Urad Dal

Urad dal, a small legume, is pale grayish white with a black skin. Whole urad is known as black gram, but it is usually sold split and skinned, looking like small pale gray to whitish pebbles. Urad, whose Sanskrit name is masha, is native to the Subcontinent and is related to mung beans. The plant’s botanical name is Phaseolus mungo. Split urad is soaked, ground, and combined with rice to make the batter for dosas and idlis, and it is also cooked as a dal (see Udaipur Urad Dal). Urad dal is widely available in South Asian stores.