Garbanzo beanswhite chickpeas - Kabuli chana - Garbanzo beans

whole chickpeas and split chickpeas are used to make

Chickpea recipes - More about chickpeas.

How to skin chickpeas - Instructions for Removing chickpea skins

How to cook chickpeas. - Easy and simple way to cook chickpeas.

Fried Chickpeas - healthy snack

Chickpea Curry - A yummy curry

Chana dal sundal - ghugri

Soaked chana dal chutney

Stir fried Chickpeas - Kabuli Chana sundal - Ghugri

 Made with kabuli chana - garbanzo beans, prepared on festivals such as  Ganesh chaturthi and distributed to the devotees as prasad, also served as a healthy snack.

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Ambode - Chana dal vada -

This South Indian dal vada recipe is a spicy snack recipe - Festival recipe, made with split chickpeas

Bottle gourd, known as laucki, opo squash, ghiya with chana dal

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Ambe dal or kairichi dal is a Maharashtrian summer recipe, made with green mango and chana dal.

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Mung bean recipes

whole Mung bean - Green gramwhole Mung bean - Green gram
Split Mung bean - Green gram dal - Moong dalSplit Mung bean - Green gram dal - Moong dal

How to make Moong dal and rice khichadi - Huggi

Easy to digest rice and mung bean lentil recipe. One Dish Meal.

Cook in pressure cooker or on the stove top.

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Mung Bean Curry - Lentil curry to serve with rice/roti/bread. Can use other beans/lentils too.

Moong dal kosambari - Lentil salad recipe - Snack and ramanavami and navaratri festival salad recipe


More recipes with lentils - dals

Dahi Vada -Dahi Bhalle

A popular yogurt based snack recipe. Good for festivals, summer season and as a party dish.

Known as thyir vade - mosaru vade in south Indian languages.


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