In Indian cuisine, dal (also spelled daal or dhal [1] pronunciation: [d̪aːl]), paruppu (also spelled parippu), or pappu are dried, split pulses (e.g., lentils, peas, and beans) that do not require soaking before cooking. India is the largest producer of pulses in the world.[2] The term is also used for various soups prepared from these pulses. These pulses are among the leading staple foods in South Asian countries, and form an important part of the cuisines of the Indian subcontinent.[3]
Etymology
The word dāl (dal) derives from the Sanskrit verbal root dal- “to split”,[4][5] which is inherited from Proto-Indo-European *delh₁- “to split, divide”.[6][7][8]
History
Lentils are among the most ancient cultivated foods; they have been found in human settlements dating back to the Bronze Age.[9] Researchers have dated the preparation and cooking of split dal as far back as 800-300 BC.[10]
Dal as a staple food has been mentioned in many ancient religious texts, including the Yajurveda and the Mahayana Buddhist Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra.
May for me strength, righteousness, milk, sap, ghee, honey, eating and drinking in company, ploughing, rain, conquest, victory, wealth, riches, prosperity, prospering, plenteousness, lordship, much, more, fun, fuller, imperishableness, bad crops, food, freedom from hunger, rice, barley, beans, sesame, kidney beans, vetches, wheat, lentils, millet, Panicum miliaceum, Panicum frumentaceum, and wild rice (prosper through the sacrifice).
— Yajurveda, Kanda IV, Prapathaka VII, trans. Arthur Berriedale Keith[11]
Now, Mahāmati, the food I have permitted [my disciples to take] is gratifying to all wise people but is avoided by the unwise; it is productive of many merits, it keeps away many evils; and it has been prescribed by the ancient Rishis. It comprises rice, barley, wheat, kidney beans, beans, lentils, etc., […] food prepared with these is proper food.