Pulse milling

Seed structure

Seed coat or hull The protective barrier surrounding the seed
Cotyledons The two cotyledons represent more than 80-90% of the seed and are the main store of energy and nutrients.
Embryo The part of the seed that becomes a new plant.

The milling process

i. Cleaning and grading - pulses which are eaten "as is" are packed after cleaning and grading.

ii. Dehulling - removes the seed coat of pulses which contain large amounts of tannins. The seeds are placed in water. Successive hydration (cool air at night) and dehydration (sun drying during the day) over several days facilitate the mechanical removal of the seed coat without damaging the seed.

iii. Splitting - separates the two cotyledons. Splitting the de-hulled pulses reduces the cooking time. The binding between the cotyledons is broken by using moist heat followed by a slow tempering action. Splits can be used to make dhal.

iv. Grinding - the splits are ground into flour using either hammer mills, special stone mills or roller mills. In India, more than 70% of pulses are eaten in the form of products which are made from flour derived from grinding splits.