Bathua leaves: nutrition per 100 g

1. 01

   First of 241 foods for riboflavin

   Bathua's 0.51 mg riboflavin per 100 g is the highest value of any food in this IFCT 2017 set, ranking 1st of 241. A 100 g portion of bathua meets 20 per cent of a man's riboflavin need and 21 per cent of a woman's. Riboflavin helps the body release energy from food.

2. 02

   Calcium for a winter green

   At 211 mg calcium per 100 g, bathua ranks 34th of 242 foods, about 21 per cent of the adult requirement. As with other greens, oxalate in the leaf holds back part of it.

3. 03

   Vitamin C, if cooked gently

   Raw bathua holds 41.0 mg vitamin C per 100 g, enough for 51 per cent of a man's daily need and 63 per cent of a woman's. Much of it is lost in a long-simmered saag; raita made with blanched leaves keeps more.

4. 04

   Potassium and vitamin K

   Bathua supplies 438 mg potassium and 224 micrograms of vitamin K1 per 100 g. Potassium helps balance the sodium in a salty diet, and vitamin K is needed for normal blood clotting.

Values per 100 g of the edible portion. Source: Longvah T, Ananthan R, Bhaskarachary K, Venkaiah K. Indian Food Composition Tables 2017. National Institute of Nutrition, Indian Council of Medical Research, Hyderabad. Daily-need shares use the ICMR-NIN 2020 recommended dietary allowances for a 65 kg man and a 55 kg woman doing sedentary work (ICMR-NIN brief note). Nutrients IFCT did not analyse for this food are left out rather than shown as zero.

• Bathua raita: leaves boiled, squeezed, chopped and stirred into whisked curd with roasted cumin and black salt.
• Bathua paratha: blanched, chopped leaves kneaded into atta with ajwain and green chilli, a winter breakfast in Uttar Pradesh.
• In sarson ka saag: a handful cooked with mustard and spinach leaves, then mashed with makki ka atta.
• Bathua aloo: leaves and potato cooked dry with garlic, dried red chilli and a pinch of hing.
• Bathua kadhi: chopped leaves simmered in a besan and curd kadhi, common in Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh.

Bathua is high in oxalate, and the old habit of boiling the leaves and discarding the water before making raita or paratha is a good one: it lowers the oxalate along with some bitterness. People who have had kidney stones should ask their doctor how much is sensible. Because bathua grows in cropped fields, buy it from sellers who gather it from unsprayed land, and wash it in several changes of water. Raw bathua is not used in salads for these reasons.

Food composition is general information, not a diet plan. Anyone managing a medical condition should plan their diet with a doctor or a registered dietitian.

• Mustard leaves (sarson)

  Nutrition per 100 g, from IFCT 2017.

• Spinach

  Nutrition per 100 g, from IFCT 2017.

• Fenugreek leaves (methi)

  Nutrition per 100 g, from IFCT 2017.

• Amaranth spinosus

  Nutrition per 100 g, from IFCT 2017.

• Radish leaves

  Nutrition per 100 g, from IFCT 2017.

All Indian foods · Nutrient tables · Food comparisons