Moong Dal Benefits & How To Include It In Your Diet (With Recipes)
Moong dal can be a yellow or green gram lentil, commonly eaten lentil all across India. It is very healthy and benefits us in many different ways. Moong dal has a lot of important nutrients like vitamins, minerals, calcium, iron etc. lentils are a great form of putting protein in your body for vegetarians.
Some of its health benefits include
moong dal
Aids in weight loss: Moong dal is high in protein and low in calories. This will keep you full and satisfied for a long duration. As a result, your appetite will reduce and your weight will drop.
Improves metabolism and digestion: Moong dal is loaded with fibres and cleanses up your body from within and stimulates the metabolism.
It is good for the heart: Moong dal can regulate the blood pressure and cholesterol levels in the body.
Blood sugar regulator: it is a good option for people with diabetes and should be a part of your diet. When you eat this, the blood sugar levels do not spike immediately. It is filled with fibres and regulates digestion as well.
Effective against cancer: Moong dal can scavenge the harmful free radicals and is beneficial in life threatening diseases like cancer etc. Active against microorganisms like bacteria and fungus
Regulates blood circulation in the body: It help in stimulation of red blood cells that boost the oxygen supply to the organs.
Moong dal is filled with healthy nutrients: This has many vitamins like b complex. Contains complex carbohydrates. Fibre levels are also high. Our muscles need proteins to function well and this dal has loads of it. This is specially good for the vegetarians out there. Protein also helps in building up new tissues and repairing the old ones. Cartilage, skin, and bone are benefitted from it.
Very versatile and can be eaten in any form: Be it sprouts, dessert or savory items, this dal can be a part of any and almost every recipe.
Great option for vegetarians: This can be easily replaced by non veg food since it os a good source of protein.
Good for pregnancy: it is healthy for women who are pregnant as it has many healthy nutrients like vitamins, minerals. Pregnant women need good nutrition for the healthy growth and development of their child.
Moong dal nutrition
There are two types of moong dal – yellow and green. The green can be split one or with skin.
Both are good and nutritious. Both contain good amounts of protein and fibres. They are low on carbohydrates. Filled with vitamins and minerals, both essential and tract minerals.
But if you want to know which moong dal is the best then split moong dal wins hands down and has most amount of protein.
Moong dal sprouts
moong dal
Clean the moong dal thoroughly and soak them throughout the night. On the next day, wash with water and drain the water. The seeds will look a bit swollen. Damp with dab the seeds with a clean cloth and keep them in a dark, dark place. After a few days you will find that the sprouts have risen from it. you can store this in a fridge for few days. Add some chopped onion, tomato, salt, pepper, chilli to it to make it as a salad or a mid-morning snack. Add a dash of lemon to enhance the taste. Some people like to eat them in the breakfast as well. But be sure that they are not raw, specially if a pregnant woman is consuming it.
Some of the recipe that can be prepared by moong dal
moong dal in bowl
The very tasty and famous halwa made of moong dal
It is a great dessert and can be made low in calories if sugar is replaced with jaggery.
So what all you will need? Take 2 cups of milk, cardamom powder, jaggery as per how much sweetness you like, 2 tablespoons of good quality ghee, around a cup of soaked moong dal. Choose the dry fruits which you like cashew nuts, almonds, walnuts etc.
Method: you may soak the moong dal in water for few hours. Drain out the water and roast the dal until light brown. Be careful as it might get burnt if no precaution is taken. then grind it in the mixer grinder to obtain a fine and smooth mix. Take ghee in a pan and warm it. then add the powder to it. Roast it until a good smell comes. Now you can slowly start adding milk to it. but keep stirring continuously so that there are no lumps formed. Cook it well. Add the sugar or jaggery to it for a few minutes. Add dry fruits or cardamom powder to it.
For a yummy savoury treat try moong dal and paneer and enjoy it with a toast
if you eat eggs then substitute paneer with eggs. To make this take moong dal which is soaked in water and grind it to make a paste. Then, to this mixture add mashed paneer to it. cut around half an onion, tomato, chillies, coriander leaves. To this add all the indian spices like garam masala, chilli powder, black pepper, salt etc. whatever suits your taste. Take slices of your favorite bread and put it on a hot pan. Add ghee over the bread on one side. On the other side add the mixture prepared in how much quantity you like and then place the other bread on top of it. then reverse and toast it. serve it with ketchup or mint chutney.
Make a moong dal soup which will keep you warm in winters
It is very simple and all you need is mong dal, salt, and oil.
This soup is full of protein and is very simple to prepare. You should make this in a cooker. Add water and the moong dal inside the cooker. Cut up some onions in it and add salt as per taste.
Give it some whistles and it is ready.
An ideal breakfast option is the Moong Dal Chilla
for this you need soaked moong dal, onions and tomato. Grind the soaked moong dal with salt in a grinder and grind until you obtain a smooth paste. You can add water to this mixture which will help you spread it on the tawa or a hot pan. Also, You may add the chopped onions and tomatoes, salt, chilli powder, and mix all ingredients well. You may taste it and check if it is ok or not or something has to be added to it. Heat up the pan and spread oil on it. pour the batter that you have prepared on it and spread it uniformly like you would do for a dosa. If you feel one side is brown and cooked then add some oil again and give it a flip carefully. You may want to add a stuffing of protein inside the chila. Flip it and repeat until it is cooked. Serve along with a dip or chutney of your taste.
Moong dal dosa
The method to prepare a dosa or chila is the same. The only difference is that you need to cool the tawa with water to lower the temperature of the tawa to prevent the batter from sticking. You may spread the batter evenly and can even make the mixture more liquid than the chilla.
The best and lightest meal consisting of moong dal khichdi
For this take equal quantity of moong dal and rice. Soak both in water for a few hours. Now drain the water and add ghee to the pressure cooker. Then add the soaked dal and rice along with double water in it. Then you can add salt, chilli, haldi, etc. as per your taste and close the cooker and let it cook for a few minutes.
Moong dal idli
This is another yummy yet a simple dish to make. Prepare the batter the same way like you did for chilla. You can add eno or fruit salt to it to make the idli fluffy. You may also temper mustard seeds, urad dal and onions in oil with spices and add it to the idli batter. Pour the batter to a idli maker which should be greased for easy removal of the idlis. You may steam it or even can put it in the microwave.
REFERENCES
https://www.healthifyme.com/blog/many-benefits-moong-dal/
Comments