Red Lentils (Masoor)

Red Lentils (Masoor) from Pakistan

Red lentils are a cool-season pulse crop grown during the Rabi season (October-March) across Pakistan’s dryland and irrigated farming areas. The lentil has a distinctive brown to dark olive skin with a bright orange-red interior. Red lentils are the fastest-cooking pulse, breaking down into a smooth, creamy consistency in 15-20 minutes without soaking, making them the most convenient pulse for everyday cooking. They are a dietary staple across South Asia, the Middle East, North Africa, Turkey, and increasingly popular in Western health food markets as a plant-based protein source.

Specifications

Whole Masoor (Sabut Masoor)

• Form: Whole lentil, brown skin intact

• Colour: Brown to dark olive (exterior), orange-red (interior)

• Size: 4-6 mm diameter

• Protein: 24-26%

• Moisture: 10-12% max

• Purity: 98-99%

• Foreign Matter: < 1%

• Damaged/Discoloured: < 2%

• Weevil Damage: < 1%

• Non-GMO

Split Masoor Dal (Red Lentil Split)

• Form: Hulled and split, skin removed

• Colour: Bright orange-red to salmon

• Protein: 25-28%

• Moisture: 10-12% max

• Purity: 98-99.5%

• Broken/Powder: < 3%

• Oil Polished: Available (for bright, glossy finish)

• Non-GMO

Two Forms Explained

Whole Masoor (Sabut Masoor)
The complete lentil with its brown seed coat intact. Whole masoor has a more robust, earthy flavour and holds its shape better when cooked compared to the split form. It takes slightly longer to cook (25-35 minutes) and is used in hearty dal preparations, soups, stews, and salads where a firmer lentil texture is desired. Whole masoor retains the highest fibre content due to the intact hull.

Split Masoor Dal (Red Lentil Split)
Produced by removing the brown hull and splitting the lentil, revealing the bright orange-red interior. Split Masoor Dal is the fastest-cooking pulse available, dissolving into a smooth, creamy consistency in just 15-20 minutes with no pre-soaking. It turns golden-yellow when cooked. This convenience and smooth texture make it the most widely consumed dal in South Asian households and the most internationally traded lentil product. It is also the base for Turkish mercimek corbasi (red lentil soup), Middle Eastern shorbat adas, and Egyptian koshari.

Industrial Uses

• Dal cooking: Split Masoor Dal is the everyday dal in millions of South Asian households, cooked with spices as a protein-rich accompaniment to rice and bread. Its fast cooking time and smooth texture make it the most convenient pulse for daily meals

• Soups and stews: Red lentils are the most popular pulse for soup making worldwide. Turkish red lentil soup (mercimek corbasi), Middle Eastern shorbat adas, Egyptian koshari, Ethiopian misir wot, and British red lentil soup all use split masoor as the base

• Canned lentils: Split and whole masoor are cooked and canned for retail and food service. Canned lentils are a growing convenience food segment in Western supermarkets

• Ready-to-eat meals: Red lentils are a key ingredient in ready-to-eat dal, lentil curry, and microwaveable meal products

• Lentil flour: Split masoor is milled into red lentil flour for gluten-free baking, pasta, crackers, and protein-enriched food products. Red lentil pasta is one of the fastest-growing gluten-free pasta categories

• Plant-based protein: Red lentil protein is extracted and used in plant-based meat alternatives, protein bars, protein powders, and vegan food products

• Baby food and clinical nutrition: Split masoor’s smooth, easily digestible consistency makes it a common ingredient in infant weaning foods and clinical nutrition products

• Snack food: Fried and seasoned masoor dal is used in savoury snack mixes and as a standalone crunchy snack

• Food aid and relief: Red lentils are a standard specification pulse for government food programs, UN WFP, and humanitarian relief shipments due to their fast cooking time, high nutrition, and long shelf life

• Animal feed: Off-grade masoor and masoor hulls are used as protein and fibre ingredients in animal feed

Quality Assurance

Each lot includes a Certificate of Quality reporting protein, moisture, purity, foreign matter, damaged grains, weevil damage, broken/powder percentage, aflatoxin, and non-GMO status. Phytosanitary certification, fumigation certificate, health certificate, and SGS/Intertek inspection can be arranged. Pre-shipment samples are provided for buyer approval.