I do not have any information on the change itself, but neither does that claim in Wikipedia.
However, I would refer you to the discussion page of lentil's and read over the community's discussion regarding the article's nutrition claims generally. They are not pleased with many of the claims, and have been active in moderating it. Also of note, the claim has no citation.
Upon my reading, I would not take for granted that the minor act of sprouting in water changes nutritional value substantially, especially as compared to deep-frying them or other processes.
That said, you might refer to the general sprouting article:
These nutrients are essential for human health. To clarify, the nutritional changes upon germination & sprouting have been summarized below. Chavan and Kadam (1989) concluded that - “The desirable nutritional changes that occur during sprouting are mainly due to the breakdown of complex compounds into a more simple form, transformation into essential constituents and breakdown of nutritionally undesirable constituents.”
It goes on to explain that, according to studies done by Chavan & Kadam (1989), Cuddeford (1989) and Shippard (2005), changes during the sprouting process result in:
- Increases in protein quality
- Increases in crude fiber content
- Increases in essential fatty acids
- Increases in vitamin content
The article cites a claim from the Shipard (2005) study: "“When seeds are sprouted, minerals chelate or merge with protein, in a way that increases their function.”
In surveying the web, I have found a variety of ratios from 1:2 to 1:4 by volume, and some which measure the toor dal by weight.
I suspect some of the variation comes from the desired outcome (more or less soupy or poridgy), and whether or not the peas were pre-soaked.
You can google "toor dal recipe without pressure cooker".
This recipe for stove top toor dal suggests pre-soaking, and then using a 1:2 ratio of water. The author provides lots of pictures and explanation.
Best Answer
I wouldn’t. At least not when you are talking about true leaves as opposed to cotyledons.
The cotyledons are already part of the embryonic plant and will unfold after the first part of the sprout has reached a certain length. They are perfectly edible in mung beans and contain little or no phytohaemagglutinin (a quick search gave unclear results), which means the sprouts can even be served raw1, if they were grown cleanly and show no signs of wilting, mold or other spoilage.
I would not recommend trying to get the sprouts past the stage when the cotyledons unfold. The first true leaves need the nutrition stored in the seed and often already the sugars produced by the cotyledons via photosynthesis. If you don’t supply a growth medium light and nutrition, the sprouts are going to starve to death around this time and start rotting.
From a culinary perspective, the true leaves are not a very common kitchen staple, if there’s not a tradition of cooking with them, you may take this as a sign that they are not a desirable ingredient. If your sprouts have started to unfold the cotyledons and are still comparatively light, the sprouts are good. After that stage, the starting photosynthesis will influence the sprouts’ taste and you may find them less desirable, as the flavor gets more bitterish and sometimes musty.
1 For healthy adults. Recent contamination of commercially produced sprouts show that for sensitive consumers blanching is recommended as safety measure.