10 benefits of masoor dal (and its side effects)

All ten entries below rest on the same IFCT 2017 values for 100 g of raw dal and shown beside toor and moong dal in the table: masoor tops the three on protein, fibre and iron, and sits lowest on fat. Cooked, the figures compress into portions — one katori, cooked from 30 g of dry dal, carries about 97 kcal, 7.3 g of protein and 3.1 g of fibre. The per-100 g arithmetic sits on the masoor dal nutrition page.

One frame before the list. Whole masoor dal benefits rest on the same seed as the split dal this page measures; IFCT records the whole lentil under separate entries, so the numbers here belong to the split, skinned dal that Indian shops sell as red lentils. The which masoor dal is best guide sorts whole from split.

Per 100 g raw, edible portion. Composition: IFCT 2017 (ICMR-NIN). 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.

1. Protein, 24.35 g per 100 g. That is roughly 12 percent over toor dal's 21.70 g and a notch over moong's 23.88 g. Quality rides with quantity: pulses are higher in the lysine that cereals carry less of, and the Dietary Guidelines for Indians find that combining cereals and pulses at three-to-one by raw weight can supply every essential amino acid the body needs. Dal beside rice or roti is exactly that pairing, and a katori brings about 7.3 g of the protein.

2. Fibre, 10.43 g per 100 g. The same guidelines describe what the fibre does: it slows carbohydrate and fat absorption and lifts a meal's satiety value, and a katori carries about 3.1 g.

3. A low glycemic index, 25. The University of Sydney database averages five boiled red-lentil tests — spread 18 to 32, none of them from India — at 25, inside the low band that ends at 55. A 2009 meta-analysis of 41 randomised trials in people with and without diabetes, published in Diabetologia, adds the pulses-wide evidence: pulse-containing diets showed improved markers of longer-term glycaemic control, including fasting blood glucose and HbA1c or fructosamine. The dal's part, with portions, is on the masoor dal for diabetes page.

4. Iron, 7.06 mg per 100 g. Nearly double toor's 3.90 mg, the richest iron of the three table dals, and a katori contributes about 2.1 mg. The guidelines say vitamin C-rich fruits, or a chutney of coriander and green chilli, eaten as part of the meal improve iron absorption from plant foods, and that tea be kept at least an hour away from meals.

5. Folate, 49.99 mcg per 100 g. Rounds to 50 mcg, or 15 mcg a katori. Cooking in just enough water, drained never, is the guidelines' instruction for keeping folate in the pot.

6. Weight. A 2016 meta-analysis in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition pooled 21 randomised trials in 940 adults and found pulse-emphasising diets produced 0.34 kg more weight loss than control diets over a median of six weeks. A katori of masoor lands at 97 kcal with 3.1 g of fibre. Portions for a plan are on the masoor dal for weight loss page.

7. Blood lipids. A 2026 dose-response meta-analysis in the Journal of the American Heart Association pooled 38 trials with 2,095 adults and measured LDL cholesterol 0.14 mmol/L lower (95% CI -0.19 to -0.08) and non-HDL cholesterol 0.22 mmol/L lower on pulse diets; the authors saw similar effects across pulse types and called for future studies on chickpeas, dried peas and lentils. Read that as a pulses finding, not a masoor-only result.

8. Zinc, 3.61 mg per 100 g. The most zinc of the three table dals, ahead of toor's 2.63 mg and moong's 2.49 mg, with magnesium at 74.69 mg and calcium at 44.32 mg beside it. A 2014 review in Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism counts iron, zinc, folate and magnesium among the reasons pulses matter in diets.

9. Potassium, 786 mg per 100 g. With only 10.27 mg of sodium, so the dal brings far more potassium than sodium before the cook reaches for the salt.

10. Prebiotic carbohydrates. A 2015 review in Nutrients describes the lentil as a staple for millions of people that supplies energy, micronutrients and prebiotic carbohydrates.

Gas. The galacto-oligosaccharides in pulses — raffinose, stachyose, verbascose — pass through the small intestine undigested and ferment in the colon. A 2019 review in Current Opinion in Food Science reports that this classic account has recently come into doubt, and that gas-sufferers mostly adapt within a few weeks of steady intake; the same review finds no evidence of harmful lectins or trypsin inhibitors in properly cooked pulses.

Uric acid and gout. A 2019 Nutrients review explains that the body makes most of its uric acid itself, with a smaller part coming from food, and it files cooked lentils in the low purine band of 50-100 mg per 100 g; it still advises caution in gout and advanced kidney disease and names no 'safe' amount. Direct evidence comes from Choi's 2004 study of 47,150 men followed for 12 years, in which 730 developed gout: purine-rich vegetables and total protein intake were not associated with an increased gout risk. If gout or kidney disease is in your file, ask your doctor or a dietitian before changing how much dal you eat.

Phytic acid and oxalates. Phytic acid in pulses hinders the absorption of minerals such as iron, calcium, magnesium and zinc, and boiling or pressure cooking cuts it to a great extent, the Dietary Guidelines say. A 2018 Canadian pulse study found soaking reduced lectins and oxalates while phytic acid stayed put, and that cooking outperformed soaking on all three; raw lentils' total oxalates measured 168.6-289.1 mg per 100 g. Anyone on an oxalate-restricted diet should check with their doctor or dietitian before making lentils a daily food.

The side effects define the caution list: gout and advanced kidney disease, oxalate-restricted diets, and anyone new to pulses, who may simply take a while to get used to them. For everyone else the guidelines' pulses allowance stands. Expectant mothers should read the masoor dal in pregnancy page, and parents masoor dal for babies before a first bowl; for infants the guidelines bring in one new food at a time for 4 to 5 days, and advise seeking medical advice if an intolerance persists.

The Dietary Guidelines for Indians set the adult plate's pulses-and-legumes allowance at 85 g a day, split between dal and the day's other legumes. Nearly three katoris of cooked masoor would fill it: each katori starts from 30 g of dry dal, so 85 g is 2.8 katoris. Each katori gives about 97 kcal and 7.3 g of protein. The masoor dal for weight loss page works the portions in detail.

The masoor dal uses that searches ask about are mostly five dishes. The classic masoor dal recipe pressure cooks a cup of dal in three cups of water — one whistle plus six minutes on low — and tops it with a tadka of ghee, cumin, garlic and hing; a bowl lands at about 229 kcal with 12.2 g of protein. Masoor dal khichdi is two parts rice to one part dal at about 327 kcal a bowl, and the masoor dal soup is the lighter dinner at about 199 kcal a bowl. Breakfast runs on the masoor dal dosa and the masoor dal porridge. All five, with full methods, are collected in the masoor dal recipes roundup.

Only the dosa needs a long soak — four to five hours, for its batter; the khichdi gives its dal a short 15-minute soak with the rice, and the rest cook straight from a rinse. The dal-to-dal comparison is on masoor dal vs toor dal, and the lentil's story closes on the masoor dal hub.

Is masoor dal good for health?

The numbers say yes: per 100 g raw, IFCT 2017 records 24.35 g of protein, 10.43 g of fibre, 7.06 mg of iron and 0.75 g of fat, plus a glycemic index of 25. Trials on pulses back small improvements in weight, blood glucose and blood lipids, and the guidelines count pulses inside a balanced Indian plate.

How much protein in masoor dal?

IFCT 2017 prints 24.35 g in every 100 g of raw split dal. A katori of the cooked dal, from 30 g dry, holds about 7.3 g, and a 50 g dry serving about 12.2 g. The same 100 g also packs 10.43 g of fibre and 7.06 mg of iron — the trio behind the dal's spot in protein and weight plans.

Does masoor dal cause gas?

In some people, yes. The galacto-oligosaccharides in pulses reach the colon undigested and ferment there; a 2019 review notes the explanation has lately been questioned, and that most people grow tolerant within a few weeks of continuing. How much gas shows up varies from person to person.

Why red lentils are good for you?

Red lentils — masoor dal's English name — bring 24.35 g of protein, 10.43 g of fibre and 7.06 mg of iron per 100 g raw (IFCT 2017) at a glycemic index of 25, so a 97 kcal katori delivers about 7.3 g of protein and 3.1 g of fibre. Reviews of pulse trials tie such diets to small improvements in weight, glucose and LDL cholesterol.

Should masoor dal be soaked overnight?

There is no need. Split masoor softens in minutes from a rinse alone, and the guidelines name soaking among household aids to legume digestion without attaching any duration. Full cooking is the step that actually matters: the same guidelines call boiling or pressure cooking the best route to a pulse's nutritional quality.

Does masoor dal have protein?

Plenty: 24.35 g per 100 g of raw dal (IFCT 2017), above toor dal at 21.70 g and moong dal at 23.88 g, with about 7.3 g in a katori cooked from 30 g dry. It is plant protein, so the same meal should hold a cereal — rice or roti — because the two together improve protein quality, as the guidelines describe.