No, though they look almost identical in the bag. This is a split chickpea; yellow split peas come from a field pea. Split peas cook down soft and sweet, while these keep a firm bite and taste nuttier. Swapping one for the other changes the dish noticeably.

Only if you want a different result. Red lentils collapse into a purée in twenty minutes; these hold their shape and take two to three times as long. For a quick weeknight dal, red lentils win. For texture and bite, this is the better choice.

Soak for an hour, then simmer covered for 45–60 minutes, topping up the water as it goes. A pressure cooker takes about 20 minutes. Add salt and anything acidic, such as tomato or lemon, only once it is tender, as both slow the softening.

The skin comes off and the seed is split in half. That makes it quicker to cook and softer to eat, but removing the skin also removes the fibre-rich outer layer — so the whole and split versions are not nutritionally identical.

Yes — gram flour is simply this dal ground fine. Dry it thoroughly, blitz in a powerful grinder, then sift and re-grind the coarse bits. Home-milled comes out grittier than shop-bought, which is fine in batters but shows in delicate sweets.