Another reason why you must soak legumes and lentils a few hours before cooking is to reduce the cooking time. Here are some expert tips to soak and cook lentils in the right way:
Whole dals like green gram, pigeon pea, red lentil and black gram split take 8 to 12 hours to soak. So, always wash and soak them before cooking.
Split dals take 6 to 8 hours to soak whereas heavy legumes, such as Rajma, Chana or Chole, should be cooked after soaking for 12 to 18 hours to get the right taste and texture. The best option is to soak the lentils and legumes overnight.
She further mentions that the right time to consume beans and legumes is around noon. So that the body gets ample time to absorb the nutrition and digest the beans.
