Does it really make a difference where they're grown? I've bought channa and rajma (chickpeas and kidney beans) from the Indian grocery before and they didn't taste any different from what I'm used to. Indian-grown rajma are maybe a little smaller than American kidney beans, but I didn't notice a flavor difference.

Of course there are lots of varieties of beans that are traditional in Indian but not European, East Asian or American cooking, and vice versa - but I know there's US-grown moong and masoor dal anyhow. Those two are probably my favorite for puree-style dals and Indian soups.

Do you use the oily or dry toover dal?