Dal chawal calories
A plate of dal chawal, a 200 ml katori of thin dal tadka with a katori of plain rice, has about 275 calories. Thickness matters most: the same plate with a thick dal is about 360, and with dal fry about 340. A teaspoon of ghee adds about 45. A dhaba plate, with thicker dal, runs about 330 to 430.
Dal chawal is the everyday meal of most of north, central and east India: toor dal with a tadka, poured over plain rice, often with a spoon of ghee, a pickle and some salad. It's dal bhaat in Gujarat and Bihar, dal bhat in Nepal, and the same idea with a different dal almost everywhere else.
This page adds up the site's own dal tadka and plain rice pages into one plate, so the plate's number is exactly the sum of its parts. The rice is steady; the dal can vary two to one depending on how thick it is and how much ghee went into the tadka.
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 dal chawal?
| Portion | Cals | Protein | Carbs | Fat |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 plate (a 200 ml katori of dal tadka, a 200 ml katori of rice) | 275 | 8 g | 45 g | 6 g |
| 1 small plate (150 ml katoris of each) | 205 | 6 g | 34 g | 5 g |
| 1 large plate (a katori of dal, 2 katoris of rice) | 435 | 11 g | 81 g | 7 g |
| 1 plate with thick dal (a 200 ml katori of thick dal, a katori of rice) | 360 | 11 g | 53 g | 11 g |
| 1 plate with dal fry (a 200 ml katori of dal fry, a katori of rice) | 340 | 10 g | 52 g | 10 g |
| 1 plate with 1 tsp ghee (5 g) | 320 | 8 g | 45 g | 11 g |
How does home dal chawal compare with outside?
Restaurant and dhaba dal is thicker than everyday home dal and often finished with a second spoon of ghee or butter, and the rice may come with ghee on top. Dal fry, cooked into its masala in ghee, is richer again.
No lab has measured a plate of dal chawal, so the range below is the two dish pages' outside ranges added together, for the same katori of each.
| Version | Cals | Fat |
|---|---|---|
| Home | 275 | 6 g |
| Restaurant or dhaba | 330 to 430 | 10 to 18 g |
What changes the calories in dal chawal?
- How thick the dal is. Most of a thin dal is water: the same plate with a thick dal is about 360 calories against 275, and with dal fry about 340.
- Ghee. A teaspoon on top takes the plate to about 320, and each teaspoon in the tadka adds about 45 to the pot (see dal tadka).
- How much rice. A second katori takes the plate from about 275 to 435.
- The katori. A small plate of 150 ml katoris is about 205.
- Pickle in oil, papad and a fried side add more than the salad does. A roasted papad is small; a fried one takes up oil.
How were these numbers worked out?
The plate is a 200 ml katori of dal tadka and a 200 ml katori of plain rice, each made exactly as on its own page, added from the pages' unrounded values and rounded once, so the plate equals its parts. The dal is the arhar dal in Basic Food Preparation, 30 g of toor dal in 300 ml of water with a 10 g ghee tadka; the rice is 100 g of raw milled rice cooked until the water is absorbed, with a katori at 0.67 g per ml; IFCT 2017 supplies every value. The plate is 275 calories, and the thick dal row uses the same dal cooked down to twice the thickness. No analysed plate of dal chawal exists, so there is no cross-check here; the parts are checked on the dal tadka and plain rice pages. The dhaba range is the two pages' outside ranges added together: thicker restaurant dal and rice with up to a teaspoon of ghee. Every dish on Slate is worked out the same way: how Slate counts calories.
| Dish | Portion | Cals |
|---|---|---|
| Dal tadka | 1 katori (200 ml) | 115 |
| Plain rice | 1 katori (200 ml) | 160 |
Sources
- Writeonslate, Dal tadka calories. The dal recipe (Basic Food Preparation BFP172 via the Indian Nutrient Databank), its IFCT 2017 values, the thickness range and its sources
- Writeonslate, Plain rice calories. The rice recipe, yield and katori weight, its outside range and its sources
- Writeonslate, Dal fry calories. The dal fry row
- ICMR-NIN, Dietary Guidelines for Indians: A Manual (2011). Annexure 8: plain dal 100 kcal per half cup, the thickness of the thick dal row
Questions people ask
How many calories are in dal chawal?
About 275 calories for a 200 ml katori of thin dal tadka with a 200 ml katori of plain rice, and about 360 with a thick dal. With a teaspoon of ghee on top, add about 45.
How many calories are in 1 plate dal chawal?
A home plate, a katori of dal with a katori of rice, is about 275 calories with thin dal. A large plate with 2 katoris of rice is about 435, and a dhaba plate about 330 to 430.
How much protein is in dal chawal?
About 8 g in a plate with thin dal, and about 11 g with a thick dal. Together, dal and rice give a more complete protein than either alone.
How many calories are in dal chawal with ghee?
About 320 calories with a teaspoon (5 g) of ghee on the plate.
Which has fewer calories, dal chawal or dal roti?
They're close. A katori of dal tadka with a katori of rice is about 275 calories; the same dal with 2 medium rotis is about 305.