Brown chana protein per 100g: kala chana nutrition and calories

The table gives brown chana protein per 100 g and the rest of the composition of raw, uncooked kala chana as reported in IFCT 2017, the Indian food composition tables of ICMR-National Institute of Nutrition. Beside it sit the two chickpea forms this page compares it with: kabuli chana, whose figures come from the USDA FoodData Central record, and chana dal, from the same IFCT tables. In short: 287 kcal, 18.77 g of protein and 25.22 g of fibre per 100 g.

Read the table with three things in mind. First, these are dry, raw values: a cooked katori weighs far more than the dry chana that went into it, so per-100 g-of-cooked numbers look much lower, and the serving arithmetic below works that out. Second, kala chana and brown chana are the same seed, so the one entry covers both names. Third, figures on a pack label may differ from these; every number on this page uses the IFCT value, except the kabuli column, which is the USDA record.

Per 100 g raw, edible portion. Composition: IFCT 2017 (ICMR-NIN); USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy), FDC ID 173756, NDB 16056. GI: University of Sydney GI database. — means not reported. These are average values for the food; the label on a pack gives the values for that product.

Kala chana protein per 100g is 18.77 g (IFCT 2017). Against the other chickpea forms it holds its own: kabuli chana brings 20.5 g, about 9 percent more, and chana dal 21.55 g, while the dark type answers with far more fibre, as the next section shows. The 2012 British Journal of Nutrition review considers chickpea's protein quality better than other pulses offer. The same review notes the one gap: chickpea holds significant amounts of all the essential amino acids except the sulphur-containing pair, which cereals added to the daily diet can complement; ICMR-NIN's 3:1 rule of three parts cereal with one part pulses, by raw weight, can meet the requirement for all the essential amino acids.

In the bowl the numbers are modest. A katori of cooked dal is made from 30 g of dry chana and holds about 5.6 g of protein; a plate-sized 50 g serving holds about 9.4 g. Read kala chana as one course in a meal with roti or rice, not as the whole protein answer.

Kala chana calories per 100 g are 287, with 39.56 g of carbohydrate, 25.22 g of dietary fibre and 5.11 g of fat. The fibre is the headline: kabuli chana carries 12.2 g, so the dark type packs about double the fibre per 100 g, and chana dal carries 15.15 g. IFCT 2017 reports carbohydrate with the fibre already kept separate, so those 39.56 g are the carbohydrate the body takes up; the is kala chana good for diabetes page works out the exact glycemic loads from that and the GI of 23.

Fibre is also the reason a small bowl of chana fills you up: the ICMR-NIN dietary guidelines describe fibre as delaying the absorption of carbohydrate and fat and raising a meal's satiety value, and they name roasted or boiled chickpeas among nutritious snack options. Fat is low and mostly unsaturated: the 2012 chickpea review notes that the lipids, present in low amounts, are rich in unsaturated fatty acids such as linoleic and oleic acids.

The table's 287 kcal applies to dry chana; soaked and boiled chana hold water, so the same 100 g of cooked chana carries smaller numbers. One cup of dry kala chana weighs 200 g and roughly doubles to two cups once soaked, which is the count behind the four servings of kala chana curry and the timings on the black chana soaked overnight page. Boiled chana keep that water, so 100 g of boiled chana starts from roughly 50 g of dry grain: about 144 kcal, 9.4 g of protein, 12.6 g of fibre and 3.4 mg of iron.

Cooking itself helps the minerals along. The ICMR-NIN guidelines state that the concentration of phytic acid in legumes, which hinders mineral absorption, drops sharply after boiling or pressure cooking, making minerals such as iron, calcium, magnesium and zinc absorbable, and that boiling with just enough water, with none drained away, is the best method to retain folate in legumes; the same guidelines warn against overcooking pulses, which lowers protein quality. IFCT 2017 has no separate entry for sprouted chana, so this page gives no sprouted numbers; the guidelines count soaking, sprouting and fermenting among the household methods that improve digestibility and bioavailability of micronutrients in wholegrains and legumes.

Plain boiled whole chickpeas score a glycemic index of 23 in the University of Sydney database, the mean of nine tests whose results spread from 5 to 36. The database does not separate the kabuli and desi types, and none of the tests was run in India, so 23 is the best published figure for both; on the database's scale, low runs up to 55 and high starts at 70, which leaves chana well inside the low band. Chana dal has its own India-tested figure of 11, from a single boiled Bengal gram dal test in the same database. The full diabetes picture is worked out on the is kala chana good for diabetes page.

The mineral column is the quiet strength. Iron comes to 6.78 mg per 100 g, more than kabuli chana's 4.31 mg and chana dal's 6.08 mg; calcium is 150 mg (kabuli 57 mg), magnesium 160 mg, potassium 935 mg (kabuli 718 mg), zinc 3.37 mg and sodium just 26.56 mg. Folate is 233 mcg per 100 g, and the 2012 chickpea review lists chickpea as a good source of riboflavin, niacin, thiamin and folate. To take up more of that plant iron, the ICMR-NIN guidelines suggest vitamin C foods in the meal, such as guava or orange, and chutneys of coriander and green chilli, while tea is best kept at least an hour clear of the meal, since it binds iron. Vitamin C is not reported for kala chana itself in IFCT 2017. What each of these nutrients does, one by one, is on the kala chana benefits page.

Does kala chana have protein?

Yes — in each 100 g of raw kala chana, 18.77 g (IFCT 2017); so a 30 g katori of cooked dal carries about 5.6 g and a 50 g serving about 9.4 g. A 2012 review rates chickpea protein quality better than other pulses; of the essential amino acids, only the sulphur-containing two are short, and cereals in the daily diet can supply them, the pairing behind ICMR-NIN's 3:1 cereal-to-pulse rule.

Does black chickpeas have fiber?

Yes, 25.22 g of total dietary fibre per 100 g of kala chana (IFCT 2017), about double the 12.2 g in kabuli chana. A 30 g katori carries about 7.6 g and a 50 g serving about 12.6 g. The ICMR-NIN guidelines note that fibre checks the absorption of carbohydrate and fat and raises a meal's satiety value.

Why black chana cause gas?

Black chana bring the sugars raffinose, stachyose and verbascose — galacto-oligosaccharides the small intestine cannot break down for want of the enzyme; they are fermented in the colon, and that fermentation releases gas. A 2019 review notes that this explanation has recently been questioned, and that most people who do get gas adapt within a few weeks, provided the pulses stay in the diet.

Is kala chana good for weight loss?

It fits the job: a 30 g katori comes to about 86 kcal with 5.6 g of protein and 7.6 g of fibre, and that fibre raises the meal's satiety value. The trials and the portion plan are on the kala chana for weight loss page.

What is kala chana called in english?

Bengal gram: IFCT 2017 files the whole dark chickpea as Bengal gram, whole, with Cicer arietinum as the botanical name, and the shop names brown chana and black chickpeas mean the same seed. The full list of Indian-language names is on harbhara in english.

Difference between kala chana and chickpeas?

What most people in India call chickpeas is the large cream-white kabuli type; kala chana is the small, dark, desi type of the same species. Per 100 g, the dark type runs lighter in energy, 287 kcal against 378, and carries about double the fibre; the white type answers with more protein and folate. The number-by-number split is on kala chana vs kabuli chana.