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            <p><strong>General Overview</strong><br />
            <strong>Black Gram</strong> or we can say &quot;<strong>Urad</strong>&quot;   originated in India where it has  been spreading its wonderful taste   in many different ways for ages now. Cultivated in almost all parts  of  India, this leguminous pulse has inevitably marked itself as the  most  popular pulse and can be most appropriately referred to as the  &quot;<strong>king of the pulses</strong>&quot;. Whether it be the very special  &quot;<strong>Dal makhni</strong>&quot; of Punjab or the <strong>Vada Sambhar</strong>  of  South India, the taste rules the hearts of one and all alike.  Indian  immigrants have popularized the taste worldwide as well.<br />
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            No doubt, it has managed to impress the  entire world  with its mouthwatering taste and numerous other  nutritious qualities.  In <strong>Japan, </strong>the very health conscious  people eat these seeds by soaking</p>
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                        <p>them in water overnight and then  serving them as fresh bean sprout salad.<br />
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                        Popularly known as &quot;<strong>Urad</strong>&quot;  in most parts of India,<strong> Black Gram</strong> is a highly valued pulse  crop. It is a very prominent member of the widespread <strong>Asiatic  Vigna</strong> crop family. The annually  grown pulse opens up many doors  of opportunity for its cultivators who exploit these qualities of <strong>Black Gram</strong>  by using it as a rotational crop with other  prominent cereal crops.  And why not as it provides them to enjoy a  double bonanza.</p>
                        <p>The color ranging from dark black to  dull grey distinctively mark the different varieties of <strong>Black  Gram.</strong> Sophisticated with numerous other qualities<strong> Black Gram</strong> remains unbeatable in nutrients as well.</p>
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                        <p><strong>Importance Of Black Gram<br />
                        </strong>Black Gram is a perfect combination of   all nutrients which include 20 to 25% proteins, 40 to 47% starch,  ash,  fats, carbohydrates and essential vitamins</p>
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                            <li>Being a proper  leguminous crop, Black  gram has all the essential nutrients which it  makes to turn into a  fertilizer. with its ability to fix nitrogen it  restores soil  fertility as well</li>
                            <li>It proves to be a great rotation crop   enhancing the yield of the main crop as well. For the best yields it   should be grown in the seasons from mid September to October and  March  to April</li>
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                            <li>A very short growth and yield period of  90 to 120 days it ensures to be a convenient crop for its cultivators</li>
                            <li>It is a very popular pulse and is a  vital constituent of Indian recipes and mouthwatering delicacies</li>
                            <li>It possesses great adaptibililty powers  which makes it a suitable crop even in dry and intermediate  conditions.</li>
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            <p align="justify"><strong>Diseases Which Harm Black Gram  Production</strong><br />
            One of the major disease of Black Gram  is <strong>Tan Spot</strong> which is caused by <strong>Curtobacterium</strong> <strong>flaccumfaciens</strong>.  It can be easily diagnosed by the leaf spots  appearing on the plant  however when the damage is serious then it  results in stunting of the  plant, retarding growth of pods and seeds.  Therefore this disease  severely affects the harvest.</p>
            <p align="justify"><strong>Charcoal Rot</strong> is another  important disease commonly observed in <strong>Black Gram</strong>. It hampers  seed growth and results in poor harvest and even degrading of quality  of seeds.<br />
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            Various diseases caused by fungi,  bacteria and viruses are generally common to Black Gram</p>
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                        <p align="justify">although it  does not affect their production much.</p>
                        <p align="justify">Much harm is done due to <strong>Sclerotinia</strong>,  which results in severe seedling loss in stressed crops which are  sown amidst cereal crops.</p>
                        <p align="justify">Little damage is caused due to   different kinds of leaf and stem pathogens for example, powdery  mildew  and bacterial blight . Other than <strong>Regur</strong> ( a very  popular variety of Black gram in Australia), others are less tolerant  to these pathogens.</p>
                        <p align="justify">Another well known disease called <strong>legume little leaf diseas</strong>e which as the name suggests is very  common amongst all legumes. It is caused by <strong>mycoplasma</strong>, a  harmful bacteria</p>
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                                    <p><strong>Damage Causing Insects</strong><br />
                                    Certain flower feeders like Green <strong>mirids</strong> and <strong>thrips</strong> cause flower and pod abortion which  results in less yields and uneven maturity.<br />
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                                    A variety of caterpillars  like <strong>Heliothis</strong> and <strong>Maruca</strong> feed on developing flowers  and seeds which eventually causes major reductions in seed yield as  well as quality.<br />
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                                    Different kinds of bugs such  as the  green vegetable bug, red banded shield bug, pod sucking bug  and brown  bean bug as a method of feeding themselves stick their  proboscis into  pods and seeds and cause severe damage to the seeds.</p>
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            However agriculture  specialists have scientifically  designed a variety of insecticides  and pesticides to drive away the  fear of all these insects, pests and  also to enable the plants to be  strong enough to be able to fight all  the diseases.</div>
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            <p align="justify"><strong>Famous Recipes</strong><br />
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            <strong>Creamy Black Gram Dal</strong></p>
            <p align="justify"><strong>(Kali Dal Makhni)</strong><br />
            Wash the soaked gram and  kidney beans and discard  the water in which they were soaked. Boil  them in a pressure cooker  along with the water, turmeric powder, red  chilli powder, salt and half  the quantity of the following items:  chopped onion(s), garlic, ginger,  and whole red chilli(es). After  boiling for 25 minutes add the  yoghurt, cream and half the quantity  of chopped green chilli(es). Keep  on low heat for 15  minutes. For  the tempering, heat the butter in a  pan till very hot. Add the cumin  seeds and let them splutter. Now, add  asafoetida, the remaining  chopped onions, green and red chillies,  garlic, ginger and fry till  the onion are slightly browned. Add the  chopped tomatoes and fry  again till the fat separates from the sides of  the pan. Add this to  the cooked gram mixture and mix well. Cover and  simmer on very low  heat for 15  minutes. Serve hot with cumin rice.</p>
            <p align="justify"><strong>Medu Vada Recipe</strong><br />
            Wash and soak urad dal for  six hours. Grind into a  fine paste. Add salt, asafoetida, curry  leaves, cumin powder and  crushed peppercorns to the batter and mix  well. Heat oil in a Pan. Wet  your palms and take batter into the  palms. Shape into balls and make a  hole with the thumb in the centre  like a doughnut. Deep-fry this in  medium hot oil until golden brown  and crisp. Serve hot with sambhar and  coconut chutney.</p>
            <p align="justify"><strong>Urad Kachori (Fried bread  stuffed with black gram) Recipe</strong><br />
            Drain the black gram and grind to a  smooth paste.  Mix black gram paste with the remaining ingredients.  Add a little water  and knead to make a soft dough. Keep aside for 1  hour. Before frying,  knead the dough again with well-greased palms  and on a well-greased  table top. Divide the dough into lemon-sized  balls. Roll each ball out  carefully into a 5 inch. diameter disc.  Heat the oil in a wok (kadhai);  fry the discs, one by one, turning  them over frequently, on high heat  till golden. They will be slightly  white on the edges. Remove with a  slotted spoon and drain the excess  oil on paper towels.</p>
            <p align="justify">Serve hot with  aloo dum</p>
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