Black Gram

A type of bean grown in India that is very similar to the mung bean and is a common ingredient for Indian cooking. Black or green in color while still in the husk, the husked bean is light tan in color and is typcially consumed as a whole or hulled dal bean. The black gram is most often used as an ingredient for curries, pancake-like foods, pappadams, dumplings, or for a bean paste made from fermented grams. It is also a bean that is grown to be sold as a bean sprout, providing a sharp white colored sprout. The black gram, also known as a urad or urid gota, is the bean that is dried to make urad flour.