Calories in Makki ki Roti

The standard recipe makes 2 rotis from 60 g of maize, 20 g of grated radish and 2 tablespoons of ghee. Each roti therefore has 30 g of maize, 10 g of radish and 1 tablespoon of ghee. Two things follow. The roti is small: 30 g of flour is well under what goes into the thick makki ki roti patted out by hand in many Punjabi kitchens. And the ghee is generous, more than most people would count for a single roti. A larger roti with only a light smear of ghee could arrive at a similar figure by a completely different route.

Fat supplies 58% of the energy, carbohydrate 37% and protein just 5%. In other words, more of this roti's calories come from the ghee than from the maize. Ghee is mostly saturated fat, so the roti's saturated fat comes from the same place. The maize brings the starch and most of the 4.4 g of fibre, and very little protein: at 3 g, the roti is near the bottom of the 15 breads compared here for protein while sitting second from the top for energy, level with a paneer paratha at 224 kcal.

Makki ki roti is rarely eaten without sarson ka saag, and the saag usually brings its own ghee or butter. One roti is about 11% of a sedentary man's daily energy requirement and 13% of a woman's; two are 448 kcal with only 6 g of protein. A plate of two rotis, saag, white butter and jaggery is therefore a rich winter meal. A glass of chaas or a bowl of curd adds the protein the roti lacks, and the saag supplies the greens.

The thing to notice is the saturated fat. The tablespoon of ghee in one small roti supplies nearly all of its 14.3 g of fat, and ghee is largely saturated and carries cholesterol. With the buttered saag that traditionally comes with it, a meal of two or three rotis is high in saturated fat. Anyone advised by a doctor or dietitian to limit saturated fat or salt for cholesterol, blood pressure or heart disease should keep to that advice and go easy on the ghee.