Moth Bean (Matki) Nutrition Calculator — Raw, Cooked, Sprouted & Roasted

Moth bean (Vigna aconitifolia) delivers 649mcg folate per 100g dry seeds — exceeding mung bean (625mcg), chickpea (557mcg), lentil (479mcg), and horse gram (163mcg) ^[1]. Even after boiling, a 1-cup cooked serving (180g) retains approximately 432mcg folate (108% DV), making moth bean one of the most folate-efficient pulses per cooked serving.

This exceptional folate density is well-documented across USDA Standard Reference data and multiple Indian studies. For meal journaling, moth bean is one of the most effective single-food folate sources available in the Indian pulse market ^[2].

USDA data confirms moth bean's iron at 10.9mg per 100g dry (61% DV) — higher than horse gram (8.8mg), kidney bean (8.2mg), lentil (6.5mg), and chickpea (6.2mg) ^[1][3]. A half-cup dry serving (50g) provides 5.5mg iron (31% DV) before cooking.

The Springer review of moth bean nutrition reports iron content ranging from 10.8-15.1mg per 100g across genotypes, with zinc at 1.9-3.6mg. Pairing moth bean with vitamin C sources (lemon juice, tomato) during consumption may enhance non-heme iron uptake ^[3].

Moth bean's magnesium at 381mg per 100g dry (91% DV) surpasses many foods commonly associated with magnesium — including almonds (270mg), cashews (292mg), and black beans (171mg) ^[1]. Combined with 489mg phosphorus (39% DV) and 1,191mg potassium (25% DV), the mineral trio makes moth bean one of the most mineral-dense pulses per gram.

Boiling concentrates these minerals at approximately 141mg Mg, 181mg P, and 441mg K per 100g cooked. For mineral-tracking in food journals, 100g dry moth bean provides more magnesium than a full ounce of almonds (77mg for 28g).

Sprouted moth bean delivers 15.0mg vitamin C per 100g — a 3.8x increase from dry seeds (4.0mg), driven by ascorbic acid synthesis during germination. Simultaneously, water uptake reduces calories from 343 to 75 kcal per 100g (78% drop), creating one of the lowest-calorie, highest-nutrient pulse preparations ^[2].

In Maharashtrian cuisine, matki sprouts form the base of *matki usal* (sprouted moth bean curry) and breakfast salads. A 1-cup serving of raw sprouts (80g) provides only 60 kcal with 4.4g protein and 12mg vitamin C — ideal for low-calorie, high-nutrient meal logging.

At 100g dry, moth bean covers three key nutrients simultaneously: folate (162% DV at 649mcg), magnesium (91% DV at 381mg), and iron (61% DV at 10.9mg) ^[1]. The thiamine (B1) content at 0.56mg (47% DV) is also higher than chickpea (0.48mg), though lentil (0.87mg) provides more thiamine per 100g.

With 22.9g protein at 343 kcal, moth bean's protein-to-calorie ratio (15.0 kcal/g protein) is comparable to other Indian pulses. The fat content at 1.6g is minimal — primarily linoleic acid (485mg) and palmitic acid (313mg), with a favorable polyunsaturated fatty acid profile ^[3].