Moong dal protein per 100 g, calories, carbs and fibre: full nutrition

The table gives the raw, edible-portion composition of skinned split green gram from the Indian Food Composition Tables 2017 (food code B010), next to toor dal and chana dal from the same source. Energy is 326 kcal per 100 g, protein 23.88 g (23.9 g rounded), fat 1.35 g, carbohydrate 52.59 g and dietary fibre 9.37 g. Roughly 29 percent of the calories come from protein, 65 percent from carbohydrate and 4 percent from fat.

Minerals per 100 g: 3.93 mg iron, 43.1 mg calcium, 155 mg magnesium, 1268 mg potassium, 10.1 mg sodium and 2.49 mg zinc; folate is 92.1 mcg. IFCT does not report vitamin C for the dal, which means it was below the detectable limit. Sprouting raises the level of certain vitamins, the Dietary Guidelines for Indians note; how to sprout moong at home gives the method for whole moong.

Two things to keep in mind when reading the table. First, these are raw values: cooked dal is mostly water, so a katori of dal carries a fraction of these numbers, worked out in the next section. Second, IFCT tests the skinned dal; the skin-on chilka moong and the whole bean are not the same entry. Whole green gram has its own numbers on green gram protein per 100 g.

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.

Each 200 ml katori of cooked dal starts as roughly 30 g of dry dal; the rest is water. Multiplying the IFCT values by 0.30 gives, per katori: 98 kcal, 7.2 g protein, 15.8 g carbohydrate, 2.8 g fibre and 0.4 g fat, with 1.2 mg iron, 28 mcg folate, 380 mg potassium and 47 mg magnesium. That is the plain boiled dal; a teaspoon of ghee in the tadka and any oil for frying the onion come on top, and they add more calories than the dal's own fat does.

A dal-and-rice dinner where dal is the main dish uses closer to 50 g of dry dal: 163 kcal, 11.9 g protein and 4.7 g fibre. Moong dal khichdi cooks dal and rice together, 3/4 cup of rice to 1/2 cup of chilka moong in the recipe, so the protein on a plate is the dal's share plus a little from the rice; the recipe and its per-serving numbers are on moong dal khichdi. Moong dal chilla adds oil for the pan and moong dal halwa adds ghee and jaggery, so their numbers sit on their own recipe pages.

If you count protein, the katori is the useful unit: two katoris of cooked moong dal a day, from 60 g of dry dal, give about 14 g of protein, and the Dietary Guidelines for Indians include pulses in their plate for every day.

On protein, moong dal is ahead of both: 23.9 g per 100 g against 21.7 g for toor dal and 21.6 g for chana dal, a margin of about 2.2 g over toor. Calories are almost identical, 326, 331 and 329 kcal, so per calorie moong is the most protein-dense of the three. Urad dal sits in the same range.

On fibre the order flips. Chana dal has 15.2 g per 100 g, well ahead of moong's 9.4 g and toor's 9.1 g. Chana dal also carries the most fat, 5.3 g, against 1.4 g in moong and 1.6 g in toor. With high protein, moderate fibre and little fat, moong is also the dal many homes cook first for babies and for anyone recovering from illness.

Protein quality matters as much as quantity. The 2018 Food and Nutrition Research review of mung bean proteins by Yi-Shen and colleagues reports that, measured against FAO/WHO amino acid recommendations, mung bean is a good protein source except for low levels of the sulphur amino acids methionine and cysteine. Pulses are rich in lysine and cereals in methionine and cysteine, the Dietary Guidelines for Indians explain, so eating the two together covers every amino acid; dal with rice or roti, and khichdi, do exactly that. The moong dal benefits page takes each nutrient through what it does in the body, and the moong dal guide covers the cooking.

The University of Sydney database lists one India-tested entry for plain green gram, with a GI of 38; the entry does not say whether the sample was split dal or the whole bean, so take 38 as the figure for moong in general. On that scale 55 and under is low, 56 to 69 medium and 70 and above high, which puts moong dal firmly in the low band.

The two comparison dals test lower still in the same database: boiled Bengal gram dal, India-tested, at 11, and boiled pigeon peas at a mean of 20 across four entries, none of them from India and all for the whole pea rather than split toor dal. Read those as a family resemblance rather than a ranking: Mudryj and colleagues' 2014 review calls pulses as a group fibre-rich and low-GI.

The University of Sydney's GI test feeds people a portion of one food and tracks their blood glucose, so 38 describes the dal on its own, not a meal of dal with rice or roti. Khichdi and moong dal halwa are mixed dishes, and no GI is given for them here. If you eat by GI for a medical reason, talk to your doctor or dietitian about portions rather than relying on one figure.

Folate: 92.1 mcg per 100 g, or 28 mcg in a katori. Chana dal has more at 182 mcg and toor dal 108 mcg, so if folate is the point, chana or a mix of dals does better than moong alone; still, a daily katori of moong is a real contribution, and the Dietary Guidelines for Indians note that folic acid needs are higher in pregnancy.

Iron: 3.93 mg per 100 g, the same as toor dal's 3.9 mg and behind chana dal's 6.08 mg. This is non-haem iron, absorbed far less readily than the iron in meat, and pulses carry phytate that binds it. Three habits from the Dietary Guidelines for Indians improve the yield: vitamin C at the same meal (lemon on the dal), soaking the dal before cooking, and keeping tea at least an hour away from the meal.

Potassium: 1268 mg per 100 g, 380 mg in a katori, with only 10.1 mg sodium before you add salt. Toor dal has more at 1395 mg and chana dal less at 957 mg. This is the number that matters for anyone told to restrict potassium for kidney reasons.

Magnesium: 155 mg per 100 g, 47 mg per katori, the highest of the three dals (toor 119 mg, chana dal 118 mg). Calcium is modest at 43.1 mg, and zinc 2.49 mg; toor gives 71.7 mg calcium and chana dal 3.65 mg zinc. Taken together, they are why a plate of dal-chawal is more than protein and starch.

How much protein in 100 gm moong dal?

23.9 g of protein per 100 g of raw moong dal, per IFCT 2017 (23.88 g exactly). That is more than toor dal (21.7 g) or chana dal (21.6 g). Cooked, a katori made from 30 g of dry dal gives about 7.2 g, and two katoris a day give about 14 g.

Does moong dal have protein?

Yes, and a lot for a plant food: 23.9 g per 100 g raw, with about 29 percent of its calories coming from protein. The protein is rich in lysine and low in methionine, so pair it with rice or roti, whose proteins are the opposite, to get a complete amino-acid mix. Of the three dals compared on this page, it has the most.

Is moong dal good for weight loss?

It fits well: a katori of plain cooked moong dal is about 98 kcal with 7.2 g protein and 2.8 g fibre, filling for its size, and its GI of 38 is low. It only helps as a swap for some of the rice or roti, not as an extra; the ghee in the tadka and fried moong dal namkeen count too. If the weight plan is tied to a medical condition, agree it with your doctor or dietitian.

How many calories are in a katori of moong dal?

About 98 kcal for a katori of plain cooked dal made from 30 g of dry moong dal (326 kcal per 100 g raw, IFCT 2017). The tadka is the variable: each teaspoon of ghee or oil adds noticeably more than the dal's own fat, which is only 0.4 g per katori. A larger serving from 50 g of dry dal is about 163 kcal.

Which moong dal is best for weight loss?

Any of them can fit: the portion and the tadka matter more than the type. Whole moong has more fibre than the skinned dal in IFCT 2017, and it can be sprouted for salads. IFCT has no entry for the skin-on chilka dal, so its exact fibre is not in the database. Yellow dal works too; keep the tadka light.

Does moong dal increase uric acid?

Moong dal contains purines, which the body breaks down to uric acid, yet a 2019 review by Jakse and colleagues notes that most uric acid is made from the body's own purines, with food the minor source. Following 47,150 men for 12 years, Choi and colleagues saw no increase in gout with more purine-rich plant foods. No source here sets a safe amount for gout or a high uric acid reading; ask your doctor or dietitian.