The Magic of Legumes

Legumes are edible plants from the pea family, most commonly..... chickpeas, lentils, peas, beans and peanuts. They are a nutritious source of plant-based protein, fiber, vitamins, and minerals and can be eaten fresh, dried, or canned.

In Asian cuisine, pulses are the dried edible seeds of leguminous plants, often ....lentils, beans, chickpeas, and dried peas.

When a lentil is split, it is called dal.

Chickpeas (chana)

WHOLE CHANA: whole bengal gram; brown chickpeas (kala chana); "black Bengal gram" is another name for black gram, which refers to the black chana or black chickpea, Cicer arietinum. The name "Bengal gram" comes from the region where the British first encountered the chickpea, and in many parts of India, this variety is also called kala chana
used in pakoras, vadai, dhokla batter

CHANA DAL: (split bengal gram)/ technically a chickpea but much smaller, and still called "dal"
-think of it as a small chickpea but a big dal

*KABULI CHANA : white chickpeas (aka garbanzo beans)

WHOLE CHANA/ WHOLE BENGAL GRAM/ BROWN CHICKPEAS

Chana Dal

kabuli chana

Lentils / Dal ( a split lentil is called a dal)
*can be confusing bc "dal" is often used for both split lentils and some split beans/peas

masoor dal (red lentil with skin)

urad dal

moong dal

tuvar dal

Beans

green mung beans are split green gram, hulled and split)

kidney beans

Peas

take longer to cook than lentils

english peas

split yellow peas

black eyed peas