Dal (also spelled Dahl or Daal, or Dhal) is a preparation of pulses (dried lentils, peas or beans) which have been stripped of their outer hulls and split. It also refers to the thick stew prepared from these pulses, an important part of Indian, Nepali, Pakistani, Sri Lankan, West Indian and Bangladeshi cuisine. It is regularly eaten with rice and vegetables in southern India, and with both rice and roti (wheat-based flat bread) throughout northern India and Pakistan. Dal is a ready source of proteins for a balanced diet containing little or no meat. Sri Lankan cooking of dal resembles that of southern Indian dishes.

The word dāl derives from the Sanskrit verbal root dal- 'to split'.

In South India, dal is often used to make sambar, a spicy soup of red lentils and vegetables cooked with tamarind, asafoetida and some vegetables. It is eaten with rice and rice dishes. In West India, dals are used to make curries to be eaten with rice. Dals are also used to make fermented preparations such as idli, dosa, in south and coastal India. In East India, rice is also the main accompaniment. In Sri Lanka, dal is most often consumed in a curry made with coconut milk.

Kunal Nayyar (English pronunciation: /ˈkuːnɑːl ˈnɛər/; born April 30, 1981) is an actor best known for his role as Rajesh Koothrappali on the CBS sitcom The Big Bang Theory.

Nayyar was born in London to a Hindu-Punjabi family and moved to India when he was four years old.

He attended St Columba's School in New Delhi, India, where he played badminton for the school team. In 1999 he moved to the US to earn a Bachelor of Science in Business from the University of Portland. While he was working on his degree he started taking acting classes and appeared in several school plays. After he participated in the American College Theater Festival and won its Mark Twain Prize for Comic Brilliance, he resolved to become a professional actor. He then attended Temple University, where he received a Master of Fine Arts in Acting.

After graduating, Nayyar found work doing American television ads and plays on the London stage. He first gained attention in the US for his role in the West Coast production of Rajiv Joseph's 2006 play Huck & Holden where he portrayed an Indian exchange student anxious to experience American culture before returning home. In 2006, Nayyar teamed up with Arun Das to write the play Cotton Candy, which premiered in New Delhi to positive reviews. Nayyar made a guest appearance on the CBS drama NCIS (Naval Criminal Investigative Service) in the episode "Suspicion" (Season 4, Episode 12), in which he played Youssef Zidan, an Iraqi terrorist. His agent heard about a role for a scientist in an upcoming CBS pilot and encouraged him to audition for the part. This led to his casting in the sitcom The Big Bang Theory, on which he plays astrophysicist Rajesh Koothrappali.

Adrianne Palicki (born May 6, 1983) is an American actress best known for her role as Tyra Collette on the NBC television series Friday Night Lights.

Palicki was born in Toledo, Ohio, the daughter of Nancy (née French) and Jeffrey Palicki. She has an older brother Eric who is a comic book writer, and influenced her interest in comics. She graduated from Whitmer High School in Toledo in 2001. She ran track in high school and was named runner-up for homecoming queen. Palicki stands 5'11" (180 cm).

Palicki appeared in The WB pilot Aquaman as the evil Nadia, but the pilot was not picked up for series by the CW network, a result of The WB and UPN network merger, which occurred while the pilot was being filmed. She was a series regular on the first three seasons of NBC's much acclaimed Friday Night Lights, portraying the character of Tyra Collette. In early 2011, she returned for the final two episodes of the series.

Palicki also starred in Supernatural as Jessica Moore, Sam Winchester's doomed girlfriend, killed by a demon, in its pilot episode. The character reappears in the Supernatural season 2 episode, "What is and What Should Never Be", and the season 5 episode "Free To Be You and Me." Palicki also appeared as Judy Robinson in John Woo's unsold pilot, The Robinsons: Lost in Space. Palicki starred in Legion opposite Lucas Black. She made an appearance in the music video by Will.i.am called "We Are The Ones" in support of 2008 presidential hopeful Barack Obama.

Eric Bana ( /ˈbænə/ BAN-ə; born 9 August 1968) is an Australian film and television actor. He began his career as a comedian in the sketch comedy series Full Frontal before gaining critical recognition in the biopic Chopper (2000). After a decade of roles in Australian TV shows and films, Bana gained Hollywood's attention by playing the role of American Delta Force Sergeant Norm "Hoot" Hooten in Black Hawk Down (2001), the lead role as Bruce Banner in the Ang Lee directed film Hulk (2003), Hector in the movie Troy (2004), the lead in Steven Spielberg's Munich (2005), and the villain Nero in the science-fiction film Star Trek (2009).

An accomplished dramatic actor and comedian, he received Australia's highest film and television awards for his performances in Chopper, Full Frontal and Romulus, My Father. Bana has performed across a wide spectrum of leading roles in a variety of low-budget and major studio films, ranging from romantic comedies and drama to science fiction and action thrillers.