What is Lentil?
{{Taxobox | name = Lentil | image = 3 types of lentil.jpg | image_width = 250px | image_caption = Lentils | regnum = [[Plant]]ae | divisio = [[Flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]] | classis = [[Dicotyledon|Magnoliopsida]] | ordo = [[Fabales]] | familia = [[Fabaceae]] | subfamilia = [[Faboideae]] | tribus = [[Vicieae]] | genus = ''[[Lens (genus)|Lens]]'' | species = '''''L. culinaris''''' | binomial = ''Lens culinaris'' | binomial_authority = Medikus }} The '''lentil''' or '''daal''' or '''pulse''' (''Lens culinaris'') is a bushy [[annual plant]] of the [[Fabaceae|legume]] family. It is a kind of [[vegetable]], grown for its [[Lens (optics)|lens]]-shaped [[seed]]s. It is about 15 inches tall and the seeds grow in pods, usually with two seeds in each. ==Origin== The plant came from the [[Middle East]] and was one of the first crops [[domesticated]] in the world. Humans started eating lentils before they invented [[Ceramic|ceramics]]. ==Composition== With 26% [[protein]], lentils have the highest level of protein of any plant after [[soybean]]s and [[hemp]]. Because of this and their high [[iron]] content, lentils are a very important part of the [[diet]] in many parts of the world, especially in [[India]], which has many vegetarians. ==Types== There are different kinds of lentils, including a variety of large and small lentils. Lentils come in colors that range from yellow to red-orange to green, brown and black. Lentils are sold in many forms, with or without the skins, whole or split. Red, white and yellow lentils are decorticated, i.e., they have their skins removed. [[File:Illustration Lens culinaris0.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Illustration of the lentil plant, 1885]] * Brown/Spanish Pardina * French Green/Puy (Dark speckled blue-green) * Green (Most common variety) * Black/Beluga * Yellow/Tan Lentils (Red inside) * Red Chief (Decorticated yellow lentils) * Eston Green (Small green) * Richlea (Medium green) * Laird (Large green) * Petite Golden (Decorticated lentils) * Masoor (Brown-skinned lentils which are red insid