Pulse youth turned up to check close to death (4)
I believe the answer is:
dhal
'pulse' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
I don't understand how the remainder of the clue works.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for dhal that I've seen before include "pulse" , "Indian dish of dried pulses" , "Split pulses (in Indian cookery)" , "Pigeon pea" , "Indian lentil dish" .)