facilitates to meet your daily demands of iron and calcium. Besides these, toor dal is an incredible source of folic acids which is essential for fetal growth and prevents the birth defects of the new-born.

Toor Dal/Pigeon Pea Plant

Toor dal is a perennial legume that belongs to the Fabaceae family, which is also known as pigeon pea or split pigeon pea, arhar dal or red gram dal. Tracing its root to the Indian subcontinent at least 3500 years ago, this lentil had been the main food in Asia, Africa and Latin America.

Toor dal is widely grown in tropical and semitropical regions across the world, India accounts for 72% of major production of pigeon pea in an area covering 3.9 million hectares. It is a drought-resistant plant and can be cultivated in regions with minimal rainfall. Toor dal is cultivated solely as a crop or merged with cereals such as sorghum, pearl millet or maize or with other legumes such as peanuts. Pigeon pea is capable of symbiosis with Rhizobia, the bacteria linked with toor dal nurtures soils through symbiotic nitrogen fixation. The seed pods look flat, sickle-shaped with a length of 5-9 cm, each pod comprises 3-9 seeds that range from white, cream, yellow, purple or a combination of any of these shades. Pigeon pea grows to a height of 0.5- 4.0 m, the crop usually survives for three to five years, though the yield falls considerably after the first two years.

Processing Of Toor Dal

Dehulling Methods

Dehulling of lentils is an age-old practice in India, where hand pounding was common. Some of the other traditional methods of processing toor dal are classified under two categories:

Wet Method

The wet method comprises soaking seeds in water, then it is sun-dried and dehulled.

Dry Method

This method involves applying oil and water on the seeds, then drying in the sun and dehulling. Large quantities of pigeon peas are commercially dehulled where the lentils are deskinned and split in mechanically functioning mills.

Ayurveda Uses

The holistic science of ayurveda values toor dal as an amazing food and medicinal legume in treating several health woes. Right from the seeds, young fresh pods, shoot and leaves are widely used for culinary purposes. In traditional practice, toor dal is used internally in the form of healing soup and externally it is applied as a paste or ointment. This lentil is good for boosting liver health and brings about lightness in the body. The leaves are used to treat bleeding disorder, worm infestation and also acts as a natural laxative. The paste of red gram leaves is applied over mouth ulcers and inflammation to heal stomatitis. Apart from these, a poultice made from pigeon pea leaves and seed is applied over the breast to stimulate lactation. Toor dal is well-known to increase vata dosha, while it balances pitta and kapha dosha and improves overall complexion.

Nutritional Content In Toor Dal

Toor dal is an incredible source of proteins, carbs and dietary fibre needed for growth and development. Adding toor dal in your diet helps to meet your demands of iron and calcium while being a good source of folic acids promotes foetal growth and averts congenital birth defects of the foetus. The essence of dietary fibre and protein in toor dal control hunger pangs, delays digestion, supports weight loss, regulates diabetes and diminishes cholesterol levels. Furthermore, vast reserves of vitamins and minerals like magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, sodium and zinc aids to enhance physical and mental well-being.

According to the USDA (United States Department Of Agriculture) the nutrition content in a serving or cup of toor dal is:

Calories -343 kcal

Total Fat 1.5g

Total Carbohydrate 63g

Protein 22g

Sodium 17mg

Potassium 1392 mg

Calcium 0.13mg

Iron 28 %

Magnesium 45%

Vitamin B6 15%