Bengal gram dal is channa dal. Channa = chickpeas. The chickpeas are
broken to make dal. Channa is also ground into flour and used in Indian
sweets, as a gravy with vegetables, and to make savories. We get two kinds
of chickpeas in India -- the larger, paler ones are, I think, the same as
American chickpeas, and are called Kabuli channa. The smaller, brown ones
are sometimes called Bengal gram. But the flavour is similar enough that
you could interchange them pretty readily.
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