Masoor is lentil, one of the first crops farmed in the Fertile Crescent about ten thousand years ago. Its flat seed shape gave the optical lens its name. India is one of the largest lentil eaters and growers, mainly Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal, and it imports more from Canada and Australia. Tamil Nadu calls the split red lentil Mysore paruppu. Botanists now place the crop in Vicia; older books say Lens culinaris.
- Botanical name
- Vicia lens (L.) Coss. & Germ.
- Family
- Fabaceae
- Tamil
- Mysore paruppu
- Hindi
- Masoor
- Sanskrit
- Masūra
- Parts used
- Dried seed after cooking
- Habit
- Lentil; Kew’s name is Vicia lens, not a children’s raw binge
- Last updated
- 2026-10-27
How to recognise Masoor
It is a small, slender, bushy annual, usually shin- to knee-high.
The leaves are pinnate, with four to seven pairs of small, narrow leaflets and often a short tendril at the tip.
Small white, pale blue or violet pea-flowers appear singly or in twos and threes.
The pods are short, flat and smooth, holding one or two lens-shaped seeds.
Whole masoor has a brown or black skin; split and skinned, the seed is orange-red.
Traditional use of Masoor
Kitchen
Red masoor dal cooks quickly without soaking and is a daily dal in Bengal, Bihar and North India.
Indian food practice
Kitchen
Whole sabut masoor is slow-cooked into thick dal in Punjab, and in Tamil Nadu Mysore paruppu goes into sambar and kootu.
Punjabi and Tamil food practice
Farming
Lentil is sown as a rabi crop after the monsoon and harvested in March, often on residual soil moisture.
North Indian farm practice
Modern notes on Masoor
Lentils are about a quarter protein and rich in fibre, folate and iron.
Raw lentils contain lectins and enzyme inhibitors that are destroyed by cooking.
Lentil fixes nitrogen in the soil and fits well after rice in the Gangetic plains.
Masoor was once adulterated with kesari dal, Lathyrus sativus, which can cause lathyrism, a crippling paralysis, if eaten as a staple.
Masoor safety
Always cook lentils fully before eating. Buy dal from trusted sources, since kesari adulteration has been reported, and people with gout may want to watch large portions of pulses.
Ecology and sourcing
Its wild ancestor grows in Turkey and the eastern Mediterranean.
It is self-pollinating.
It tolerates drought but not waterlogging or high heat at flowering.
Related plants
Also in Fabaceae
Questions about Masoor
What is Mysore paruppu?
Split red lentil, the Tamil name for masoor dal.
Does masoor need soaking?
No. Split red lentils cook in about twenty minutes.
Why is it called Vicia lens?
Botanists moved lentil into the vetch genus Vicia.
Did the lens get the Masoor’s name from lentil?
Yes. Lens is Latin for lentil.
Is masoor the same as moong?
No. Moong is Vigna radiata, a different pulse.
Sources
- Vicia lens (L.) Coss. & Germ. — Plants of the World Online, Kew (search) (accessed 2026)
- Wikidata item Q111391147 (Vicia lens)
Educational page about a plant. It is not medical advice, not a diagnosis, and not an offer to sell. Traditional use is historical. If you need care, ask a licensed clinician. Questions: hello@meevamed.com.