I just bought an Indian pressure cooker which is great for cooking them even faster (can even skip the pre-soak if you want) and uses less energy. So far I've tried "split red lentis", "whole black urad dal", and dried kidney beans. They are super cheap and come in huge bags for $5 or so. 1 cup of these makes many servings. I started making some Indian dals using them. It's a great way to eat them, with tons of Indian spices.

The pressure cooker I bought: Hawkins 5L classic: http://www.hawkinscookers.com/1.1.1.hawkinsclassic.asp