Green gram (moong): nutrition per 100 g

1. 01

   Protein near the top

   Moong dal has 23.9 g protein per 100 g, 5th of 257 foods in IFCT 2017. That is about 44 per cent of the protein a man needs in a day and 52 per cent of what a woman needs.

2. 02

   Potassium-rich

   At 1268 mg potassium per 100 g, moong dal ranks 13th of 243 foods. Potassium helps balance the effects of salt on blood pressure.

3. 03

   Magnesium and folate

   It gives 155 mg magnesium and 92 micrograms of folate per 100 g, about 35 per cent of a man's daily magnesium and 31 per cent of his folate.

4. 04

   Gentle fibre

   The yellow dal has 9.4 g fibre per 100 g, less than most pulses, which is part of why it is easy on the stomach. Whole moong, at 17.0 g, is the higher-fibre choice.

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.

• Moong dal khichdi: rice and yellow moong cooked soft with turmeric, cumin and ghee, the first solid food for many Indian babies.
• Pesarattu: whole green moong soaked and ground with ginger and chilli into a thin Andhra dosa.
• Moong dal cheela: soaked dal ground to a batter and cooked like a pancake with onion and coriander.
• Sprouted moong salad: sprouts tossed with onion, tomato, lemon and chaat masala, or cooked lightly as usal.
• Ven pongal: rice and moong dal cooked with pepper, cumin, ginger and ghee, a Tamil breakfast.

Moong is the easiest dal on the gut, but it is not entirely free of the sugars that cause gas, so very large portions can still bloat. Its protein is short in one amino acid, methionine, which rice supplies; khichdi and pongal pair the two for that reason. Sprouting moong raises its vitamin C and makes it softer, though IFCT 2017 gives no separate figures for sprouts. Raw sprouts can carry bacteria if grown in unclean conditions, so rinse well and steam them lightly for children, pregnant women and older people.

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.

• Bengal gram (chana)

  Nutrition per 100 g, from IFCT 2017.

• Black gram (urad)

  Nutrition per 100 g, from IFCT 2017.

• Masoor dal (red lentil)

  Nutrition per 100 g, from IFCT 2017.

• Red gram (toor or arhar)

  Nutrition per 100 g, from IFCT 2017.

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