| Description |
The Urad Bean, or Black Gram, is a species of bean native to India. It is an important food and animal fodder crop in India. Plants can be upright or trailing, with a tap root and narrow, cylindrical pods 4-6cm long. Pods are hairy, have a hooked beak, and contain 4-10 black or speckled seeds. The Urad Bean is similar to the Mung Bean, but Urad Bean pods are erect while Mung Bean pods are pendulous. Urad Bean can also grow on heavier soils than Mung Bean. Urad Bean is somewhat drought-tolerant and can be grown in arid or semi-arid regions. It is not tolerant of saline and alkaline soils. It optimum temperature range is 25-35° C. Urad Beans are used in dhal and other dishes or ground into flour. Sprouts and pods can also be eaten. They are sometimes called Black Lentils when they are available as the whole bean, and White Lentils when they are the split bean, but they should not be confused with true black lentils (Lens culinaris), which are much smaller.
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