Aloo paratha calories
One home aloo paratha (27 g atta, 27 g potato, 2 teaspoons of oil) has about 190 calories, or about 225 with a teaspoon of butter. Two aloo parathas with curd come to about 440. Tawa oil matters most, about 40 calories a teaspoon. A dhaba paratha, larger and served with butter, runs about 225 to 390.
Aloo paratha is whole-wheat dough stuffed with spiced mashed potato, rolled out and cooked on the tawa with oil or ghee. It's a Punjabi breakfast staple, usually eaten with curd, pickle and a cube of white butter, and it's common in tiffins across north India.
The potato adds less than people expect: in this recipe it's about a tenth of the calories. The atta and the oil on the tawa make up nearly all the rest.
Typical values for a home kitchen, for the portion named next to each number. Other sites often show bigger numbers because they count a bigger serving or a restaurant recipe. Your own katori, roti and oil change the number; Slate adjusts for them.
How many calories are in aloo paratha?
| Portion | Cals | Protein | Carbs | Fat |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 aloo paratha | 190 | 3 g | 22 g | 10 g |
| 2 aloo parathas | 380 | 7 g | 44 g | 19 g |
| 1 aloo paratha, 1 tsp butter (5 g) | 225 | 3 g | 22 g | 14 g |
| 1 aloo paratha, 1 tbsp butter (14 g) | 290 | 4 g | 22 g | 21 g |
| 1 aloo paratha with 100 g curd | 250 | 7 g | 27 g | 13 g |
How does home aloo paratha compare with outside?
At a dhaba, an aloo paratha is often larger, cooked in more ghee or oil and served with a cube of butter melting on top. Amritsari and Murthal-style parathas are known for it.
No lab figure exists for a dhaba aloo paratha, so the range below assumes one up to 1.4 times this size, with up to half as much oil again and 1 to 2 teaspoons of butter.
| Version | Cals | Fat |
|---|---|---|
| Home | 190 | 10 g |
| Dhaba or restaurant, with butter | 225 to 390 | 14 to 28 g |
Calories in aloo paratha as a meal
| Portion | Cals | Protein | Carbs | Fat |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 aloo parathas with curd | 440 | 10 g | 49 g | 22 g |
| 2 aloo parathas with butter | 450 | 7 g | 44 g | 27 g |
| 1 aloo paratha with curd and butter | 285 | 7 g | 27 g | 17 g |
| 3 aloo parathas | 565 | 10 g | 66 g | 29 g |
What changes the calories in aloo paratha?
- The oil on the tawa is the biggest variable. Each teaspoon adds about 40 calories to a paratha.
- A teaspoon of butter on top adds about 35 calories, and a tablespoon about 100.
- A thicker filling adds less than you'd think: 50 g more potato is about 35 calories.
- A katori of curd on the side (100 g) adds about 60 calories, and pickle in oil adds more.
- Gobi, mooli and methi parathas use lighter fillings than potato, at about 180, 180 and 150. Paneer parathas have more, about 220.
How were these numbers worked out?
Slate's aloo paratha starts from the potato paratha in The Art & Science of Cooking (via the Indian Nutrient Databank): 80 g of atta, 80 g of boiled potato, 25 g of onion, green chilli and coriander, with 2 tablespoons of oil on the tawa, making 3 parathas. All the oil is counted as eaten, since a stuffed paratha takes up what is on the tawa. Each ingredient's energy, protein, carbs and fat are IFCT 2017's; the curd alongside is USDA's whole-milk yogurt, because IFCT 2017 has no curd. No reliable cooked weight exists for a stuffed paratha, so one paratha is a third of the recipe, 190 calories. No lab has analysed an aloo paratha, and the databank's figure comes from this same recipe, so there is no independent check. The dhaba range assumes up to 1.4 times the size, up to half as much oil again and 1 to 2 teaspoons of butter on top. Every dish on Slate is worked out the same way: how Slate counts calories.
| Ingredient | Raw | Values from |
|---|---|---|
| Wheat flour, atta | 80 g | IFCT 2017 A019 |
| Potato, brown skin, big boiled and mashed | 80 g | IFCT 2017 F006 |
| Onion, big | 25 g | IFCT 2017 G017 |
| Chillies, green | 3.3 g | IFCT 2017 G008 |
| Coriander leaves | 2 g | IFCT 2017 G009 |
| Groundnut oil 2 tablespoons, for the tawa | 27.2 g | IFCT 2017 T005 |
| Water 4 tablespoons, to make a soft dough | 60 g | no calories |
Sources
- ICMR-NIN, Indian Food Composition Tables 2017. Atta (A019), potato (F006), onion (G017), green chilli (G008), coriander leaves (G009), oil; values read from github.com/nodef/ifct2017
- Vijayakumar et al., Indian Nutrient Databank (INDB), Current Developments in Nutrition, 2024. The Art & Science of Cooking recipe ASC098, potato paratha
- USDA FoodData Central, Yogurt, plain, whole milk (171284). Curd on the side
- USDA FoodData Central, Butter, without salt (173430). Butter on top; 1 tbsp = 14.2 g
- USDA FoodData Central, FNDDS Bread, paratha (2707715). 70 g per paratha, used for the outside size
Questions people ask
How many calories are in 1 aloo paratha?
A homemade aloo paratha made with about 27 g of atta and 2 teaspoons of oil has about 190 calories. Two have about 380.
How many calories are in aloo paratha with butter?
About 225 with a teaspoon of butter, and about 290 with a tablespoon. At a dhaba it can be more, because the paratha is often bigger too.
How much protein is in an aloo paratha?
About 3 g. With a 100 g katori of curd it's about 7 g.
How many calories are in aloo paratha with curd?
One aloo paratha with 100 g of curd comes to about 250 calories.
Which has more calories, aloo paratha or plain paratha?
The aloo paratha, by a little. Made from the same atta and oil, it's about 190 calories against about 165 for a plain paratha, because of the potato and onion.
How many calories are in 2 aloo parathas with curd?
About 440 calories: 2 parathas at 380 plus a 100 g katori of curd. With a teaspoon of butter on each instead of the curd, about 450.
How many calories are in 3 aloo parathas?
About 565 calories, with about 10 g of protein. One paratha with curd and a teaspoon of butter together is about 285.