Calories in Gobi Paratha

This number is worked out from a standard recipe that turns 80 g of atta, 100 g of cauliflower, 25 g of onion and 2 tablespoons of oil into 3 parathas. One paratha therefore holds about 27 g of flour and 33 g of grated cauliflower, so there is slightly more vegetable than flour in it by weight. It is still a small paratha. A home cook who uses a larger ball of dough, or a dhaba that serves one the size of the plate with butter on top, is serving something well above 181 kcal.

Fat provides 48% of the energy and carbohydrate 43%, with protein at 9%. The cauliflower itself contributes very little energy: the gobi paratha comes to 181 kcal against 166 kcal for a plain paratha made with the same flour and oil. What the filling does bring is fibre, 4.8 g in one paratha, and a little more protein, 3.8 g against the plain one's 2.8 g. The oil, at 2 teaspoons a paratha, remains the largest single source of calories.

Two gobi parathas give about 362 kcal and 7.6 g of protein. One is about 9% of the daily energy requirement of a sedentary man and 11% of a woman's, so a two-paratha breakfast is a full meal in energy terms, though still light on protein. The fibre helps here: 4.8 g in one paratha makes it more filling than its size suggests. A katori of curd or a glass of milk alongside rounds off the plate better than a third paratha, which would take the total to 543 kcal.

Salt is the thing to watch with a gobi paratha, even before pickle, salted butter or raita masala. Cauliflower fillings are usually salted twice, once to draw out water and once for taste, so home versions can be saltier than they seem. People who have been told by a doctor or dietitian to limit salt for blood pressure or a kidney condition should follow the amounts they were given, and can ask how parathas fit into that plan.