Black gram (urad): nutrition per 100 g

1. 01

   Among the top protein foods

   Urad dal has 23.1 g protein per 100 g, 11th of 257 foods and 4th of 14 pulses in IFCT 2017. 100 g of urad dal covers about 43 per cent of a man's daily protein and 51 per cent of a woman's.

2. 02

   Rich in magnesium and potassium

   It gives 173 mg magnesium and 1157 mg potassium per 100 g, ranking 33rd and 17th among all foods. That magnesium covers about 39 per cent of a man's need.

3. 03

   Plant omega-3

   At 566 mg of alpha-linolenic acid per 100 g, urad ranks 13th of 203 foods and 2nd among pulses, an unusual amount for a low-fat dal with only 1.7 g fat.

4. 04

   Iron and folate

   Urad dal has 4.67 mg iron and 89 micrograms of folate per 100 g, about 25 per cent of a man's daily iron and 30 per cent of his folate.

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.

• Idli and dosa batter: urad dal soaked and ground until fluffy, mixed with rice batter and fermented overnight.
• Medu vada: thick urad batter with pepper and curry leaves, shaped into rings and fried crisp.
• Dal makhani: whole urad and rajma soaked overnight and simmered for hours with tomato, butter and cream.
• South Indian tadka: a spoon of urad dal fried golden in oil with mustard seeds for crunch in chutneys and poriyal.
• Dahi bhalla or dahi bara: soft urad dumplings soaked in spiced curd with chutneys.

Urad is famously heavy. Its sugars and gums ferment in the gut and cause gas, which is why traditional recipes pair it with hing, ginger, fennel or pepper, and why fermentation in idli batter makes it easier to digest. Whole urad for dal makhani needs a long soak and long cooking. Restaurant dal makhani often carries a great deal of butter and cream, so the dal's protein comes with plenty of saturated fat. Papad, made from urad flour, is also high in salt. People with kidney disease on a potassium limit should ask their dietitian about portions.

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.

• Rice

  Nutrition per 100 g, from IFCT 2017.

• Rajma (red kidney beans)

  Nutrition per 100 g, from IFCT 2017.

• Green gram (moong)

  Nutrition per 100 g, from IFCT 2017.

• Bengal gram (chana)

  Nutrition per 100 g, from IFCT 2017.

• Red gram (toor or arhar)

  Nutrition per 100 g, from IFCT 2017.

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