Calories in Dal Paratha

The standard recipe uses 80 g of atta, 30 g of Bengal gram (chana dal), 25 g of onion and 2 tablespoons of oil to make 3 parathas. Each one holds 27 g of flour and 10 g of dal as the recipe lists it, which cooks up into a thin layer of filling. That is a small paratha. It is also a specific dish: a stuffed chana dal paratha, not the common home version in which last night's leftover dal is kneaded into the dough. That one will have its own, different count.

Carbohydrate and fat share the energy almost equally, 45% and 44%, and protein supplies 10%. The oil accounts for the fat. The dal changes the rest: compared with a plain paratha at 166 kcal and 2.8 g of protein, the dal paratha has 206 kcal and 5.2 g. It also has 5 g of fibre, and the chana dal adds some iron. Wheat and pulses eaten together give a better mix of amino acids than either gives alone, which is the old logic of dal with roti folded into a single bread.

A single dal paratha is about 10% of a sedentary man's daily energy requirement and 12% of a woman's. Two give 412 kcal and 10.4 g of protein; three give 618 kcal and 15.6 g. Since the pulse is already inside, the paratha does not need a bowl of dal next to it. Curd or a vegetable sabzi fills the gaps better. It also travels well, which is why it turns up in tiffin boxes: bread and dal in one piece, with no gravy to spill.

Dal paratha is sometimes thought of as a high-protein food. With 10 g of dal in it, it has 5.2 g of protein, more than most parathas here but still modest, and it has 206 kcal with 44% of the energy from fat. Count it as a slightly better paratha, not as a serving of dal. People with kidney disease or diabetes who have been given protein or carbohydrate limits should check portions with their doctor or dietitian.