Rajma (red kidney beans): nutrition per 100 g

1. 01

   Folate near the top

   Red rajma has 316 micrograms of folate per 100 g, 3rd of 197 foods in IFCT 2017. On paper, 100 g meets about 105 per cent of a man's daily requirement and 144 per cent of a woman's, before cooking losses.

2. 02

   Fibre and potassium

   Rajma carries 16.6 g fibre per 100 g, 20th of 256 foods, and 1324 mg potassium, 4th of 14 pulses and 11th of 243 foods.

3. 03

   Magnesium, iron and omega-3

   It gives 173 mg magnesium, 6.13 mg iron and 557 mg of plant omega-3 per 100 g. The magnesium covers about 39 per cent of a man's daily need and the iron about 32 per cent, and the omega-3 ranks 15th of 203 foods.

4. 04

   Protein in the lower half of the pulses

   At 19.9 g protein per 100 g, rajma ranks 13th of 14 pulses. That still covers about 37 per cent of a man's daily need, and rice beside it makes the protein more complete.

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.

• Rajma chawal: soaked rajma pressure-cooked soft and simmered in onion, tomato, ginger and garam masala gravy, poured over rice.
• Kashmiri razma: cooked with fennel, dry ginger and Kashmiri chilli, often alongside turnip.
• Dal makhani: a handful of rajma slow-cooked with whole urad, butter and tomato.
• Rajma salad: boiled beans tossed with onion, cucumber, tomato, lemon and roasted cumin.
• Rajma tikki: mashed rajma bound with potato and spices, shallow-fried as a snack or burger patty.

Raw or undercooked kidney beans contain a natural lectin that can cause severe vomiting and diarrhoea within hours. Soak rajma overnight, throw away the soaking water, and boil hard or pressure-cook until completely soft; slow cookers on low heat may not destroy it. Properly cooked rajma is safe. Its complex sugars cause gas in many people, so hing, ginger and a good soak help. Like other pulses it carries phytate, which holds back part of its iron and zinc, so tomato and lemon in the gravy are useful as well as tasty.

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.

• Black gram (urad)

  Nutrition per 100 g, from IFCT 2017.

• Rice

  Nutrition per 100 g, from IFCT 2017.

• Cowpea (lobia)

  Nutrition per 100 g, from IFCT 2017.

• Whole masoor (lentil)

  Nutrition per 100 g, from IFCT 2017.

• Bengal gram (chana)

  Nutrition per 100 g, from IFCT 2017.

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