Dal, beans and leafy greens can all contribute iron. Try rajma with a squeeze of lemon, masoor dal with a tomato kachumber, or palak dal with guava later in the same meal. Vitamin C helps the body absorb iron from plant foods.
Start with the helping you eat
Curry leaves can contain iron, but you may use only a few leaves in a whole tadka. A bowl of rajma or dal is a different quantity of food. Read a nutrition table with that in mind before choosing what to add.
Make one change at a time
Pick a pulse you can cook regularly. Pair it with a source of vitamin C that fits the meal, such as lemon or guava. If a test report shows low iron or haemoglobin, take it to your doctor. The cause matters when deciding what to do next. Build a short food record · ICMR-NIN dietary guidelines
For a packed lunch, take chana or masoor dal and carry a whole guava or a wedge of lemon separately. At a canteen, a bowl of dal with a lemon wedge is an option you can spot without knowing the recipe. If your family cooks one pot for everyone, put the lemon on the table so each person can add it at serving time.
Building a vegetarian tiffin with protein and fibre
Start with the dal you cook most
Try adding a tomato salad to rajma one day and carrying a guava alongside your masoor dal the next. The choice is easier to repeat if it follows the way you already shop. For family meals, serve the vitamin C food separately so everyone can take the amount they want. If you compare two dals in a table, use the same dry weight or compare matched cooked entries. A thin dal and a thick one can put different amounts of lentils in the same katori.