The black gram or urad bean (''Vigna mungo'') is a

bean A bean is the seed of some plants in the legume family (Fabaceae) used as a vegetable for human consumption or animal feed. The seeds are often preserved through drying (a ''pulse''), but fresh beans are also sold. Dried beans are traditi ...

grown in

South Asia South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia that is defined in both geographical and Ethnicity, ethnic-Culture, cultural terms. South Asia, with a population of 2.04 billion, contains a quarter (25%) of the world's populatio ...

. Like its relative the

mung bean The mung bean or green gram (''Vigna radiata'') is a plant species in the legume family.Brief Introduction of Mung Bean. Vigna Radiata Extract Green Mung Bean Extract Powder Phaseolus aureus Roxb Vigna radiata L R Wilczek. MDidea-Extracts P ...

, it has been reclassified from the genus ''

Phaseolus ''Phaseolus'' (bean, wild bean) is a genus of herbaceous to woody annual and perennial vines in the family Fabaceae containing about 70 plant species, all native to the Americas, primarily Mesoamerica. It is one of the most economically importan ...

'' to ''

Vigna ''Vigna'' is a genus of plants in the legume family, Fabaceae, with a pantropical distribution.Aitawade, M. M., et al. (2012)Section ''Ceratotropis'' of subgenus ''Ceratotropis'' of ''Vigna'' (Leguminosae–Papilionoideae) in India with a new ...

''. The product sold as black gram is usually the whole urad bean, whereas the split bean (the interior being white) is called white lentil. It should not be confused with the much smaller true black

lentil The lentil (''Vicia lens'' or ''Lens culinaris'') is an annual plant, annual legume grown for its Lens (geometry), lens-shaped edible seeds or ''pulses'', also called ''lentils''. It is about tall, and the seeds grow in Legume, pods, usually w ...

(''Lens culinaris''). Black gram originated in

, where it has been in cultivation from ancient times and is one of the most highly prized

pulses Legumes are plants in the pea family Fabaceae (or Leguminosae), or the fruit or seeds of such plants. When used as a dry grain for human consumption, the seeds are also called pulses. Legumes are grown agriculturally, primarily for human consum ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. It is very widely used in

Indian cuisine Indian cuisine consists of a variety of regional and traditional cuisines native to the Indian subcontinent. Given the diversity in soil, climate, culture, ethnic groups, and occupations, these cuisines vary substantially and use locally av ...

. In India the black gram is one of the important pulses grown in both Kharif and

Rabi Rabi may refer to: Places * Rabí, a municipality and village in the Czech Republic ** Rabí Castle, a castle * Räbi, a village in Estonia * Rabi, Iran, a city in Karun County, Khuzestan province, Iran * Rabi, Panchthar, a village development c ...

seasons. This crop is extensively grown in the southern part of

and the northern part of

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

and

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

. In Bangladesh and Nepal it is known as mash daal. It is a popular ''daal'' (legume) side dish in South Asia that goes with

curry Curry is a dish with a sauce or gravy seasoned with spices, mainly derived from the interchange of Indian cuisine with European taste in food, starting with the Portuguese, followed by the Dutch and British, and then thoroughly internatio ...

and rice as a platter. Black gram has also been introduced to other tropical areas such as the

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

Fiji Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...

Mauritius Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, about off the southeastern coast of East Africa, east of Madagascar. It includes the main island (also called Mauritius), as well as Rodrigues, Ag ...

Myanmar Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...

and

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

mainly by Indian immigrants during the

Indian indenture system The Indian indenture system was a system of indentured servitude, by which more than 1.6million workers from British India were transported to labour in European colonies as a substitute for Atlantic slave trade, slave labour, following the Abol ...

Description

It is an erect, suberect or trailing, densely hairy, annual bush. The tap root produces a branched root system with smooth, rounded nodules. The pods are narrow, cylindrical and up to six centimetres long. The plant grows 30–100 cm with large hairy leaves and 4–6 cm seed pods. While the urad dal was, along with the

, originally placed in ''

'', it has since been transferred to ''

''.

Cooking

''Vigna mungo'' is popular in Northern India, largely used to make ''

dal Dal is a term in the Indian subcontinent for dried, split pulses. Dal or DAL may also refer to: Places Cambodia *Dal, Ke Chong Finland * Laakso, a neighbourhood of Helsinki India * Dal Lake, in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, India * Dal ...

'' from the whole or split, dehusked seeds. The bean is boiled and eaten whole or, after splitting, made into ''dal''; prepared like this it has an unusual

mucilaginous Mucilage is a thick gluey substance produced by nearly all plants and some microorganisms. These microorganisms include protists which use it for their locomotion, with the direction of their movement always opposite to that of the secretion of ...

texture. Its usage is quite common in Dogra Cuisine of

Jammu Jammu () is a city in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), Jammu and Kashmir in the disputed Kashmir region.The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir and a mention of the Kashmir dispute ...

and Lower Himachal region. The key ingredient of ''Dal Maddhra'' or ''Maah Da Maddhra'' dish served in Dogri Dhaam of Jammu is ''Vigna mungo'' lentil. Similarly, another dish ''Teliya Maah'' popular in Jammu & Kangra uses this lentil. Traditionally, Vigna Mungo Lentil is used for preparing Dogra style

Khichdi ''Khichdi'' or ''khichri'' (, , , , Odia: ଖେଚୁଡି) is a dish in South Asian cuisine made of rice and lentils (''dal'') with numerous variations. Variations include ''bajra'' and mung ''dal'' ''khichri''. In Indian culture, in ...

during Panj Bhikham and

Makar Sankranti Makar(a) Sankrānti (), () also referred to as Uttarāyana, Makara, or simply Sankrānti, is a Hinduism, Hindu observance and a mid-winter harvest festival in India and Nepal. It is typically celebrated on 14 January annually (15 January on a ...

festival in Jammu and Lower Himachal. Besides, fermented Vigna Mungo paste is also used to prepare ''Lakhnapuri Bhalle'' or ''Lakhanpuri Laddu'' ( a popular street food of Jammu region). In Uttarakhand Cuisine, ''Vigna mungo'' is used for preparing traditional dish called ''Chainsu'' or ''Chaisu''. In

North Indian cuisine North Indian cuisine is collectively the cuisine of North India, which includes the cuisines of Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Terr ...

, it is used as an ingredient of ''

Dal makhani Dal is a term in the Indian subcontinent for dried, split pulses. Dal or DAL may also refer to: Places Cambodia *Dal, Ke Chong Finland * Laakso, a neighbourhood of Helsinki India * Dal Lake, in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, India * Dal ...

,'' which is a Modern restaurant style adaptation of Traditional ''Sabut Urad Dal'' of Northern India. In Bengal, it is used in ''kalai ruti'', ''biulir dal''. In Rajasthan, It is one of the ingredients of ''Panchmel dal'' which is usually consumed with '' bati''. In Pakistan, it is called Dhuli Mash ki daal and used to make laddu Pethi walay and Bhalla. It is also extensively used in

South India South India, also known as Southern India or Peninsular India, is the southern part of the Deccan Peninsula in India encompassing the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana as well as the union territories of ...

n culinary preparations. Black gram is one of the key ingredients in making

idli Idli, iddena, iddali or idly (; plural: idlis) is a type of savoury rice cake, originating from South India, popular as a breakfast food in Southern India and in Sri Lanka. The cakes are made by steaming a batter consisting of fermented de-h ...

and

dosa Dosa may refer to: Belief * Dosa or dvesha, a Buddhist concept of hate or aversion People * Bogoljub Mitić Đoša (1968 - 2017), Serbian actor * Csaba Dosa (born 1951), Romanian athlete * Dosa ben Harkinas, Jewish Tanna sage * Dosa ben S ...

batter, in which one part of black gram is mixed with three or four parts of idli rice to make the batter. Vada or udid vada also contain black gram and are made from soaked batter and deep-fried in cooking oil. The dough is also used in making

papadum A papadam (also spelled poppadom, among other variants), also known as papad, is a snack that originated in the Indian subcontinent. Dough of black gram bean flour is either deep fried or cooked with dry heat (flipped over an open flame) unt ...

, in which white lentils are usually used. In the Telugu states, it is eaten as a sweet in the form of laddoos called Sunnundallu or Minapa Sunnundallu.

Nutrition

It contains high levels of protein (25 g/100 g dry weight), potassium (983 mg/100 g), calcium (138 mg/100 g), iron (7.57 mg/100 g), niacin (1.447 mg/100 g), thiamine (0.273 mg/100 g), and riboflavin (0.254 mg/100 g). Black gram complements the essential amino acids provided in most cereals and plays an important role in the diets of the people of Nepal and India. Black gram is also very high in folate (628 μg/100 g raw, 216 μg/100 g cooked).

Use in medieval crucible construction

medieval India Medieval India was a long period of post-classical history in the Indian subcontinent between the ancient and modern periods. It is usually regarded as running approximately from the break-up of the Gupta Empire in the 6th century to the star ...

, this bean was used in a technique to facilitate making

crucible A crucible is a container in which metals or other substances may be melted or subjected to very high temperatures. Although crucibles have historically tended to be made out of clay, they can be made from any material that withstands temperat ...

s impermeable.

Names

''Vigna mungo'' is known by various names across South and Southeast Asia. Its name in most languages of India derives from Proto-Dravidian ''*uẓ-untu-'', borrowed into

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

as ''uḍida'': *

Caribbean Hindustani Caribbean Hindustani () is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by Indo-Caribbean people and the Indo-Caribbean diaspora. It is a koiné language mainly based on the Bhojpuri and Awadhi dialects. These Hindustani dialects were the most-spoken dialec ...

Fiji Hindi Fiji Hindi (Devanagari: ; Kaithi: ; Perso-Arabic: ) is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by Indo-Fijians. It is considered to be a ''koiné'' language based on Awadhi that has also been subject to considerable influence by other Eastern Hindi ...

: उरदी दाल (''urdi dāl'') * Gujarati: અળદ (''aḷad''), અડદ (''aḍad'') *

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

: उड़द दाल (''uṛad dāl''), उरद दाल (''urad dāl'') *

Kannada Kannada () is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly in the state of Karnataka in southwestern India, and spoken by a minority of the population in all neighbouring states. It has 44 million native speakers, and is additionally a ...

: ಉದ್ದು (''uddu''), ಉದ್ದಿನ ಬೇಳೆ (''uddina bēḷe'') *

Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India **Marathi people (Uttar Pradesh), the Marathi people in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Mar ...

Konkani __NOTOC__ Konkani may refer to: Language * Konkani language is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in the Konkan region of India. * Konkani alphabets, different scripts used to write the language **Konkani in the Roman script, one of the scripts used to ...

: उडीद (''uḍid'') *

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of ...

: ഉഴുന്ന് (''uẓhunnu'') *

Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...

: உளுந்து (''uḷuntu''/''uḷundu''), உளுத்தம்பருப்பு (''uḷutham paruppu'') * Telugu: మినుములు (''minumulu'') and ఉద్ది పాప్పు (''uddi pappu'') in Rayalaseema dialect * Tulu: ಉರ್ದು ಸಲೈ (''urdu salāyi'') Its name in selected Indic languages, however, derives from Sanskrit ''masa'' (माष) : * Dogri: 𑠢𑠬𑠪𑠹 𑠛𑠮 𑠛𑠬𑠥 / माह् दी दाल (''māh di dāl'') * Assamese: মাটিমাহ (''mātimāh''), মাটিকলাই (''mātikolāi'') *

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

: মাসকালাই ডাল (''mashkālāi ḍāl'') * Nepali: कालो दाल (''kālo dāl'' ), मास (''mās'') * Punjabi : ਮਾਂਹ / ਮਾਸ਼ ਦੀ ਦਾਲ (''mãha/māsh di dāl'') *

Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...

: ماش کی دال (''māsh ki dāl'') Other names include: * Odia: ବିରି ଡାଲି (''biri ḍāli'') * Meitei: ꯁꯒꯣꯜ ꯍꯋꯥꯏ (''sagol hawāi'') * Sinhala : උඳු (''undu'') *

: မတ်ပဲ (''matpe'') *

Vietnamese Vietnamese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Vietnam, a country in Southeast Asia * Vietnamese people, or Kinh people, a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to Vietnam ** Overseas Vietnamese, Vietnamese people living outside Vietna ...

: (''đậu muồng ăn'') * Thai: ถั่วดำ (''thua dam'')

Varieties

Pant Urd 31 (PU-31) Lam Black Gram 884 (LBG 884) Trombay Urd (TU 40) *Pant U-13 *JU-2 *Type-9 *Barkha *Gwalior-2 Mutant varieties:CO-1 and Sarla. Spring season varieties:Prabha and AKU-4. First urad bean variety developed in – T9(1948).

Notes

References

Bibliography

* * M. Nitin, S. Ifthekar, M. Mumtaz. 2012. Hepatoprotective activity of Methanolic extract of blackgram. RGUHS J Pharm Sci 2(2):62-67.

External links

Vigna mungo (L.) Hepper
{{Taxonbar, from=Q369447 mungo Edible legumes Nitrogen-fixing crops Crops originating from India