Usually, dals can be hard to find and time consuming to prepare. But urad dal is the exception. Urad dal is an easy to prepare Indian legume used to make a range of snacks and meals.
Luckily, urad dal is one of the more common dals that can be found in the UK, both in Indian specialty stores and also on supermarket international food shelves.
But urad dal does usually come at quite a significant cost and often comes in quite small packets, so you will likely find yourself running out of urad dal too quickly.
What can you use the next time you find yourself out of urad dal?
Our 3 Substitutes for Urad Dal
When raw, urad dal tends to be quite slippery, almost oily. That is why it is a dal much better served cooked, as the dal turns much stickier, thickening up considerably. This is why it is most often used as the base of a dish.
As for flavour, urad dal has a mild taste compared to other common dals, but a notable taste all the same. You will mainly taste the deep earthiness of urad dal once cooked, but there is also an underlying bitterness that becomes milder the longer the dal is cooked.
It is a dal that provides enough flavour to be enjoyable without the same required effort as other dals, which makes it especially great for those just starting their dal journey.
Here are our top 3 substitutes for urad dal:
1) Black Beluga Lentils
When you are occupied running a busy household, the main appeal of using urad dal how little effort it takes to prepare. Black beluga lentils offer that same ease, taking even less time than urad dal to soak and cook.
Black beluga lentils require no time to soak before they are cooked as they are lentils and not legumes like urad dal. This means that black beluga lentils are already noticeably softer than urad dals, but do become thicker when cooked.
Like urad dals, black beluga lentils possess a deep, rich flavour. Although, they are more nutty than earthy.
2) Beaten Rice
Replicating the texture and consistency of urad dal is easily achievable with beaten rice.
Beaten rice (better known as flattened rice in the UK) is more commonly found in Southern Indian cuisine. The concept of beaten rice is straight forward enough to easily replicate, as it is essentially parboiled rice that has been roasted and pounded until the rice flattens into flakes.
These flakes will make your dish much thicker in a similar way as urad dal, but they will slightly change the flavour of your dish. Because the rice is roasted before it is flattened, the flakes have a slightly nutty flavour that urad dal lacks.
Can You Make Beaten Rice at Home?
You can buy pre-made beaten rice and simply add it to your dish as it is. Or you can try making it at home. So long as you use the right kind of rice, there should be no issue.
3) Adzuki Beans
If you are making a sweeter snack with urad dal, you can substitute urad dal for adzuki beans. They have only a mild taste, but they are a delicious mix of nutty and sweet.
As a relative to urad dal, adzuki beans possess the same thickening characteristics as the dal, even though their flavour differs. Adzuki will best replace urad dal when used in slow-cooked dishes so that is has enough time to properly thicken up. But you can use the beans in other dishes if need be.
Where Can You Buy Adzuki Beans?
Despite not being as widely used as urad dal, adzuki beans can be found in your every day supermarket. But if your supermarket doesn’t stock the beans, try an Asian supermarket or online.
Other Substitutes for Urad Dal
Due to how difficult it can be to find a perfect substitute for urad dal, you may want to consider using trying to find urad dal in other forms. Pure urad dal is one of the harder types of urad dal to find anyway, so it may be easier for you to use one of the following urad dal products instead:
- Split Urad Dal – It is common practice for types of dal to be sold in both pure and split varieties. In the case of split urad dal, the dal develops a chewier texture but loses some of its flavour. You will need to use double the amount of split urad dal in your dish.
- Urad Dal Flour – Urad dal flour is simply urad dal that has been dried and ground into a flour. Some recipes will prefer you to use urad dal flour anyway as it is a much easier alternative to trying to grind the dal yourself into a fine powder. However, urad dal flour can be expensive.
Summary
Urad dal is loved for its simplicity and binding capabilities, which makes creating Indian snacks and meals so much easier, though this ease does not mean a lack of flavour.
When cooked, the urad dals develop a rich earthiness that can make any meal taste much more homely. This taste can be replicated with just as much ease using other common Indian ingredients such as black beluga lentils or beaten rice.