9 Fabulous Health Benefits of Green Moong Dal + 8 healthy moong dal recipes

Green Moong Dal benefits. Split moong beans or green moong dal is green gram that has been split but not skinned. Since the husk is not removed completely, the green colour is retained. The splitting is done in a mill.

Green moong dal a traditional ingredient in Indian cooking, often used in curries. Like other legumes, split green gram is low in fat and high in protein and fibre, but it has the added advantage of cooking quickly. Here we bring you 9 fabulous health benefits of moong dal.

1. Good for Blood: Moong dal is rich in Folate, Vitamin B9 or Folic Acid which helps your body to produce and maintain new cells, especially red blood cells. Pair moong dal with rice to make soothing Moong Dal Khichdi. 

Moong Dal Khichdi, Gujarati Recipe

2. Importance during pregnancy: It is particularly important for pregnant women to have enough folate. They must start having folate rich foods even while they are planning to conceive. Folic acid deficiency in pregnancy can cause neural tube defects in the growing baby. Optimum folate levels need to be maintained before and during pregnancy. Try combining more than one source of folate in one recipe to make up for your increased nutrient demands of pregnancy. Once such flavourful dish is Moong Dal Sultani. 

Moong Dal Sultani

3. Moong dal Benefits for Heart: Being rich in Antioxidants like Flavonoids, mung reduces the damage done by free radicals to the blood vessels and lowers inflammation. They help in the free flow of blood. It works with B-vitamins to maintain normal heart rate. Being rich in magnesium it reduces mortality from cardiovascular disease especially in women. Moong dal is a good source of phosphorus and magnesium, both of which help in maintaining normal heartbeat. Potassium also maintains the heart rhythm. Non-fried version of Moong Dal Papadi is an interesting way to include this split bean to your diet. It doesn’t even need an oven, you can make it on tava.  

Moong Dal Papadi, Healthy Jar Snack

4. Builds immunity: Being a rich source of magnesium it helps in building immunity. Magnesium is also required to carry out normal bodily functions as it is involved in more than 300 reactions of the body. Try it in the form of Moong Dal Sultani.  

5. High Fiber: Moong Dal or Split Green Gram are high in Fibre and 1 cup of cooked Moong dal gives 28.52% of your daily Fibre requirements. Fibre results in your stomach feeling a lot fuller than refined carbs. When you feel full, it will prevent you from eating the wrong foods. Imagine eating a candy and you just want to have more and more of it. That’s because there is only sugar in it and no fibre. So pick foods with high fibre like moong dal to make delicacies Moong Dal Waffles with Stir-fried Vegetables. 

Moong Dal Waffles with Stir-fried Vegetables

6. Moong dal Benefits in Weight Loss: As Moong is low in fat and high in protein and fibre, eating moong dal will keep you fuller for a longer time and prevent you from binge eating. Moong Dal ki Chaat is sure to appeal you – it has the dal, a whole lot of fruits and vegetables along with some chaat masala and lemon juice to pep up the taste. 

Moong Dal Ki Chaat (100 Calorie Snacks)

7. B-complex Vitamins: Moong Dal is also a good source of B-vitamins that are essential for metabolism, by helping convert nutrients into energy. Riboflavin acts as an anti-oxidant. Niacin is good for skin and prevents it from sun damage. At snack time try delicious Green Moong Dal and Carrot Mini Pancakes. 

Green Moong Dal and Carrot Mini Pancakes

8. Moong dal Benefits to build our Bones: Being rich in Phosphorus it works with Calcium to build our bones. Moong Dal Dhokla – a famous Gujarati snack helps you gain in these nutrients partly.

Moong Dal Dhokla ( Low Calorie Healthy Cooking)

9. Suitable for Diabetics: The glycemic index of moong dal is 29 which is low, therefore it is suitable for diabetics. Moong dal is an excellent source of complex carbohydrates which is the major form of energy. When you eat food it is broken down into glucose which is used by our body for energy. {ad5}But the best part about complex carbs is it is released in the blood stream slowly and do not fluctuate your blood sugar rapidly. This makes it suitable for diabetics to have 30 grams of raw moong dal at a time to manage your sugar levels. We have especially created the recipe of Green Moong Dal and Vegetable Idli which is totally devoid of rice (a high glycemic index food). 

Green Moong Dal and Vegetable Idli, Healthy Moong Dal Idlis

{ad6}

Nutrition Information for Moong Dal       

One cup of cooked Green Moong dal is obtained from approximately raw ½ cup of raw green Moong dal

RDA stands for Recommended Daily Allowance.

348 Calories

24.5 grams of Protein

59.9 grams of Carbs

8.2 g of fiber

1.2 grams of Fat

121.80 mcg of Folic Acid = 60.9% of RDA (about 200 mcg)

See full nutritional details of moong dal in Moong Dal glossary click here.

{ad7}

8 healthy green moong dal recipes

healthy green moong dal Indian recipes.We have used Moong dal in parathas, idlis and pancakes. Also as a snack you could have Green moong dal handvo and low calories moong dal dhokla or for healthy breakfast there is moong dal chilla. On the innovative side we have a waffle! Yes the Indian moong dal waffle as a base instead of plain flour and packed with stir fried vegetables. See here for  300 moong dal recipes.