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Urad Dal substitute

Best substitute

Chana dal (in tempering, vada and savory dals)

Use the same amount as the urad dal you are replacing

Best for tempering and tadka

Different texture

The answer depends entirely on which job the urad dal is doing, because it does three unrelated ones. If it is a spoonful in the tempering, fried in hot oil with mustard seeds for a nutty crunch, use chana dal 1:1 or split moong dal 1:1 and you will barely notice. If it is the base of a creamy dal such as dal makhani, whole urad is what makes the dish silky, and the least-bad swaps are black beluga lentils or whole brown masoor lentils 1:1, which taste right but never turn creamy, so you will need to mash some and add a little extra cream or butter. If it is in a dosa or idli batter, be warned: there is no real substitute. Urad dal is what makes that batter ferment properly and trap air, and no other pulse does it. What urad dal contributes overall is body, a sticky glossy creaminess and a deep earthy savoriness, plus in batters a structural stretchiness that behaves almost like gluten.

Other urad dal substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

Substitutes for Urad Dal with ratios

  1. 2Split moong dal (in tempering and everyday dals)

    Taste and texture differ

    Use the same amount cooking about 10 minutes less

    Cooks quickly, tastes clean and mildly sweet, and works well anywhere urad dal was providing bulk rather than stickiness.

    What changes

    In a tempering it crisps nicely and reads as slightly less nutty. In a dal it produces a light, smooth, soupy result: pleasant, but noticeably thinner than the rich, almost buttery consistency urad dal gives, and without urad dal's earthy depth. Increase the ghee and the garlic to compensate.

    Best for
    everyday dals, tempering, khichdi, pesarattu batter

    Moong dal is the traditional pulse for pesarattu, a Andhra dosa that needs no fermentation at all, which is often the smartest move when you have no urad dal.

  2. 3Black beluga lentils or whole brown masoor (for dal makhani and whole-urad dishes)

    Different texture

    Use the same amount with 10 to 20 minutes less cooking

    Beluga lentils are the right color and roughly the right size, so a pot of dal makhani made with them looks correct.

    What changes

    The difference is texture and it is significant: beluga lentils stay firm and separate no matter how long they cook, while whole urad dal breaks down into a thick, sticky, glossy body that clings to a spoon. Expect a dal with distinct lentils in a thinner sauce. Mash a third of them against the pan, simmer longer than you think you need to, and be generous with butter and cream.

    Best for
    dal makhani, kali dal, maa ki dal, rich lentil braises

    Whole brown masoor lentils behave similarly and are cheaper and easier to find. Keeping some kidney beans in the pot, as most dal makhani recipes do anyway, adds back some of the creaminess.

  3. 4Split red lentils (masoor dal), for creaminess in a rich dal

    Different taste

    Use Replace up to half the urad dal, or all of it with ½ cup less water for every cup of urad dal

    The opposite trade from beluga lentils.

    What changes

    Masoor dal gives you the thick creamy body that a dal makhani needs, because it dissolves completely, but it is pale orange-gold and sweeter, so the dish loses the dark color and the deep earthy note that define kali dal. A good compromise is a mix: mostly beluga or brown lentils for looks and bite, a handful of masoor to thicken the sauce.

    Best for
    dal makhani, thick creamy dals, quick weeknight dal

    It scorches easily once it thickens. Keep the heat low and stir the bottom of the pot, especially in a dal that is meant to simmer for a long time.

  4. 5For dosa, idli and medu vada batter: there is no substitute (the honest answer)

    Taste and texture differ

    Not substitutable

    This is worth saying plainly.

    What changes

    Urad dal is in these batters for a structural reason, not a flavor one. Ground wet, it becomes thick and slippery and holds air, and it feeds the natural souring that makes the batter rise, which is why idli are spongy and dosa are lacy at the edges. Chana dal, moong dal or toor dal ground into a rice batter will give you a batter that tastes fine and behaves badly: it will not rise the same way, and idli come out dense and flat while dosa tear in the pan. If you want a good result tonight without urad dal, make a dish that never needed it instead.

    Best for
    nothing, this is the case to work around rather than substitute

    Practical alternatives: pesarattu, a moong dal dosa that is not fermented; adai, a mixed-dal pancake that is also unfermented; rava or semolina dosa, which is batter-to-pan in twenty minutes; or a shop-bought idli and dosa batter, which every Indian grocer sells refrigerated.

  5. 6Split urad dal in place of whole urad dal, and the reverse

    Different texture

    Use the same amount adjusting time and water

    The most overlooked swap, because most kitchens have one form and not the other.

    What changes

    Split skinned urad dal cooks in 25 to 30 minutes and goes creamy fast, so it works well for dal makhani if you accept that the finished dal is paler and has no black flecks. Whole urad dal takes 60 to 90 minutes or a pressure cooker, and its skins stay visible, so for a smooth white dish it is the wrong form. Flavor is essentially the same; texture and color are what change.

    Best for
    dal makhani, maa ki dal, everyday dals, papad and vada

    Soak whole urad dal for at least six hours, or overnight. Split urad dal needs no more than an hour, and just 20 minutes if you are grinding it.

What is Urad Dal?

Urad Dal is black gram, a small pulse sold either whole with its black skin on as sabut urad or kali dal, or hulled and split into ivory-white pieces called dhuli urad, and its unusually sticky starch is what makes dal makhani glossy and what makes idli and dosa batter ferment and hold air.

Cooking tips

  • Split urad dal turns slippery and slightly slimy when soaked, and beginners often think it has gone off. It has not; that viscosity is the whole point of the ingredient and is what makes idli batter rise and dal makhani glossy.
  • For any dal makhani style dish, the creaminess comes from time rather than dairy. Once the dal is soft, keep it on the lowest possible heat for another 45 minutes, stirring occasionally and mashing a little against the side of the pot. That step matters more than which lentil you started with.
  • When frying urad dal or its substitute in a tempering, add it to the oil before the mustard seeds and take the pan off the heat as soon as it turns light gold. It carries on cooking in the hot oil, and burnt dal makes the whole dish bitter.
  • Hold the salt and any tomato, tamarind or lemon until the dal is completely soft. Acid keeps the skins of whole urad dal tough, and a dal that has had tomatoes in it from the start can still be gritty after two hours.
  • Buy split urad dal in small bags. It is oilier than other dals and goes stale and faintly rancid within a few months, which shows up as a musty smell when you soak it and a flat-tasting batter.

Frequently asked questions

Can I make dosa or idli without urad dal?

Not the classic fermented versions, no. Urad dal is what gives that batter its stretch and its rise, and no other pulse does the same job, so a batter made with chana dal or moong dal gives dense idli and dosa that tear. Make a dish that does not need it instead: pesarattu from moong dal, adai from mixed dals, or a quick rava dosa from semolina. Refrigerated shop-bought batter is the other honest answer.

What is the difference between whole urad dal and split urad dal?

They are the same pulse. Whole urad dal, sabut urad or kali dal, has its black skin on, needs an overnight soak and 60 to 90 minutes of cooking, and is what dal makhani is built from. Split urad dal, dhuli urad, is hulled and split into small white pieces, cooks in under half an hour, goes creamy quickly and is what dosa and idli batter use. They swap for each other with adjustments to time, water and the color of the finished dish.

Is urad dal the same as black lentils?

Whole urad dal is often sold as black lentils, which causes confusion, because beluga lentils are also sold as black lentils and they behave completely differently. Whole urad dal breaks down into a sticky, creamy dal; beluga lentils stay firm and separate. If a recipe for dal makhani says black lentils, it means urad dal. If a salad recipe says black lentils, it means beluga.

Can I use chana dal instead of urad dal?

In a tempering, yes, straight 1:1, and the difference is barely detectable. As the main pulse in a dal, it works but changes the dish: chana dal holds its shape and stays nutty, so you get a textured dal rather than a silky one. In a fermented batter it does not work, and in vada it gives a crunchy masala vada rather than a light spongy medu vada.

Can I just leave the urad dal out?

If it is the teaspoon in the tempering, yes; you lose a little nutty crunch and nothing else, and a few broken cashews or a pinch of sesame seeds cover it. If it is the main pulse in the dal, or part of a batter, it is the substance and the structure of the dish and cannot simply be omitted. Use one of the substitutes above and adjust the liquid to match.

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