This is the richest, healthiest vegetarian source of protein

Most non-vegetarians go about raving how vegetarians have no real protein options and in return, vegetarians respond by saying, ‘we have dal.’ Vegetarians tend to believe that they can get their share of protein with a bowl or two of dal. This is a big myth as dal is not complete protein – along with some protein, dals have the very carb that you wish to avoid. That is the reason many fitness enthusiasts will advise you against having dal while on a weight loss mission. In an exclusive interview, FITTR (formerly known as SQUATS) founder Jitendra Chouksey shared, “Dal is a high-carb source and not really a high-protein source, which many people believe it to be.” So if you are downing bowls of dal, you may still not be able to meet your daily protein requirement.

An easy way to understand this is to see the nutritional content of dal. Cooked dal has 9 per cent protein, 70 per cent water, 20 per cent carbohydrates and 1 per cent fat. So now that we know that dals may not be the perfect choice of protein for vegetarians, let us look at what is!

“I am into heavy workouts and just recently turned vegan. But I haven’t been missing out on my protein requirement because I swear by soya, which is a great vegetarian alternative to protein.” Soya is clearly the best source of plant-based protein. Its protein content is 36–56% of the dry weight. For example, one cup of boiled soybeans contains around 29 grams of protein.

Among dals, black lentils are said to have a higher protein content over green lentils, chickpeas, black beans and split dals. But still soya surpasses them all when it comes to the final protein count.