I realized, I haven't taught you the names of all the dhals we usually use for cooking.
The above photo shows all the dhals in mama's pantry.
Let us start from the top, clock wise direction.

Chickpeas.( white and brown colour)
When you were little you always called it pick cheese. You loved to eat pick cheese and Bhatura.
White chickpeas is softer when it is cooked than the brown chickpeas. That is why mama doesn't cook the brown Chickpeas often.
You can also buy chickpeas in a can( garbanzo beans). Rinse it well before you cook.

Chana dhal
This dhal comes in so many different sizes. In Malaysia, we have Australian chana dhal and Indian Chana dhal. I still haven't figured out the difference. As long as it looks almost the same as it is in the picture, you can make parippuvada with it.

Green gram
You cannot get this dhal wrong. Like the name suggests, it is green in colour.

Greengram dhal

When the green skin is removed, you get the yellow dhal inside, it is called green gram dhal.. good for making payasam or lentil curry

Black gram
This dhal comes in three version. Fully clothed, semi clothed and completely naked.
Fully clothed ie with the black skin... used mainly for making dhal maharani
Semi clothed, ie it is split and still has a bit of the black skin... Use it for making idli( will teach you later how to use it)
naked...see the mysteries of the universe.. the black gram has white dhal inside.. use it for making idli and dosai.

Green peas
Because it requires prior soaking before I can cook, I do not cook green peas often.. Inji aunty has an excellent green peas curry recipe.. The recipe is saved in mama's recipe file. If you can't find it, you can check her blog http;//myinjimanga@blogspot.com

Masoor dhal
This reddish pinkish dhal is mama's favourite. It cooks very fast and you can make excellent lentils curry using this dhal..

Yaya, when you do grocery shopping at an Indian store, you will be overwhelmed with the choices of dhal. Since all dhals are edible, have no fear. Buy whatever fancies you... and cook..