a very versatile dried split yellow lentil with a slightly sweet taste, nutty flavor. It is used in variety of vegetable dishes. It can be cooked until soft for the dish called simply dal, or as in southern India, it can be used as a spice.
Yellow dal which looks like split peas but is much tastier and does not break up when cooked. Chana dal is related to chick peas and can be ground into a flour to make the batter for pakoras.