A source of fiber, black gram is believed to prevent nervous and digestive system disorders

GEEK TALK

Vigna mungo

BUT WE TALK

Urad dal, Ulatham Paruppu, Negro gramo, Ivory lentil, MASHA(Ayurvedic texts)

DID YOU KNOW?

Black gram could just as easily have been called White gram because it is black on the outside and white on the inside as the photograph on the right will show.

The whole black lentil is a major ingredient of the ubiquitous Dal Makhani of Punjab (and the famed Tasty Bite Madras Lentils) and the split white lentil is used for the famous South Indian breakfast food - Idly.

Black gram is rich in protein containing 26% almost three times that of cereals.

The combination of 'dal-chawal' (lentils & rice) or 'dal-roti' (lentils & wheat flatbread) is an important part of the average Indian diet, because of the complementary relationship of the essential amino acids such as arginine, leucine, lysine, isoleucine, valine, and phenylalanine, etc.

KITCHEN PHARMACY

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION

India is the largest producer and consumer of Black gram in the world. The only other countries that grow it are Australia and Myanmar.

Image courtesy: Thamizhpparithi Maari / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)