Vigna mungo

Mungo beans, mature seeds, raw
Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)
Carbohydrates	58.99
Sugars	0
Dietary fiber	18.3
Fat	1.64 g
Protein	25.21
Vitamins	Quantity %DV†
Thiamine (B1)	24% 0.273 mg
Riboflavin (B2)	21% 0.254 mg
Niacin (B3)	10% 1.447 mg
Pantothenic acid (B5)	0% 0.0 mg
Vitamin B6	22% 0.281 mg
Folate (B9)	157% 628 μg
Choline	0% 0 mg
Vitamin C	0% 0 mg
Vitamin E	0% 0 mg
Vitamin K	0% 0 μg
Minerals	Quantity %DV†
Calcium	14% 138 mg
Iron	58% 7.57 mg
Magnesium	75% 267 mg
Manganese	0% 0 mg
Phosphorus	54% 379 mg
Potassium	21% 983 mg
Sodium	3% 38 mg
Zinc	35% 3.35 mg
Other constituents	Quantity
Water	10.8
	Link to USDA Database entry
	Units; μg = micrograms • mg = milligrams; IU = International units;
	†Percentages are roughly approximated using US recommendations for adults. ; Source: USDA Nutrient Database

Vigna mungo
	Dry urad beans
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Rosids
Order:	Fabales
Family:	Fabaceae
Genus:	Vigna
Species:	V. mungo
Binomial name
	Vigna mungo; (L.) Hepper
Synonyms
	Azukia mungo (L.) Masam.; Phaseolus hernandezii Savi; Phaseolus mungo L.; Phaseolus roxburghii Wight & Arn.;

Vigna mungo, the black gram, urad bean, minapa pappu, mungo bean or black matpe bean (māṣa) is a bean grown in the South Asia. Like its relative, the mung bean, it has been reclassified from the Phaseolus to the Vigna genus. The product sold as black lentil is usually the whole urad bean, whereas the split bean (the interior being white) is called white lentil. It should not be confused with the much smaller true black lentil (Lens culinaris).

Black gram originated in South Asia, where it has been in cultivation from ancient times and is one of the most highly prized pulses of India. It is very widely used in Indian cuisine. The Coastal Andhra region in Andhra Pradesh is famous for black gram. The Guntur District ranks first in Andhra Pradesh for the production of black gram. In Nepal it is known as kalo maas daal or kalo daal (black legume) and it is a very popular daal (legume) side dish that goes with curry and rice as a platter. Black gram has also been introduced to other tropical areas such as the Caribbean, Fiji, Mauritius, and Africa, mainly by Indian immigrants during the Indian indenture system.

DescriptionEdit

It is an erect, suberect or trailing, densely hairy, annual bush. The tap root produces a branched root system with smooth, rounded nodules. The pods are narrow, cylindrical and up to six cm long. The plant grows 30–100 cm with large hairy leaves and 4–6 cm seed pods.^[2] While the urad bean was, along with the mung bean, originally placed in Phaseolus, it has since been transferred to Vigna.

CookingEdit

Idli and medu vada, a very common breakfast in South India

Crispy masala dosa made from batter

Dal makhani, a popular Indian dish with Vigna mungo as its main ingredient

Vigna mungo is popular in Northern India, largely used to make dal from the whole or split, dehusked seeds. The bean is boiled and eaten whole or, after splitting, made into dal; prepared like this it has an unusual mucilaginous texture.

It is also extensively used in South Indian culinary preparations. Black gram is one of the key ingredients in making idli and dosa batter, in which one part of black gram is mixed with three or four parts of idli rice to make the batter. Vada or udid vada also contain black gram and are made from soaked batter and deep-fried in cooking oil. The dough is also used in making papadum, in which white lentils are usually used.

It is very popular in Punjabi cuisine as an ingredient of dal makhani. In Bengal, it is used in biulir dal. In Rajasthan, It is used to prepare dal which is usually consumed with bati.

NutritionEdit

Black gram is very nutritious as it contains high levels of protein (25g/100g), potassium (983 mg/100g), calcium (138 mg/100g), iron (7.57 mg/100g), niacin (1.447 mg/100g), Thiamine (0.273 mg/100g), and riboflavin (0.254 mg/100g).^[3] Black gram complements the essential amino acids provided in most cereals and plays an important role in the diets of the people of Nepal and India.^[2] Black gram is also very high in folate (628µg/100g raw, 216µg/100g cooked).^[4]

Use in medieval crucible constructionEdit

In medieval times, this bean is said to have been used in making crucibles impermeable.^[5]

NamesEdit

Vigna mungo is known by various names across South and Southeast Asia. Its name in most languages of India derives from Proto-Dravidian *uẓ-untu-, borrowed into Sanskrit as uḍida:^[6]

Caribbean Hindustani/Fiji Hindi: उरदी दाल urdi dal
Gujarati: અળદ aḷad, અડદ aḍad
Punjabi: ਮਾਹਾ ਦਾਲ, "Maah di daal"
Hindi: उड़द दाल uṛad dāl, उरद दाल urad dāl
Kannada: ಉದ್ದು uddu, ಉದ್ದಿನ ಬೇಳೆ uddina bēḷe
Marathi/Konkani: उडीद uḍid
Malayalam: ഉഴുന്ന് uẓunu
Telugu: మినుములు minumulu and Uddhi Pappu in Rayalaseema
Tamil: உளுந்து uḷuntu, ulundu
Tulu: urdu bele
Urdu: اورد دال urad dāl

Its name in selected Indic languages, however, derives from Sanskrit masa

Bengali: মাসকালাই ডাল mashkalai ḍal
Nepali: Kalo Daal( black lentil) , मास mās
Punjabi : دال ماش dāl māsh

Other names include:

Oriya: ବିରି ଡାଲି biri ḍāli
Sinhala : උඳු undu
Myanmar: မတ်ပဲ matpe
Vietnamese: đậu muồng ăn

VarietiesEdit

Pant Urd 31 (PU-31) Lam Black Gram 884 (LBG 884) Trombay Urd (TU 40)

Pant U-13
JU-2
Type-9
Barkha
Gwalior-2

Mutant varieties:CO-1 and Sarla. Spring season varieties:Prabha and AKU-4. First urad bean variety developed in – T9(1948).

ReferencesEdit

^ "The Plant List: A Working List of All Plant Species". Retrieved 14 December 2014.
^ ^a ^b "Post Harvest Profile of Black Gram" (PDF). Government of India, Ministry of Agriculture. 2006.
^ "Mungo beans, mature seeds, raw". USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference. US Department of Agriculture.
^ Brink, Martin (2006). Plant resources of tropical Africa 1: cereals and pulses. Wageningen: PROTA Foundation. pp. 206–207. ISBN 978-90-5782-170-7.
^ Vijaya J. Deshpande. "Musavijnana or the ancient science of crucibles" (PDF). Indian National Science Academy.
^ Krishnamurti, Bhadriraju (2003). The Dravidian Languages. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 16. ISBN 978-0-521-02512-6.

BibliographyEdit

H.K. Bakhru (1997). Foods that Heal. The Natural Way to Good Health. Orient Paperbacks. ISBN 978-81-222-0033-1.
M. Nitin, S. Ifthekar, M. Mumtaz. 2012. Hepatoprotective activity of Methanolic extract of blackgram. RGUHS J Pharm Sci 2(2):62-67.

External linksEdit

Vigna mungo (L.) Hepper

[1] "The Plant List: A Working List of All Plant Species". Retrieved 14 December 2014.

[:0-2] "Post Harvest Profile of Black Gram" (PDF). Government of India, Ministry of Agriculture. 2006.

[3] "Mungo beans, mature seeds, raw". USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference. US Department of Agriculture.

[4] Brink, Martin (2006). Plant resources of tropical Africa 1: cereals and pulses. Wageningen: PROTA Foundation. pp. 206–207. ISBN 978-90-5782-170-7.

[5] Vijaya J. Deshpande. "Musavijnana or the ancient science of crucibles" (PDF). Indian National Science Academy.

[6] Krishnamurti, Bhadriraju (2003). The Dravidian Languages. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 16. ISBN 978-0-521-02512-6.

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