Dals can be very confusing for a beginner. I remember my mother trying to teach me as a child, and I would forget the names again and again. It was only when I started cooking that I just learned the names naturally.

Tuvar/ Toor/ Sambar dal or Pigeon Peas

This is probably the most commonly used dal all over India. It is very versatile, and can be served plain, with a tadka (tempering), with vegetables as a sambar, or even mixed with rice, as bisi bele bhaat.  It is very easy to cook, taking about half an hour when boiled and just 5 minutes when pressure cooked.

Mung dal

Mung dal is probably the healthiest of all dals, being very easy to digest. This dal is tri-doshic according to Ayurveda, which means that it is good for all body types when cooked correctly.

It contains plenty of potassium, magnesium, folate, fiber, and vitamin B6, which translates to better muscle repair especially when working out, better health during pregnancy and less PMS problems.

This is the dal you eat when you enjoy those yummy dal fries at hotels. It is also the dal we use when we make the traditional khichdi. It is also soaked and served raw in some salads.

When the mung dal is simply split and sold, it retains it’s green cover and obviously has more fiber than the previous version. This dal can be served plain, is used in panchmel dal and can be paired with dal baati. When soaked and ground, this dal can be used to make cheela, a dosa-like item.

Whole mung is very versatile. It is best used sprouted as that multiplies it’s nutritive value and also makes it easier to cook. The sprouts can be raw in salads or can be cooked and served as a dry side dish. It can also be used to make pulao.

Urad dal/ Ivory White Lentils

This is the dal used in making idlies. The wild yeast in this dal helps to ferment the batter, increasing the air content, making the idlies soft and airy. It is also used in making vadas of various types, medu vada  and dahi bada for instance.

Urad dal is sold as split white, split with skin, as well as whole urad dal, completely black.

The split with skin urad dal is either cooked plain or served as a very yummy khichdi. Whole urad dal is used in a variety of North Indian dishes like Maa ki dal and the very rich, very popular Dal Makhani.

Masoor dal/ Red Lentils

Split (dhuli) masoor dal is orange in color but turns to a dull yellow when cooked. One unique thing about this dal is that if you soak even the dhuli masoor, ie the dal without the skin, it sprouts after a day. Apparently even after removing the peel, the seed remains intact.

Kali masoor takes longer to cook when compared to other dals, because of the skin. It is best to soak it overnight and then pressure cook it for ten minutes. It is a very rich and full bodied dal, but is not consumed too frequently by most people. As a result, when tempered simply with cumin, onions, tomatoes and spices, it impresses most people, even though it is actually so easy to cook.

Chana dal/ Split Bengal gram

The biggest confusion is usually between the tuvar dal and chana dal, as they can look similar at a glance. If you look closely however, there are quite different, tuvar dal being smaller and flatter.

Chana dal takes much longer to cook and it is usually a good idea to soak it for a few hours before cooking it. It is heavier on the stomach and is therefore used less frequently. Typical dishes using this dal would be panchmel dal, puran poli and parippu vada.

Chana/ Kadala/ Chickpea/ Garbanzo Beans

This is slightly different from chana dal. Chana is older, bigger, less sweet and has a higher glycemic index. Punjabi chole or chana masala is a very popular dish all over India. Pakistanis use this in a lovely, delicate dish, chana pulao. Chana chat is another wonderful summer snack.

Kala Chana/ Whole Bengal Gram

This is completely different in taste as well as texture, from the normal white chickpeas. It is commonly cooked during festivals, and is considered to be a very sattvik food, associated with the Goddess.

It is also easier to digest than the chickpeas. The most common way of eating it is to soak it overnight, pressure cook, add a few spices and temper it before serving. It is also served as a curry in some parts of the country.

I remember when I had to cook rice for the first time. I started cooking at a fairly young age, but that was mostly things like bhel puri, sweets, cookies and cakes. No lunch-dinner items.

And suddenly one day I was alone at home with a meal to cook. Ow! Years later when my friends started going abroad, they found themselves in the same predicament. Ok, so I can find a recipe for biryani online, but how to I cool rice? What does ‘pressure cook’ really mean? It was then that I decided to write about the basics to help them out. And I hope this helps you today.

When you start with cooking, of course, you need to educate yourself a little bit about rice and dal. The following links will give you a crash course in understanding, identifying and cooking dals.

Understanding Rice
Lentils & Legumes
Cooking Rice
Cooking Dals (Lentils)

 Apart from that, here are a few things to keep in mind.

Leaves: Leaves cook very fast, and reduce in quantity drastically. Whenever you buy leaves, always buy close to double the quantity you think you need, because once you cook them, you’ll be left with much lesser than what you started out with.

High-Iron Vegetables:
Fruits and vegetables that contain a high level of iron can be prevented from changing color by rubbing them with lime. (For eg., apple, avocado, potato, etc)

Substitutions: Working with a limited number of items can be quite daunting, and you need to learn to substitute. For example, you could use wheat flour or oat flour instead of corn flour in soups, substitute vegetables instead of meat, oil instead of butter or vice versa, etc. A good google search will suggest various options, so don’t be disheartened if you’re missing an ingredient for a dish you want to make.

Dry Dishes: When you’re cooking vegetables for dry side dishes, a good technique to use is to cook it on high flame for the first few minutes, followed by a cooking on a low flame, and high flame cooking again just before taking it off the heat. This makes the vegetables more crispy and traps the moisture inside.

Cooking Oils: The best oils to cook with, are the oils available in your region. If you seek to eat healthy, then avoid refined oils, and stick to filtered or cold pressed oils.

In North India, mustard oil is a good idea in the winter, and (unrefined) sunflower oil in the summer. In South India, coconut oil and groundnut oils are better. Olive oil is healthy, but is best consumed around the land where olives grow. Most olive oils are adulterated and not pure anyway.

Stir-Frying: If you’re making a dish that involves stir-frying, make sure you cut your vegetables thin and small, so that cooking is fast. Large pieces will remain uncooked and will spoil the dish.

Clarified Butter (Ghee): According to Ayurveda, ghee is extremely good for health. It is best used for topping up warm dishes with a spoon of ghee. If you are using it as a substitute for oil, however, there aren’t many health benefits. If ghee is reheated to its boiling temperature, then it loses its positive qualities and behaves like oil.

Pasta : Make sure that the water is boiling vigorously and add 1 tbsp of oil or butter to the water before adding the pasta. This will help prevent it from sticking. Always cook pasta uncovered in a fast and continuous boil.

Care for your Non-stick (Teflon coated) vessels:
To ensure your non-stick pans last long, keep a few things in mind:
1. Never use it for deep-frying.
2. While washing, allow the pan to cool down and then gently wash it with a sponge and mild detergent .
3. Never pour cold water over a hot pan as this is likely to result in the coating pealing off or even the pan or griddle losing its shape.

It doesn’t matter how experienced at cooking you are – you will definitely make mistakes. What is important is to know if you can reduce the impact of those mistakes. Here are a few tips:

Things do go wrong. And anyone who has cooked, has dealt with the problem of too much salt, burnt dishes and the like. So how did they deal with them? Here are the tips.

Too Much Salt? Too much of salt can be dealt with, by adding a piece of raw potato or a piece of dough to the dish. If it is a curry, simmer a while after adding this. Dough or potato absorb excess salt, but remember to remove it before serving the dish. If it is still salty, add a bit of lemon juice and sugar.

Too much Chili? If a dish is too spicy, adding cream, yogurt or lemon juice depending on your dish, should be your first remedy. If it is still spicy, add a bit of sugar or jaggery, or throw in some raw onions.

Too much Sugar? Again, some lemon juice and salt should be able to take care of this. Spicing it up a bit with cinnamon, clove and cardamom powders would also help.

Burnt Rice? If you want to take the burnt flavour off the rice, place a piece of fresh bread on top of the rice and cover the pan. The burnt taste will be gone in some time.

Washing a vessel with burnt food? Half fill the vessel with water, and add detergent, vinegar or cooking soda. Bring the water to boil. The vessel will now be easier to wash.

Spoiled Milk? Do not throw away spoiled milk. Add some lemon juice to it and bring it to boil. After boiling it for a few minutes, strain the mixture using a muslin cloth. Press it a little by keeping a heavy vessel over it for some time, and you have cottage cheese (paneer) ready for use.