South Asian cuisine includes the traditional cuisines from the modern-day South Asian republics of Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, also sometimes including the kingdom of Bhutan and the emirate of Afghanistan. Also sometimes known as Desi cuisine, it has been influenced by and also has influenced other Asian cuisines beyond the Indian subcontinent.
The lentil (Vicia lens or Lens culinaris) is an annual legume grown for its lens-shaped edible seeds or pulses, also called lentils. It is about 40 cm (16 in) tall, and the seeds grow in pods, usually with two seeds in each.
Lentil seeds are used around the world for culinary purposes, most commonly in stews or soups. In cuisines of the Indian subcontinent, where lentils are a staple, split lentils (often with their hulls removed) known as dal are often cooked into a thick curry that is usually eaten with rice or roti.
A chutney (pronounced [ˈʧəʈɳiː]) is a condiment associated with cuisines of the Indian subcontinent. Chutneys are made in a wide variety of forms, some raw such as with coriander, others cooked with sugar, like mango chutney. In India, the spices are freshly ground each day, and a chutney is served with every meal. During the British Raj, Anglo-Indian cuisine adapted Indian chutney and brought it back to Britain, where green mango chutney in particular became popular. In the Western world, chutneys may be made with local fruits and vegetables, or purchased.
In Indian cuisine, dal (also spelled daal or dhal pronunciation: [d̪aːl]) are dried, split pulses (e.g., lentils, peas, and beans) that do not require soaking before cooking. India is the largest producer of pulses in the world. The term is also used for various soups prepared from these pulses. These pulses are among the leading staple foods in South Asian countries, and form an important part of the cuisines of the Indian subcontinent.