Lentils and other small dry legumes are usually sold as dry grain, although canned lentils are available. Whole green and brown lentils and split hulled red/pink/salmon lentils grown in the US or Canada are widely available in grocery stores. Other small dry legume may be availabe in stores specializing in selling supplies for South Asian, Middle Eastern, North Afican, or regional European cuisines or health themed stores including vegetarian/vegan. Canadian growers mainly grow green lentils (Lens culinaris) of the Laird, Richlea and Eston varieties, and a large crimson lentil (Lens esculanta) – the brown hull is removed. Some Green and brown/crimson lentils grown in the US (Pacific Northwest, Eastern Washington, Northern Idaho) and Western Canada are larger than other lentils.
| Legume, English/Euro name(s) | South Asian cuisine | Condition | Appearance (dry) |
| dark chickpea | chana dal (duhli) | split, hulled | yellow |
| pigeon pea | toor dal (duhli) | split, hulled | yellow |
| moong bean, mung bean | (sabut) moong dal | whole | green |
| moong bean | moong dal (duhli) | split, hulled | yellow |
| urad bean black bean | (sabut) urad dal | whole | black |
| urad bean | urad dal (duhli) | split, hulled | white |
| brown lentil | (sabut) masoor dal | whole | brown |
| spanish lentil | whole | brown | |
| red, pink, salmon lentil | masoor dal (duhli) | split, hulled (brown lentil) | red |
| crimson lentil | hulled and/or split (brown lentil) | red, large | |
| green lentil | whole | pale green | |
| French lentil Lentil de Puys | whole | dark green, speckled | |
| beluga lentil | whole | black |
Lentils and other small legumes are almost inedible to humans without cooking. The hulls are hard and have to be removed mechnically, or softened by cooking. The seeds are dry and hard and have to be softened by cooking. Many recipes reduce split and hulled legumes to a gruel. Recipes for whole legumes may specify a legume with a hull that softens rapidly such as a French lentil. Other recipes for whole small legumes require long cooking – e.g. the urad bean. The seeds have to be flavoured, often by an infusion of other plants including peppers. Meat and vegetables can be cooked with legumes for nutrition or flavour. Some recipes cook small legumes in a sauce. South Asian dal recipes may require a tarka – a sauce of spices friend in oil or ghee (clarified butter) be added to cooked legumes and other ingredients. Some recipes pre-cook small legumes, and cook the legumes with other ingredients in soup, sauce or stew.
Recipes may suggest soaking some small legumes, but soaking is often left out.
The modern kitchen provides several options for cooking dry legumes. all involving cooking in water at a boil or simmer. There are recipes to simmer small legumes in ceramic tagines and other ceramic vessels. Few cooks have such tools. On a stove, in a metal vessel, sources favour bringing the water to a rolling boil and backing off to a steady simmer. Cooks judge simmer or gentle boil differently. Stove and pots perform differently. Beans may be old.
Traditional slow cooker recipes for usually start from dry (unsoaked) legumes. Traditional slow cooker recipes work in pressure multi-cookers such as Instant Pots in the slow cooker program, with adjustments. There are Instant Pot and pressure multi-cooker recipes for the slow cooker program. Electric pressure cooker and pressure multi-cooker pressure program recipes also usually start from dry (unsoaked legumes). The cooking times are at pressure, and do not estimate or count the time for the machine to preheat to pressure. The release of pressure has to be natural (i.e. about 15 – 20 minutes). Slow cookers, pressure cooker and pressure multi-cookers can pre-cook dry legumes, or cook a recipe using dry legumes in a sauce or stew.
Sources provide a range of cooking times (minutes unless other unit noted):
| Legume/Dal | Source | Simmer | Slow cooker | Electric Pressure |
| brown lentil | Italian Vegetarian Cookbook (1997), Jack Bishop | 25-35 | ||
| brown lentil | Pakistani & North Indian Cooking (2015), S. Abbas Razza | 45 | ||
| brown lentil | The Indian Slow Cooker (2nd ed. 2018), Anupy Singla | Low 3 hrs | ||
| brown or green lentil | 366 Delicious Ways to Cook Rice, Beans and Grains (1998), Andrea Chesman | 25-40 | ||
| brown or green lentil | Easy Beans (1994), Tish Ross and Jacqueline Trafford | 30-40; 1-2 hrs for soups | ||
| green lentil | At Home with Madhur Jaffrey (1973), Madhur Jaffrey | 40 | ||
| brown or green lentil | Hip Pressure Cooking (2014), Laura Pazzaglia | High 12-14 | ||
| brown or green lentil | Vegan Under Pressure (2016), Jill Nusinow | High 6 | ||
| red lentil | 366 Delicious Ways to Cook Rice, Beans and Grains (1998), Andrea Chesman | 15 | ||
| red lentil | At Home with Madhur Jaffrey (1973), Madhur Jaffrey | 40-45 | ||
| red lentil | Indian for Everyone (2014), Anupy Singla; The Indian Slow Cooker (2nd ed. 2018), Anupy Singla | 12 + final boil | Low 3-6 hrs | |
| red lentil | The Complete Slow Cooker (2017), America’s Test Kitchen | High 2-3 hrs Low 3-4 hrs | ||
| red lentil | Hip Pressure Cooking (2014), Laura Pazzaglia | High 1 | ||
| red lentil | Vegan Under Pressure (2016), Jill Nusinow | High 6 + | ||
| toor dal (duhli) | At Home with Madhur Jaffrey (1973), Madhur Jaffrey | 1 hr + | ||
| chana dal, toor dal (duhli), | Indian for Everyone (2014), Anupy Singla; The Indian Slow Cooker (2nd ed. 2018), Anupy Singla | *soaked 2-4 hrs, 25-60 | High 6 hrs | |
| sabut moong dal | Indian for Everyone (2014), Anupy Singla; The Indian Slow Cooker (2nd ed. 2018), Anupy Singla | 25-30 | Low 2 ⅟₂ hrs | |
| moong bean | Hip Pressure Cooking (2014), Laura Pazzaglia | High 7-8 | ||
| sabat urad dal | Indian for Everyone (2014), Anupy Singla; The Indian Slow Cooker (2nd ed. 2018), Anupy Singla | 1 ⅟₂ hrs | High 8 hrs | |
| moong dal duhli | At Home with Madhur Jaffrey (1973), Madhur Jaffrey | 45 | ||
| “yellow split” lentil | Hip Pressure Cooking (2014), Laura Pazzaglia | High 1 |