The glossary or list of legumes and lentils or pulses names used mainly in Indian Cuisine is presented here. Pulses and legumes are an excellent sources of plant based proteins. In India most of the vegetarian population consumes a variety of legumes, pulses and their flours. So we have hundreds of recipes made with them. We even have sweets and desserts made with lentils. e.g. moong dal halwa, besan ladoo, chana dal payasam etc.
Just for your information:-
- In Hindi, the word ‘Sabut’ is used for lentils which are whole.
- The word ‘Dal’ or ‘Dahl’ is used for split lentils.
- The word ‘Dhuli’ is used for split and husked/skinned lentils.
How to Cook, Buy and Store Lentils and Legumes
Soaking: Some people have difficulty digesting these due to the phytic acid present in them. To make them easily digestible soak the lentils like chana dal, tuvar dal, masoor dal in water for an hour and legumes like white chickpeas, kidney beans, black chickpeas for 8 to 9 hours or overnight.
Later drain all the water and rinse the lentils thoroughly in fresh water for a couple of times. This process helps to remove some of the phytic acid.
Cooking: Soaking the lentils and beans reduces their cooking time by 25%. Once they are soaked well, you have the options to cook them in a pressure cooker or pan or in an instant pot. While cooking lentils add double to triple the amount of water. When cooking beans, add 3 to 4 times water to one cup of dried beans.
In Indian cuisine, most of our lentil dishes contain many spices and herbs that help in the digestion. e.g. cumin, ginger, asafoetida, fennel seeds, carom seeds etc. They also add a ton of flavor and aroma in the dish. I suggest that in any Indian lentil or legume recipe don’t change or omit the spices or herbs but you can change some other ingredients if they are not available to you.
Buying: While purchasing lentils and legumes make sure they are in their shelf period and not aged or old. Lentils that are old take a longer time to cook and also you don’t get the best texture and flavor in them.
If possible buy organic or locally sourced pulses and legumes. Also, try to buy unpolished pulses or lentils as they have higher nutrition than the polished ones. Moreover, they also taste better.
Preserve: To preserve lentils or their flours for a longer time so that they don’t get infested with insects, keep 1 to 2 tej patta (Indian bay leaf) or few cinnamon sticks or few pieces of cloves in the lentil jar. Keep in a cool dry place.
Note that this pulses names list is best viewed in a desktop or laptop browser. When viewing in a mobile phone or tablet, you will have to swipe the table from left to right.
The first column consists of the pulses names in English, whilst the second column consists of their names translated in Hindi, Tamil and Marathi languages. These names of the legumes, lentils are listed in alphabetical order.
Pulses Name List
| English | Hindi | Tamil | Marathi |
| Bengal gram flour | Besan | Kadalai mavu | |
| Bengal gram spilt and skinned | Chana dal, chane ki dal, Booter dal | Kadalai paruppu | Harbaryachi dal, Chanyachi dal |
| Bengal gram whole | Kala chana, chana | Harbhara | |
| Black eyed beans, cow peas | Lobhiya, lobiya, chawli, chavli | Karamani | |
| Black gram skinned | Urad dhuli | Ullutham paruppu | |
| Black gram split | Urad chilka | ||
| Black gram whole | Urad sabut, urad saboot | Muzhu ulundhu | |
| White chick peas, Garbanzo beans | Kabuli channa, Safed chole, chole | Kondai kadalai | |
| Field bean, Hyacinth bean, lablab | Val | ||
| Green gram dal | Moong dal | Payatham paruppu | |
| Green gram split | Moong chilka | Mugachi dal | |
| Green gram whole | Moong sabut, mung sabut | Payaru | Mug |
| Horse gram | Kulthi, kulith | Kollu | |
| Lentil dal, pink lentil | Masoor dal, masar dal, Masur dal | ||
| Moth bean | Moth, matki, mataki | ||
| Peas | Mutter, matar, mattar | Pattani | |
| Dried green peas | Hara matar | ||
| Dried white peas | Safed matar | ||
| Black peas | Kala vatana | ||
| Peas spilt, green peas spilt | Matar dal, green matar dal | ||
| Pigeon peas spilt and skinned | Arhar, tuvar, toor, tur dal | Thuvarum paruppu | |
| Red kidney beans | Rajma | Rajma | |
| Soybean | Bhatma |
Note – if you know the name of any legumes/lentils/pulses in any regional Indian language and want to update it in this post, then do leave it in the comment section and we will update the post. Thanks in advance for your information
If we have missed any legumes, then also you can let us know.
Related Culinary Posts
This lentils and pulses name list post from the blog archives (first published in September 2009) has been updated and republished on 26 June 2021.
Dear Amit Ji
What is English name of Malka Dal
malka dal is called as orange lentils or red lentils.
Dried White peas is called vellai pattani in Tamil and dried green peas is called kanja pacha pattani
Thanks for the information.
why arhar dal is called a red gram.?
even i wonder the same.
Excellent! Thanks for this info. It was very helpful for an on-going project.
Cheers.
Welcome Sunny
What about soya dal?
will add.
Please add Telugu Names (Andhra Pradesh & Telangana)
Bengal Gram Flour Senaga Pindi
Bengal Gram Split and Skinned Senaga Pappu
Bengal Gram Whole Senagalu
Black Gram Dal (Skinned) Minapappu
Black Gram Split (with husk) Pottu Minapappu
Black Gram Whole Minugulu
Green Gram Dal (Skinned) Pesara Pappu
Green Gram Split (with husk) Pottu Pesara Pappu
Green Gram Whole Pesalu
Horse Gram Ulavalu
Peas Batanilu
Red Kidney Beans Rajma
thanks a lot mani for this information. will add. the entire post needs a change and due to shortage of time, i am not able to work on it. once i change the whole post, i will add all the details. thanks again.
What are brown lentils?
In hindi. They say it is masoor but masoor is called red lentils. Are both brown and red lentils same?
Sanjana Lal, masoor is called as brown lentils because the whole masoor has brown colored husk.
Basically, both are the same lentils. When the “Masoor” lentil is whole, with the husk on, it is brown. When the lentil is split and has the husk removed it is referred to as a “red lentil”; orange in color. The difference is clear in English, ie: brown lentil/red lentil but confusing in other languages. Hope this helps! Whatever the language, Dal/Lentil Curry is delicious!
Thanks for this dal names in english
welcome rishabh.
What is beluga lentil called in Hindi?
beluga lentils are not native to india. so i don’t think they have a hindi name.
What about mash ki daal? 🙁
urad dal is mash ki dal. urad dal is mentioned in the list.
Thank u for giving us this valuable knowledge if u r missing some more lentils so plz update bcoz i thing some r missing
thanks vaishali. i will be updating this post with pics. hopefully i will update if i have missed any lentils that time.
please add in Marathi
1. Besan Pit
2. Harbaryachi Dal
3. Harbhara
4. chavli
5. Uddad
6. Uddachi dal
7.
8. Kabuli Harbara
9. Val
10. Mug Dal
druv, we will working on this post and adding pics. so will keep your suggestion in mind.
nice effort 🙂
thanks.
What is yellow lentil known as in hind ? Arhar or dhuli moong ? Both are yellow
yes kc both are yellow but sabut moong is also green in color. arhar or toor dal is yellow in color hope this help’s you.
Besan is called CHUN चुन in marathi
thanks for the info nilkanth. will update in a couple of days.
Very Very good blog..Link it to Face book page plz..
thankyou jawnsin will link on fb soon 🙂
Dear requesting you to add proper marathi words.
will update.
Hi i want to know gujarTi name of soyabean.
i do not know what soybean is called in gujarati. but according to me soybean called as soyabean is hindi as well as in gujarati.
Hello Amit
It was a basket of informative knowledge.
Thanks. By the way what is the local commercial name for American beans.
thanks. i am not sure what are american beans. have never seen them here in india.
Thanks a lot. very informative and great site. It was very useful for me in last hour as i was really struggling to get the names in English for importing some.
welcome dhiraj. good to know that the post helped you.
Thanks for creating this list of cross reference. What is red gram and split red lentils? Is that masoor dal or pink lentils? I have a recipe book that calls out for red pumpkin. Is that the same as the orange pumpkin we have here in the U.S. that we carve during Halloween?
i think red gram and split red lentils is masoor dal. and red pumpkin would be orange pumpkin.
TELUGU NAMES
BENGAL GRAM WHOLE: PACCHI SANAGALU
BEAGAL GRAM SPLIT: PACCHI SANAGA PAPPU
BEAGAL GRAM FRIED: VEYINCHINA SANAGA PAPPU
BENGAL GRAM FOOR: SENAGA PINDI
BLACK GRAM WHOLE: MINUMULU
BLACK GRAM SPLIT: MINAPA PAPPU
GREEN GRAM WHOLE: PACCHI PESALU
GREEN GRAM SPLIT: PESARA PAPPU
REDGRAM WHOLE: KANDULU
RED GRAM SPLIT: KADI PAPPU
GREAN PEAS : PACCHI BHATALILU
DRY GREAN PEAS: ENDU BHATANILU
thanks sreedhar for the lentil names in telugu. will try to update soon.
Can i know, if there is any common name for white beans ?!
ishi, which white beans?
hii gud work, i know the names in telugu & kannada.
thanks witerose
verkadalai{in tamil} means ground nut (in english)
subha, thanks for the info.
Hi, Sorry to bother you but would it be possible to link pictures to each of these? I’m having a hard time trying to figure out what to buy and my mum’s no where nearby to ask! Or if you know of a website that has pictures, that would be great too! Thanks so much!
welcome maya. no issue. we will add the photos soon.
Please see if you can keep the picture of each in respective rows.. it will help quickly to relate
thanks vinaya. its a good suggestion but will make the page very heavy to load. thats why we have not implemented till now. but will surely give a second thought.
Waal is a Konkan coastal bean with a hard shell and can only be cooked only when sprouted.its legume .Give synonyms.
we know. will add synonyms.
moth beans tamilnadu called as that taittai pairu
thanks thomas for sharing the info.
Please add the following Tamil translations:
black eyed beans, cow peas – Karamani
black gram skinned – ulluttam paruppu
black gram whole – muzhu ulundhu
white chick peas – kondai kadalai
green gram dal – payatham paruppu
green gram whole – payaru
horse gram – kollu
peas – pattanni
pigeon peas spilt and skinned – tovarum paruppu
Regards,
Prem
thanks prem for sharing this. i will update them soon.
Thank you for this English Hindi Glossary.
welcome latha
Namashkar chief
kindly add few names in Gujarati
like
Chola =brown seeds ,also in dal form when husk is removed
fried Fafda is made from Chola ki dal in Gujarat
Tuver whole seeds
Val whole >off white colour
and Val ki dal
Math whole and dal
Mathia papad is made in Gujarat during Diwali
dhanyawad sheetal for sharing this info. i will add the names in a few days.
Is there a difference in taste when it comes to split masoor (pinkish) and sabut masoor (brown)?
Or are they the same?
yes there is a difference in the taste as well as the consistency of the dal. basically both are same lentil. whole masoor is a complete lentil with the husk on it. while pinkish/orangish masoor is halved lentil and the husk has been removed.
What is the difference in legumes and lentils?
legumes are whole beans. lentils are not beans. they comprise of the various dal that we have in our food.
Thank you for the table– it is difficult sometimes to find the thing recipe writers are talking about. I saw a recipe that used “kaalu/field beans” and my local Indian grocer did not know what they were. It looks like they may be val, but I’m still not sure.
American English apparently differs on some of the names. We consider lentils to be legumes. Please see Wikipedia on this, although there are many other sources that will confirm this usage.
Also, green gram whole are more frequently called just “mung beans” in American English. Except in Indian stores, they’re not generally available split or split and hulled. The whole ones are sometimes (or usually?) used for sprouting.
Split peas here are available in green (most usually used for soup) and yellow types.
Black beans here are common beans (Phaseolus vulgaris), used in Latin-American, Southwestern and Californian dishes. They’re sometimes called “black turtle beans”. There are also “Beluga lentils” or black lentils, which are tiny black legumes, the same shape as mung beans, but a little smaller, and black instead of green.
I hope this helps, although it may suggest that a column be added for “American usage”. That could be a problem because we have no names for many of the legumes in your table, and we have many varieties of common beans which seem to have no Indian equivalents.
thanks for the suggestions and for the mentioning the various beans found in america. i have made a note of this and will try to add the american usage in some days. field beans are vaal. here its vice versa for lentils and legumes. i will check wikipedia.
Thank you! Most useful!
welcome.
What is black bean?
black beans are black colored soy beans.
i do feed cows wid jaggery and chana dal….is it good for their health
rahul, i don’t know.
Thanx a lot for this glossaries! now i got a better idea about the dals and i can search for it. u just made my day n_n!
welcome lin
Hi,
Just wondering if I could use toor dahl in place of moong dahl for Korean pancakes. They are called Bindaetteok (Korean Mung Bean Pancakes). I guess it must be the amount of carbohydrate in the beans that hold them together. Not sure.
with toor dal, the taste would be different. i suggest using both toor dal and chana dal. you can even make only with chana dal.
i m thankful
welcome manpreet
Hi,
Is french Lentil the same thing as moong whole ?
The other day i ate a fish dish prepared with french lentils, I wanted to try the dish at home and closest lentil in color and size was moong whole, any thought on that ? 🙂
nazli, i am not sure about it. so can’t say.
I think it is a different type of lentil (masoor). There are the brown lentils (unhusked) as well as green ones (unhusked).
Very good information indeed.
However I could not get english name for JAWAS seed. can you please send me.
Thanks & regards
B. D. Bade
from what i have seen on the web, javas are flax seeds. they are called as alashi in marathi.
hw i wished if u hd posted images of the lentils along with their names.. :)neways no problem i wl google it..thanks for posting
kajal, posting so many images is difficult and slows down the webpage too.
ooh..kies
What would you call alfalfa seeds in Hindi or Marathi?
in hindi, these seeds are called as ‘rajko‘. you can also refer below link on alfalfa seeds
https://www.vegrecipesofindia.com/how-to-make-alfalfa-sprouts/
In one of d recipes I read, it was written ‘beans’ so which bean should I consider
which bean are you referring and which recipe?
Thanks..Dassana?? Anyway… thanks so much for this info.
welcome gaurav.
Plz correct ,
pigeön pea is not tuvar dal or arhar dal.
As far as i knw it is called as kala chana
or chana dal
dear deep, pigeon pea is tuvar dal. kala chana is called as bengal gram.
thanks
What is Boot er dal in English?
its chana dal or bengal gram.