Dal is a very familiar part of our daily meals. It seems simple to cook, yet it raises many small questions in the kitchen, one of which is whether it is right to add salt at the very start.

Many believe that salt added early makes dal hard or slower to cook, while others prefer to add salt at the end. So which is right?

A little salt at the start does not cause any big problem, especially with masoor dal. But with hard-grained lentils such as chickpea dal (chhola), moong dal or mashkalai, adding a lot of salt at the start can make them take a little longer to cook. That is why many advise adding salt once the dal has softened.

If you want the dal to break down quickly, first boil it with just water, turmeric and the spices needed. Adding salt once the dal is soft keeps the taste right and helps it cook.

• Wash the dal well.
• First boil it with water and turmeric.
• Add salt once the dal is soft.
• Then add the tempering (phoron) or spices.

If you use a pressure cooker or are cooking masoor dal, a little salt at the start usually causes no problem.

Adding salt at the start is not always bad, but with tough lentils adding it at the end gives better results. In other words, it is not wrong at all; the sensible thing is to use it according to the kind of dal.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.