Unpolished Vs Polished Dal, Which is Healthy?

If you follow the traditional Indian diet, you must be having meals like Dal Chawal and Dal Roti quite often. Indians love their dals and have very interesting meals using them. As a staple dish, it leads to a high demand in the market. You can find various brands manufacturing all kinds of dals but not all of them are up to the required nutritional levels. It is mainly because of the processing it undergoes to get a smoother texture.

However, as the awareness around healthy diet increased, people started choosing food products that are more organic and unprocessed. Only limited brands are selling such food products. If you are also planning to shift to unpolished dal; also known as whole dal or split dal then you can buy dals online from the Nourish store online. You can find all kinds of dals like Moong dal, Toor dal, Kabuli Chana, Masoor dal etc.

Understand Why Unpolished Dals are Better than Polished Dal by Reading the following Points:

Why is the Dal Polishing Process Bad?

If you observe the dals of these commercialised brands, you will see that these dals look shinier and colourful. To achieve that visual appeal, these dals undergo extensive layers of processing through oil, water, nylon and leather polishes. So, if a person is vegetarian or vegan, they can’t consume these dals because leather is used. Moreover, the use of unhygienic water often adds impurities making it unhealthy. These dals also take a lot of time to cook because of all the layers added to it during polishing. The polishing process removes the outer husk through a milling process. This results in a loss of certain nutrients and fibre content. It also increases the glycemic index, which can cause a spike in blood sugar levels after consumption.

Unpolished dal is rich in soluble and insoluble fibres and has a high amount of nutrients like protein, magnesium, potassium, iron zinc and thiamine. It also retains better taste and flavour.

Why do Manufacturers Sell Polished Dals?

The polishing process increases the shelf life of these pulses. Manufacturers can keep their stocks for eight months and sell them. Moreover, if a stock gets old, these manufacturers often re-polish the dals and re-pack them to sell as new. This helps the manufacturer gain more profit but it can have bad effects on your health. These manufacturers try to sell their processed dals by assuring their customers that polishing removes the pesticides from the top layer of the dal. However, if you are concerned about removing pesticides from unpolished dals, you can also remove them simply by washing the dals thoroughly and cooking in a pressure cooker.

Why is Unpolished Dal better than Polished Dal?

Read the following factors that make unpolished dal much better and healthier than polished dals: The best part about these dals is that you can actually get the authentic taste and flavour of the dal. With polished ones, you only get a synthetically given taste which is not as fulfilling as the taste of unprocessed dals.

Processed dals take more time to cook because of different layers and added fats present in them. But unprocessed dals will cook much faster. It gets digested easily because it is free from all the harmful components that are otherwise added to the polished dals. Extensive processing leads to a loss of nutrients in dals. So, if you are trying to get into a healthy dietary routine, a processed dal will not benefit you in any way. You will have to shift to unprocessed dals to get all the nutrients like proteins, carbohydrates and fibres.

Unpolished dal is considered healthier due to its higher fibre content, which supports digestive health and helps manage blood sugar levels. It is comparatively cheaper than the polished ones. Because it doesn’t involve processing which not only takes time but also costs money. For example, you can easily get 500 gms of Nourish unpolished Arhar dal at the rate of 99 rupees. Leather is used in the processing of polished dals which contaminates it. This makes these dals non-vegan. So, if you are a vegan or vegetarian, unpolished dals will be a much better and healthier alternative for you.

How to Spot Authentic Unpolished Dal?

The most visible difference between polished and unpolished dal is that the unpolished one looks raw and unattractive. These dals also have sharp edges unlike the blunt edges of polished dal. If you want to test the dal you bought then you can dip a bowlful of dal in water and wash it. If the water turns turbid then it is polished as it loses stone power and oil after being washed.

To conclude, it is evident that unpolished dal is much better than polished ones because of its nutritional value, health benefits and vegan-nature. So, switch to these dals and improve your health.