Red Gram (Tur)

Red gram is an important pulse crop in India. It is also known as Pigeon-pea or Arhar or Tur. Red gram is mainly cultivated and consumed in developing countries of the world. This crop is widely grown in India. India is the largest producer and consumer of Red gram in the world. It is a protein rich staple food. It contains about 22 percent protein, which is almost three times that of cereals. Red gram supplies a major share of protein requirement of vegetarian population of the country. Mainly consumed in the form of split pulse as Dal, which is an essential supplement of cereal based diet. The combination of dal-chawal (pulse-rice) or dal-roti (pulse-wheat bread) is an important ingredient in the average Indian diet. The biological value improves greatly, when wheat or rice is combined with Red gram because of the complementary relationship of the essential amino acids. It is particularly rich in lysine, riboflavin, thiamine, niacin and iron.