Red Lentil

Red lentil, also called masoor dal in South Asian cooking, is a variety of lentil sold husked and split, which removes the lentil's outer brown seed coat to expose the orange red interior. Because the husk is removed and the seed is already split, red lentils cook much faster than whole brown or green lentils and break down into a soft, thick puree, making them a common base for dal, soups and purees across South Asian, Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cooking. Whole, unhusked lentils of the same variety are actually brown skinned on the outside, so the red color is exposed only once the seed coat is removed during processing.