Lentils & Grains

Red masoor dal cooks in 20 minutes without soaking and is the everyday dal; moong dal is light and quick for khichdi and a yellow dal; chana dal holds its shape, so it goes into dal gosht and haleem; toor dal is the base for sambar and a Gujarati dal; whole urid with kidney beans makes dal makhani; and whole brown masoor is the one for a Punjabi sabut masoor. The Shan meat and vegetable curry mix works with any of them.

Chana dal with mutton is dal gosht: chana dal, mutton bone-in diced and a Shan Kunna or meat masala. Chickpeas with chicken is murgh cholay, with the Shan Murgh Cholay mix and a whole chicken cut into 8. Kala chana goes into lamb mince keema, and red kidney beans into a chilli with beef mince. For haleem, the Laziza Complete Haleem mix already contains the pulses.

The whole ones do. Soak chickpeas, kala chana, kidney beans, butter beans and whole urid overnight, then boil until tender, which takes 45 minutes to an hour and a half depending on age, or 15 to 20 minutes in a pressure cooker. Kidney beans must be boiled hard for at least ten minutes. Split dals such as masoor and moong need only a rinse. Tinned chickpeas and beans, already cooked, are on the vegetables, beans and pulses page.

Most TRS pulses come in 500g, 1kg and 2kg bags, with a few in 500g and 2kg only; the 2kg bag is the better value for a dal you cook every week. Roasted daria is 1kg and popcorn 500g or 2kg. Bags travel in the same Woolcool box as the meat by DPD, Tuesday to Saturday, dispatched the next working day and delivered the day after, with one delivery charge: 6.99 under 60 pounds and free from 60 pounds. Dates and nuts are on the dry fruits, dates and nuts page.