How Red Lentils Are Processed

The steps

• Whole masoor is cleaned to remove dust, stones and damaged grain before any further processing.
• The pulse is lightly conditioned to loosen the brownish green skin without softening the interior too much.
• Milling removes the skin and splits the grain, revealing the orange red interior most people recognise as red lentils.
• The split dal is sieved and graded for size and consistency before packaging.
• This process is similar in principle to how split urad or split moong dal are produced from their whole pulses.
• Traditional stone processing can yield a slightly less uniform dal than modern roller methods, which some cooks still prefer for texture.

Our standards

Red lentil processing questions

Does processing change red lentils' cooking time?

Yes, dehusked and split masoor cooks noticeably faster than the whole, skin on form.

Is the colour change from processing or from the seed itself?

The orange red colour is the natural interior of the seed, simply hidden by the outer skin until it is removed.

Can whole masoor be split at home?

Not practically. Dehusking and splitting need milling equipment beyond a typical home kitchen.

Does processing remove nutritional value?

Removing the skin changes fibre content somewhat, a genuine processing trade-off rather than a defect.