Why your katori size changes your calorie count
"One katori of dal" can mean 150 ml in one home and 250 ml in the next, and that alone changes the calories by two thirds. If you count Indian food by the katori, knowing the size of yours is the single most useful thing you can measure.
Key takeaways
- Katoris in Indian homes are commonly 150, 200 or 250 ml. A 250 ml katori holds two thirds more than a 150 ml one.
- A katori of rice weighs less than a katori of dal, because cooked rice is light and airy: about 0.67 g per ml against about 1 g for dal.
- Measure your everyday katori once with water and a measuring jug, and count level katoris.
- For dal, the most reliable count is the dry dal that went into the pot: ICMR-NIN's standard portion is 30 g.
What a katori holds
There's no standard katori. Steel katoris sold in India come in many sizes, and families often use one size for dal and another for sabzi or dessert. On this site, every katori dish is shown at 150, 200 and 250 ml, the range most home katoris fall in.
Here's what that range does to some everyday dishes:
| Dish | 150 ml | 200 ml | 250 ml |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dal tadka | 85 | 115 | 140 |
| Rajma | 160 | 210 | 265 |
| Plain rice | 120 | 160 | 200 |
| Chole | 200 | 265 | 330 |
| Kadhi | 75 | 100 | 125 |
For one katori the gap looks small. Across a day, with two or three katoris at lunch and dinner, it adds up to the difference between a light meal and a full one.
Why a katori of rice weighs less than a katori of dal
A katori measures volume, but calories follow weight. Cooked rice has air between the grains, so a 200 ml katori holds about 134 g of it. USDA lists a cup (236.6 ml) of cooked white rice at 158 g, which is about 0.67 g per ml. Thin dal is mostly water, so it's close to 1 g per ml, and a 200 ml katori holds about 200 g.
That's why a katori of rice and a katori of dal can have quite different calories even though they look the same size. Rice is about 120 calories per 100 g cooked, and thin dal tadka about 55.
Level, heaped and pressed down
The figures above are for a level katori. A heaped katori of rice or sabzi can hold noticeably more, and rice pressed into a katori to make a neat mound holds more again. Dal and sambar can't be heaped, but they can be thick or thin.
Thickness matters as much as size for dal. A 200 ml katori of thin dal tadka is about 115 calories, while the same katori of thicker dal fry is about 180. The katori didn't change; what's in it did.
Sabzi and dessert katoris
Many homes use a smaller katori for sabzi and dessert than for dal. Sabzis vary even more than dals: a 150 ml katori of cabbage sabzi is about 65 calories, while the same katori of aloo sabzi is about 140, mostly because of the potato and the oil.
Dessert katoris matter because what goes in them is dense. Halwa, kheer and shrikhand carry far more calories per spoon than dal, so a small katori of dessert can hold as much as a big katori of dal.
How to measure your katori
- Take the katori you use most for dal or sabzi.
- Fill it with water to the level you usually serve to, not to the brim.
- Pour the water into a measuring jug, or weigh it on a kitchen scale: 1 g of water is 1 ml.
- Round to the nearest of 150, 200 or 250 ml, and use that size from then on.
If you use a bigger bowl for one dish, such as a soup bowl for khichdi, measure that too. You only need to do this once.
When the katori isn't the best unit
Some foods count better another way. Rotis, parathas and puris count by the piece, and their calories follow the atta in them: a phulka from about 24 g of atta is about 75 calories, a medium roti from 30 g about 95.
For dal, the most reliable unit is the dry dal that went into the pot. ICMR-NIN's standard portion of pulses is 30 g raw, about 100 calories (Dietary Guidelines for Indians, Annexure 14). However thin or thick the dal ends up, a bowl made from 30 g of dry toor dal has about 100 calories before the tadka.
Using your katori size in practice
Once you know your katori, keep to it: the same katori for dal every day makes your numbers comparable from one day to the next, even if no single number is exact. If you eat out, assume restaurant katoris and bowls are whatever size they look, and count the extra oil separately.
Slate asks for your katori once, in Your kitchen, as 150, 200 or 250 ml, and every home katori you write after that uses it. You can change it any time; past days stay as they were.
Questions people ask
What size is a standard katori?
There's no single standard. Home katoris are commonly 150 to 250 ml. Measure yours once with water and a measuring jug.
How many grams of rice are in a katori?
About 134 g of cooked rice in a level 200 ml katori, using USDA's 158 g per cup for cooked white rice. That's about 160 calories.
How many calories are in one katori of dal?
About 85 to 140 for thin dal tadka, from a 150 ml to a 250 ml katori. Thick dal has more.