Masoor dal protein per 100g: calories, carbs, fat and GI

The table prints the masoor dal nutritional value per 100 g of raw, uncooked dal as IFCT 2017 (ICMR-National Institute of Nutrition) records it, with toor dal and moong dal from the same tables beside it. Energy comes to 323 kcal; IFCT states the energy as 1349 kJ and converts at 4.18, which is how the 323 kcal on this page is arrived at. Read down the rows and the pattern shows: masoor leads the three dals on protein and fibre, and carries the least fat.

Two reading notes before the numbers. First, these are raw values: dal absorbs water as it cooks, so a 100 g spoonful of cooked dal holds only a fraction of these figures, and the sections below count per katori from the dry dal the kitchen actually measures. Second, the entry covers the split, skinned dal, the form sold as red lentils; IFCT keeps the whole lentil under separate entries, so no whole-masoor numbers are quoted.

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.

Masoor dal protein per 100g is 24.35 g, the strongest protein row of the three dals in the table: IFCT 2017 lists toor dal at 21.70 g, about 12 percent less, and moong dal at 23.88 g, a shade below masoor's. Cooked, that protein concentrates into everyday portions: a katori cooked from 30 g dry holds about 7.3 g, and a 50 g dry serving about 12.2 g.

Quality sits beside quantity. Cereal proteins run short of the amino acid lysine, which pulses carry in better supply, so the Dietary Guidelines for Indians find that cereals and pulses combined at a 3:1 raw-weight ratio can satisfy the requirement for all the essential amino acids; dal with rice or roti is that pairing on a plate, and khichdi cooks it in one pot. Anyone counting protein should read masoor as a dal that also brings the fibre and iron in the table above, and give it a grain at the same meal. The dal-to-dal arithmetic against toor continues on masoor dal vs toor dal, and the masoor dal hub covers names, forms and storage.

Masoor dal calories per 100g: 323 kcal, the lowest energy row of the three dals here, against 331 kcal for toor and 326 kcal for moong. Fat is lower too: masoor's 0.75 g per 100 g is about half of toor's 1.56 g, and it sits below moong's 1.35 g as well.

Per katori the arithmetic is simple. One katori of cooked masoor dal made from 30 g of dry dal comes to about 97 kcal, with 0.2 g of fat, and two katoris come to about 194 kcal. For anyone logging food: IFCT 2017 prints the raw dal, not a cooked 100 g, because the cooked weight shifts with how much water the pot held. Every number here is counted on the dry dal that went in, which is also how the kitchen measures it.

Carbohydrate in masoor dal per 100g is 52.53 g, close to toor's 55.23 g and moong's 52.59 g; a katori carries about 15.8 g of it. Fibre is where masoor stands apart among the three: 10.43 g per 100 g, against 9.06 g in toor and 9.37 g in moong, about 15 percent and 11 percent more, and a katori gives about 3.1 g of that fibre. The Dietary Guidelines for Indians spell out the fibre's job: it delays and retards the absorption of carbohydrates and fats, and raises the satiety value of a meal.

Fat is masoor's quietest figure: 0.75 g per 100 g, the lowest of the three dals, so a plain katori lands at 97 kcal and the fat in a masoor dish comes mostly from the tempering you add. A 2014 review of pulses in Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism sums the family up: pulses provide protein and fibre along with iron, zinc, folate and magnesium, and they carry a low glycemic index. Masoor's own GI number is the next section.

The glycemic index of masoor dal stands at 25 in the University of Sydney GI database — an average over five recorded boiled-lentil tests spanning 18 to 32. Four entries are Canadian tests of red lentils dried and boiled, and one is a UK test of red split lentils boiled for 25 minutes. India has no tested plain masoor entry, and the database's two South Asian entries — a Sri Lankan masoor parippu curry served with bread and a Pakistani masoor daal khichari — count as mixed dishes, so the mean leaves them aside. The University's bands put low at 55 and below and high at 70 and above, which places masoor dal in the low band.

Read the GI with its standard definition in mind. Under the international method, the test feeds ten or more people a portion holding 50 g of carbohydrate, then compares each person's two-hour glucose response with their own response to plain glucose. A katori of masoor carries about 15.8 g of carbohydrate, well under the 50 g of a test portion; at the table, the portion and the company still decide the meal's response. The evidence and the portions for blood sugar are on the masoor dal for diabetes page.

The minerals are masoor's second strength. Iron comes to 7.06 mg per 100 g, far ahead of toor's 3.90 mg and moong's 3.93 mg, and a katori carries about 2.1 mg; zinc follows the same pattern at 3.61 mg, against 2.63 mg in toor and 2.49 mg in moong. IFCT 2017 lists folate at 49.99 mcg per 100 g, which rounds to 50 mcg, or 15 mcg per katori, and prints no vitamin C value for the dal, nor for the toor and moong entries beside it. Magnesium is 74.69 mg, potassium 786 mg and sodium only 10.27 mg per 100 g, so nearly all the salt in a bowl of masoor is the salt the cook adds; calcium is 44.32 mg.

Two absorption points close the section. The guidelines rate the availability of iron from plant foods as poor, and they ask for vitamin C-rich fruits such as guava and orange, or coriander chutneys, in the same meal to improve it, while tea binds dietary iron and belongs an hour away from the meal. Pulses also carry phytic acid, which hinders mineral absorption; boiling or pressure cooking brings it down to a great extent, the same guidelines note, while a 2018 study of Canadian pulses found soaking lowered lectins and oxalates yet left phytic acid untouched, cooking being the stronger measure (Shi and colleagues). Folate has its own cooking rule: boil in just enough water without draining, which keeps it in the pot. What these nutrients do for you, and the side effects, is on the masoor dal benefits page, and the dishes are in the masoor dal recipes roundup.

How much protein in masoor dal?

IFCT 2017 records 24.35 g in every 100 g of raw split masoor dal, the red lentils of Indian shops. One katori, made with 30 g of dry dal, gives about 7.3 g, and a 50 g dry serving about 12.2 g. Served beside rice or roti, the dal's protein also complements the cereal's, since the Dietary Guidelines note cereals have lower levels of lysine and pulses higher.

Does masoor dal have protein?

Yes — 24.35 g per 100 g raw (IFCT 2017), which puts it above toor dal's 21.70 g and moong's 23.88 g. A katori cooked from 30 g dry gives about 7.3 g of it. It is plant protein; a grain at the same meal — rice or roti — improves the meal's protein quality, as the guidelines describe.

What is masoor dal?

The split and skinned lentil, Lens culinaris, sold as red lentils; IFCT 2017 records the food as Lentil, dal. The same seed sold whole with its brown coat is sabut masoor. Split masoor cooks soft without a long soak, so it suits everyday tadkas, khichdi and soups.

Should masoor dal be soaked overnight?

It does not have to be. The Dietary Guidelines for Indians count soaking among the household methods that help legumes digest, but they give no soak time, and split masoor cooks soft without one. What matters is complete cooking: the same guidelines name boiling or pressure cooking as the route that most improves a pulse's nutritional quality.

Can masoor dal cause gas?

It can, like other pulses. The galacto-oligosaccharides in pulses pass through the small intestine undigested and ferment in the colon, releasing gas; a 2019 review notes the classic account has recently come under question, and that most people who get gas grow used to pulses within a few weeks of continuing to eat them. How much gas appears varies from person to person.

Is masoor dal non veg?

No. Masoor dal is the seed of the lentil plant, a field crop, so both shop forms — whole sabut masoor and split red dhuli masoor — are fully vegetarian. Nothing about the lentil comes from an animal, and its 24.35 g of protein per 100 g raw is plant protein.