Black Urad Dal

Urad whole beans are small, black skinned and oval beans that are pale yellow inside. Their cooked texture is somewhat glutinous.These are also called as Black Lentils.

Urad is best cooked long and slow, and in India is often cooked overnight on a low slow fire. The results are creamy, unctuous lentils, a rich dish even without the addition of butter or cream. Urad also takes well to tomatoes, butter, cream and yoghurt, and many dishes will include one or more of these. Because of this, Urad is usually cooked to a wet curry, rather than used in dry Indian dishes. Dal Makhani is a very popular North Indian dish with black Urad Dal as one of the key ingredients.

South Indian cuisines also use Urad Dal as a seasoning rather than a main ingredient, to add texture, flavour and some thickening to a dish like dosa,idli, vada.