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If you soak legumes (in this case split chickpeas, aka chana dal), but end up not cooking them when they would be "finished", what is the best way to store them? In water or without? And how long can you store them? Soaking time for my chickpeas are only 3 hours.

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I found a similar question: cooking.stackexchange.com/questions/13340/… – citizen Jan 18 at 15:48
For chana dal in particular, I find that I don't need to soak them beforehand unlike chickpeas or kidney beans. Just curious, why do you soak them? – Dharini Chandrasekaran Jan 18 at 22:11
@DhariniChandrasekaran: No reason. It's the first time I use them and it said on the package. Plus, I've read legumes need to be soaked to remove any stuff that might cause flatulence. What's the cooking time for unsoaked chana dal? – citizen Jan 19 at 9:23
sometimes after holding legumes in their water overnight in fridge, I noticed a bit foamy funny smell. Now I always change the water (coldest tap) before storing: more pleasant but eh, cooking them anyway – Pat Sommer Jan 20 at 4:55
If I use a pressure cooker, chana dal can be cooked in 25-30 minutes..otherwise I would say 45 min to an hour on the stovetop.. – Dharini Chandrasekaran Jan 20 at 5:06

1 Answer

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If your soaking time is 3 hours, and after 3 hours you are not going to cook them....
then you should take them out of the water and put them in an air tight container and keep them in the refrigerator.
I usually do this and use my soaked pulses for over 3-4 days.
In case you leave them in the water even after their soaking time.. they get extra soft and won't taste good.

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