Botanical name: Vigna mungo    Family: Fabaceae (Pea family)
Synonyms: Azukia mungo, Phaseolus mungo, Phaseolus viridissimus

Urad is a bean grown in Indian and southern Asia. It is an erect, sub-erect or trailing, densely hairy annual herb. The tap root produces a branched root system with smooth, rounded nodules. Stems are less than 1 m tall, solid. Leaves are alternate, stalked. Leaves are trifoliate. Flowers arise in clusters or few-flowered racemes, 2-6 flowers, in leaf axils. Petals are orange or yellow, standard petal suborbicular, broadly rounded, Wing petals narrow, oblanceolate to oblong. Wing petals eared. The pods are narrow, cylindrical and up to 6 cm long. The bean is boiled and eaten whole or after splitting into dal - prepared like this it has an unusual mucilaginous texture. Ground into flour or paste, it is also extensively used in South Indian culinary preparation like dosa, idli, vada, and papadum. When used this way, the white lentils are usually used.

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The flower labeled Urad is ...