Field beans (fresh pods): nutrition per 100 g

1. 01

   Top vegetable for folate

   Broad field beans carry 123 micrograms of folate per 100 g, 1st of 39 vegetables and 16th of 197 foods. The pods give a man 41 per cent of his daily folate need. Folate is vital before and during early pregnancy.

2. 02

   Beta-carotene ranks 3rd

   The 555 micrograms of beta-carotene per 100 g ranks 3rd of 31 vegetables and 37th of 160 foods, unusual for a pale green pod. The body converts it to vitamin A.

3. 03

   Fibre, iron and calcium

   Each 100 g supplies 5.6 g fibre, 1.95 mg iron and 71 mg calcium, ranking 8th, 4th and 4th among vegetables. These are solid figures for a light pod vegetable.

4. 04

   Vitamin B6 and magnesium

   Field beans have 0.42 mg vitamin B6 per 100 g, 22 per cent of a woman's daily requirement, and 51 mg magnesium. Vitamin B6 helps the body use protein.

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.

• Avarekalu saaru in Karnataka: shelled fresh beans simmered in a coconut, coriander and tamarind gravy, eaten with ragi mudde.
• Avarekalu akki rotti: fresh beans mixed into a rice flour dough with onion, green chilli and dill, patted thin on a tawa.
• Undhiyu and valor nu shaak in Gujarat: papdi pods cooked with yam, sweet potato and muthia, or alone with ajwain.
• Avarakkai poriyal in Tamil Nadu: chopped pods stir-fried with coconut, mustard seeds and curry leaves.
• Shim begun in Bengal: field beans and brinjal cooked with panch phoron and green chilli.

Lablab beans contain natural compounds, including lectins and cyanogenic glycosides, that make the raw beans hard to digest and, in larger amounts, harmful. Thorough cooking breaks them down, so never eat field beans raw, and boil shelled mature beans well. Pull off the tough strings along the edges of the pods. Some people find avarekalu causes wind; the Karnataka habit of cooking it with ginger, garlic and asafoetida is a good one. Mature dried field beans are a pulse and are listed separately with very different values.

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.

• Field bean (dry)

  Nutrition per 100 g, from IFCT 2017.

• French beans

  Nutrition per 100 g, from IFCT 2017.

• Broad beans

  Nutrition per 100 g, from IFCT 2017.

• Cluster beans (gawar)

  Nutrition per 100 g, from IFCT 2017.

• Ragi (finger millet)

  Nutrition per 100 g, from IFCT 2017.

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