Grass Pea

Khansland Grass Pea is a traditional Bangladeshi pulse — khesari dal — with a distinctive pale golden-yellow colour, firm texture, and a deeply earthy, slightly bitter flavour that is immediately recognisable to anyone who grew up in a traditional Bangladeshi household. It is one of the oldest cultivated legumes in the Indian subcontinent, prized for its extraordinary resilience — it thrives in drought conditions and flooded fields alike, sustaining rural Bangladesh through famines when other legumes failed.

The flavour of khesari dal is unlike any other lentil — it has an assertive, almost mineral earthiness that is simultaneously rustic and deeply satisfying, particularly in traditional preparations that use whole dried chili, mustard oil, and raw onion to balance its natural character.

Ground into flour, khesari is used to make traditional pithas, pakoras, and dal baati-style preparations. Mixed with other lentils in the panch mishali blend, it contributes its distinctive earthy depth to the complex layering of flavours in that traditional mixed lentil preparation. We source our khesari from traditional farming communities where this pulse is grown as part of a natural crop rotation system, preserving the genetic diversity of traditional pulse varieties.