Makhana calories
A cup of plain makhana, about 32 g, has about 105 calories, and a small 15 g katori about 50. Roasted in a teaspoon of ghee, 30 g comes to about 145. Ghee or oil for roasting adds about 45 calories a teaspoon. Packaged or shop-roasted makhana, with more oil, runs about 165 to 230 per 30 g.
Makhana, or phool makhana, is the popped seed of the fox nut, a water lily grown mostly in Bihar's ponds and wetlands. It's eaten roasted with a little ghee and salt as a snack, in kheer, and in curries, and it's a common fasting-day food.
Makhana is very light by volume: a full cup weighs only about 32 g. Per gram it's a dry starch, about the same as rice, and roasting it in ghee adds to it.
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 makhana?
| Portion | Cals | Protein | Carbs | Fat |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 cup (about 32 g) about 32 g | 105 | 5 g | 21 g | 1 g |
| 20 g about 20 g | 65 | 3 g | 13 g | 0 g |
| 1 katori (about 15 g) about 15 g | 50 | 2 g | 10 g | 0 g |
| 30 g roasted in 1 tsp ghee about 30 g | 145 | 5 g | 19 g | 6 g |
| 50 g about 50 g | 165 | 8 g | 32 g | 1 g |
| 100 g about 100 g | 330 | 15 g | 65 g | 2 g |
How does home makhana compare with outside?
Packaged and shop-roasted makhana is usually roasted in more oil, with flavourings such as peri peri, cheese or pudina, and the label often lists more fat than home-roasted makhana.
The range below allows 1.5 to 3 times the fat of a teaspoon of ghee on 30 g. Your packet's label will be more exact.
| Version | Cals | Fat |
|---|---|---|
| Home | 145 | 6 g |
| Packaged or shop-roasted | 165 to 230 | 8 to 16 g |
What changes the calories in makhana?
- Ghee or oil for roasting adds about 45 calories a teaspoon.
- Makhana is light by volume, so a big bowl can still be under 100 calories. Weigh it once to see what your bowl holds.
- Makhana kheer adds milk and sugar: count those too.
- Per gram, makhana is close to rice and wheat: USDA puts it at 332 calories per 100 g.
How were these numbers worked out?
Makhana has no entry in IFCT 2017, so Slate uses USDA's values for dried lotus seeds, the closest analysed match: 332 calories, 15.4 g of protein and 2 g of fat per 100 g, with no oil in the plain rows. USDA lists a cup at 32 g, which is the headline portion, 105 calories; the katori row is an assumption of 15 g for a loosely filled 150 ml katori, half the cup by weight. The ghee row adds a teaspoon (5 g) of ghee from IFCT 2017 to 30 g of makhana. No second analysed source for makhana exists in IFCT 2017, NIN or USDA FNDDS, so there is no cross-check. Packaged flavoured makhana is roasted in oil with seasoning, so the packet range assumes 1.5 to 3 times the fat of the ghee row; the packet's own label is the better guide. Every dish on Slate is worked out the same way: how Slate counts calories.
| Ingredient | Raw | Values from |
|---|---|---|
| Makhana (lotus seeds), dry Dry, popped | 100 g | USDA FDC 170149 |
Sources
- USDA FoodData Central, Seeds, lotus seeds, dried (170149). 332 kcal per 100 g; 32 g per cup
- ICMR-NIN, Indian Food Composition Tables 2017. Ghee (T013); values read from github.com/nodef/ifct2017
Questions people ask
How many calories are in 100 g of makhana?
332 calories in 100 g of dry makhana, according to USDA's values for dried lotus seeds.
How many calories are in 1 cup of makhana?
About 105 for a cup (about 32 g) of plain makhana.
How many calories are in roasted makhana with ghee?
About 145 for 30 g roasted in a teaspoon of ghee.
How much protein is in makhana?
About 5 g in a cup, and about 15 g per 100 g.
How many calories are in 50 g of makhana?
About 165 for 50 g of plain makhana, and about 65 for 20 g.