There is every reason to love the earthy lentils or dals. These are not only a good protein and fibre source for you, but lentils are also low in fat content. Lentils are especially good for vegetarians, as these plant proteins compensate for the nutrition that animal proteins provide. Lentils actually help to lower cholesterol and reduce the risk of heart ailments, unlike animal proteins, as these are rich in soluble fibre. It is important to soak the lentils for a few hours, so that these cook faster and each grain is cooked through. Each lentil variety needs a different soaking time. For example, you don’t need to soak the red lentils (masoor dal) much, but split Bengal gram needs atleast an hour to soak, for best results. One bowl of cooked dal will give you just 230 calories!
Here, in India, we can’t do without dals, when we are speaking about traditional Indian food. A typical Indian meal will almost always include a lentil soup dish. Lentils on the runnier side work best with rice, whereas roti is best eaten with a thicker lentil dishes. We have handpicked a few Indian lentil soup recipes from all over India. So while Mangai Sambar is from South, Dal Makhni is from North, whereas Cholar Dal is from the East. Wait, we also have a dessert recipe made with dal, and yes, it tastes delicious.
So here’s the seven must-try Indian lentil soups (dals) that you will love. This dal collection is a keeper!
