Dalia (bulgur wheat) vs White rice: nutrition per 100 g

IFCT 2017 lists dalia as bulgur wheat: whole wheat that has been parboiled, dried and cracked. Many Indian shops sell dalia that is simply broken wheat, without the parboiling, and its values sit close to whole wheat. Either way it keeps most of the bran, which is the key contrast with polished white rice. Both values are for the raw, dry form. Dalia swells a great deal when cooked into porridge or khichdi, as does rice, so the cooked bowl weighs far more than 100 g of dry grain.

Dalia has 342 kcal per 100 g against 356 kcal for white rice, a small difference. It has less carbohydrate, 69.1 g against 78.2 g, and more protein, 10.8 g against 7.9 g, about 1.4 times as much. That protein meets 20 per cent of a man's daily requirement per 100 g against 15 per cent for rice.

Fibre is where dalia earns its reputation. It has 8.8 g per 100 g, about 3.1 times the 2.8 g in white rice. White rice ranks 13th of 14 cereals and millets for fibre. A bowl of vegetable dalia khichdi therefore feels heavier and keeps hunger away longer than the same amount of plain rice khichdi.

Dalia has 3.86 mg of iron per 100 g, about 5.9 times the 0.65 mg in white rice, and covers 20 per cent of a man's daily iron need against 3 per cent. Magnesium is 116 mg against 19 mg, about 6.1 times as much, and potassium 330 mg against 108 mg. Calcium, zinc and phosphorus also favour dalia. On iron, calcium, magnesium and zinc alike, white rice sits at the bottom of the 14 cereals and millets.

The B vitamins follow. Dalia has 0.24 mg of thiamine against 0.05 mg, about 4.8 times as much, twice the vitamin B6, and 26 micrograms of folate against 9. Vitamin E is 0.2 mg against 0.04 mg. Niacin is the closest, 2.05 mg against 1.69 mg.

Dalia is a north and west Indian comfort food: namkeen dalia with vegetables, dalia khichdi with moong dal, sweet dalia cooked in milk with jaggery, and Gujarat's lapsi. It is a common first grain after illness in many Punjabi and Rajasthani homes. Rice fills the same role in the south and east as kanji, pongal and khichdi. Dalia contains gluten, so it is not suitable for coeliac disease, while rice is gluten-free.