So, does this mean that if you are a vegetarian, you are not getting good-quality protein?
Not really. When you combine plant foods such as cereals or millets with pulses or legumes, they complement each other to provide good quality proteins.
Indian cuisine offers many recipes which use cereal and pulse/milk combinations and thus can provide all the essential amino acids that your body needs.
Here are some examples of these combinations:
Excellent combinations | Examples |
Cereals+legumes | Idli, dosa, khichadi, roti-chole/rajma |
Cereals+milk and milk products | Payasam, paneer pulao/paneer paratha, cheese sandwich, curd rice, pasta and cheese |
Legumes+nuts and oilseeds | Gingelly seeds or groundnut or coconut chutney with Bengal gram dal |
Do you have to combine cereals and pulses/milk in the same meal?
Not neccessary. Just make sure to include these foods in your daily diet. Earlier it was thought that you must eat complementary protein foods at the same meal. However, scientific evidence indicates that your body is able to use amino acids eaten at different meals during the day to make complete proteins.
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