Lentil

The lentil (Lens culinaris or Lens esculenta) is an edible legume. It is an annual plant known for its lens-shaped seeds. It is about 40 cm (16 in) tall, and the seeds grow in pods, usually with two seeds in each. As a food crop, the majority of world production comes from Canada and India, producing 58% combined of the world total.

In cuisines of the Indian subcontinent, where lentils are a staple, split lentils (often with their hulls removed) known as daal are often cooked into a thick curry/gravy that is usually eaten with rice or rotis.

Many different names in different parts of the world are used for the crop lentil.[1] The first use of the word lens to designate a specific genus was in the 16th century by the botanist Tournefort.[2] The word “lens” for the lentil is of classical Roman/Latin origin: McGee points out that a prominent Roman family took the name “Lentulus”, just as the family name “Cicero” was derived from the chickpea, Cicer arietinum, or “Fabia” (as in Quintus Fabius Maximus) from the fava bean (Vicia faba). [3]