Green peas (fresh): nutrition per 100 g

1. 01

   Protein ranks 3rd of 39

   Green peas carry 7.2 g protein per 100 g, 113th of 257 foods. A 100 g serving of matar covers 13 per cent of a man's protein need and 16 per cent of a woman's, more than most vegetables can manage.

2. 02

   Fibre and thiamine

   Each 100 g supplies 6.3 g fibre, 5th among vegetables, and 0.27 mg thiamine, 2nd of 39. Thiamine helps the body release energy from carbohydrate.

3. 03

   Vitamin C and folate

   Fresh peas have 38.4 mg vitamin C, 7th of 36 vegetables, and 55 micrograms of folate per 100 g. For a woman, the vitamin C meets 59 per cent of her daily need.

4. 04

   Starchier than most vegetables

   At 81 kcal and 11.9 g carbohydrate per 100 g, peas rank 3rd of 39 vegetables for energy and 4th for carbohydrate. They count partly as a starch in a meal, which matters for anyone counting carbohydrate.

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.

• Matar paneer: peas and paneer in an onion, tomato, ginger and garam masala gravy.
• Nimona in Uttar Pradesh: fresh peas ground coarse and simmered with potatoes and spices in winter.
• Koraishutir kochuri in Bengal: puris stuffed with a spiced green pea paste, eaten with alur dom.
• Matar pulao: basmati rice cooked with peas, whole spices and fried onions.
• Pattani kurma in Tamil Nadu: peas in a coconut and fennel gravy, served with chapati or appam.

Out of season, some dried peas are soaked and coloured bright green with malachite green or other dyes and sold as fresh; FSSAI has repeatedly warned about this. Unnaturally vivid peas that stain water or fingers should be avoided; buying pods and shelling them, or using reputable frozen peas, is safer. Peas are starchier than leafy vegetables, so people with diabetes should count a large serving of matar as part of the meal's carbohydrate. Canned peas are often salted and sugared; rinse them before use.

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.

• Dried peas

  Nutrition per 100 g, from IFCT 2017.

• Tender red gram (fresh toor)

  Nutrition per 100 g, from IFCT 2017.

• French beans

  Nutrition per 100 g, from IFCT 2017.

• Potato

  Nutrition per 100 g, from IFCT 2017.

• Paneer

  Nutrition per 100 g, from IFCT 2017.

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