What is the right way to prepare lentils? All the protein is not flowing down the drain, ICMR has issued a guideline

ICMR Guidelines on How to Cook Dal: For vegetarians, dal is a very good option for protein. Tadka dal is unmatched in taste. Be it dal-rice or dal-roti, it has many benefits from taste to health benefits. Indian food cannot be imagined without dal. But do you know that if you cook this lentil rich in nutrients in the wrong way, then instead of delivering its nutrients to your body, you are throwing it down the drain. ICMR had recently released its guidelines. If we believe these guidelines, then there are many people who waste all its nutrients by cooking lentils in the wrong way. Let us tell you about it in detail.

According to the latest instructions of ICMR, “Boiling or pressure cooking is the best way to improve the nutritional quality of pulses. When we boil or pressure cook pulses, anti-nutritional factors (enzyme inhibitors that do not allow nutrients to be digested) are destroyed. Therefore, these methods of cooking pulses increase the digestibility. In this way, more protein is also obtained. It is said that the best way to maintain folate in pulses is to add only as much water as necessary while boiling, so that there is no need to filter the water. Cooking in this way also improves the taste of pulses.

Further, ICMR emphasises that Cooking lentils for a long time reduces their nutritional value. Overcooking leads to loss of lysine present in lentils. Therefore, it is very important to add only the required amount of water while boiling.

Please note that boiling and Cooking in a pressure cooker changes the structure of the proteins found in pulses. This change occurs due to heat. However, pulses also contain heat-stable proteins. These are called globulins. These globulins are less affected by heat than animal proteins, so a significant portion of them remains intact even after cooking. Lectins are completely destroyed when lentils are cooked both by boiling and pressure cooking. Lectins can affect your digestion and heat makes them harmless.

Tags: health benefits, nutritional security