Moong dal is a good example of why nutrition numbers need context.
Look up protein in moong dal per 100g and you may see around 24g. Look up 100g cooked moong dal, and the number can look dramatically lower. Nothing mysterious happened to the protein in the pressure cooker.
The first number usually refers to dry dal. The second includes all the water absorbed during cooking. This confusion isn’t unique to moong it’s true for protein in dal per 100g generally, across toor, chana, and urad too. But moong is where people notice it most, because it shows up on so many plates in so many different forms.
Indian Food Composition Tables list green gram dal at about 23.9g protein and 326 calories per 100g dry weight. So 100 gm moong dal protein works out to roughly 24g but that’s dry weight, not what lands in your bowl.
| Dry Moong Dal | Approx. Protein |
| 25 g | 6 g |
| 50 g | 12 g |
| 75 g | 18 g |
| 100 g | 24 g |
For home cooking, these dry-weight numbers are far easier to use than working backwards from a bowl of cooked dal.
Protein isn’t the only number worth knowing. Moong dal calories per 100g dry weight come to roughly 326, alongside about 59g carbohydrate, 1g fat, and 16g fibre.
| Nutrient (per 100g dry moong dal) | Approx. Value |
| Calories | 326 kcal |
| Protein | 24 g |
| Carbohydrate | 59 g |
| Fat | 1 g |
| Fibre | 16 g |
So while moong dal protein is strong for a pulse, carbohydrate still makes up the bulk of the dry weight.
Whole green moong (the unsplit, skin-on bean) and split yellow moong dal come from the same source, so green moong dal protein per 100g sits in a broadly similar range to split dal typically 23-24g per 100g dry. The main practical difference isn’t protein content but fibre and cooking time: whole green moong retains its skin, which adds fibre and takes longer to cook, while split dal cooks faster and is easier to digest. If you’re sprouting moong, protein per 100g stays roughly similar, though sprouting changes water content significantly, similar to the dry-vs-cooked effect below.
Take 50g dry dal it contains roughly 12g protein. Add water and cook it, and the finished dal may weigh far more than 50g, depending on how thick or watery you make it.
The protein didn’t disappear. You simply added water. This is why cooked moong dal protein per 100g always reads lower than the dry-weight figure it’s the same protein, diluted across a heavier, water-added serving.
This matters because two people can both say they ate “one bowl of dal” and have eaten very different amounts of actual dal.
There’s no honest single answer unless we know how much dry dal went into the serving.
If your portion contains the equivalent of 40g dry moong dal, you’re getting roughly 9-10g protein from the dal. At 50g dry, it’s around 12g. A larger 75g dry portion gets you close to 18g.
This is more useful than assuming every katori in India is the same size, or that every household cooks dal to the same thickness.
Moong appears in several forms, and the recipe changes what finally reaches your plate.
A bowl of moong dal may have a high proportion of dal. Khichdi also contains rice, so protein depends on the dal-to-rice ratio. Moong dal chilla can use a more concentrated amount of dal per serving.
So “made from moong” tells you the ingredient it doesn’t tell you the final macros.
For a pulse, yes it has a strong protein number. But dry moong dal also carries substantial carbohydrate and calories alongside that protein.
Better to call it an important protein contributor in an Indian vegetarian diet rather than expect one bowl to complete your day’s protein target on its own. Dal with curd, paneer, tofu, or eggs makes it much easier to build a genuinely higher-protein meal see our protein in tofu per 100g guide or protein in paneer per 100g guide for pairing ideas.
Moong dal fits comfortably into a weight-loss diet. It brings protein and fibre, and a simple dal can be genuinely filling.
But tadka isn’t invisible. Neither is the rice, roti, or ghee eaten alongside it. If you’re tracking calories, note the dry dal used in the recipe and roughly what fraction of the pot you ate. Alpha Coach Pro or another calorie tracker can then give a far better estimate than picking a generic “one bowl dal” entry.
Roughly 24g per 100g dry moong dal significantly lower once cooked, due to absorbed water.
About 23.9g per USDA/Indian food composition data a good practical estimate is 24g.
Because cooking adds water weight without adding protein the same 12g from 50g dry dal is now spread across a heavier cooked portion.
Around 326 calories for dry moong dal, alongside 59g carbohydrate and 16g fibre.
Not significantly both come from the same source and sit in a similar 23-24g range dry. The real difference is fibre and cooking time, not protein.
Yes, especially as a simple, lightly tempered dal the oil/ghee and accompaniments matter more than the dal itself for calorie control.
Dry moong dal provides roughly 24g protein per 100g. A 50g dry portion gives about 12g.
Once cooked, the dal becomes heavier because of water, so protein per 100g of cooked food naturally looks lower. The protein hasn’t vanished it’s just diluted.
For practical tracking, start with the dry quantity whenever you can. It saves a lot of confusion, and pairs well with our other protein per 100g guides if you’re building out a full high-protein vegetarian day.
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