Split green mung with the skin left on, sometimes called moong dal chilka. The skin is the point. It keeps a little bite and gives the dish more texture than the hulled yellow version.

It cooks faster than most pulses and does not need soaking overnight if you are short on time.

Make it into a simple dal with turmeric and a garlic tempering, use it in khichdi, or sprout it and throw it through a salad. It is one of the lighter dals, which makes it useful when the rest of the meal is rich.

In the pantry aisle at Curry Corner, North Melbourne.