The market · Beans and pulses · South Asia

Black lentils

Whole urad — small black beans rather than true lentils, with a creamy, almost gelatinous inside. The base of Punjab's dal makhani.

earthy · creamy

What to do with it

Classics built on it
PunjabiDal makhaniWhole black lentils and kidney beans, simmered for hours with butter, tomato and cream until thick and velvety.No one here has made it yet

Kinds

Whole (sabut urad)
For dal makhani; long, slow cooking.
Split and hulled (urad dal)
White; for idli and dosa batter, and tempering in South India.

Goes with

kidney beanbutterdouble creamginger

Knowing it

Where to buy
South Asian grocers. Not beluga lentils, which are sometimes also called black lentils.
Worth knowing
Soak overnight and cook them long — the creaminess comes from hours on the heat as much as from the butter and cream.

Kitchens that keep it in

Punjab — northern India and eastern PakistanPunjabiWheat, dairy and the tandoor: rich, generous cooking from the land of five rivers, and the source of much of what the world calls Indian food.10 classics

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