Calories in Mutton Biryani

The figure is for a lean, home-style biryani. The recipe makes 2 plates from 100 g of raw rice, 100 g of boneless mutton, 100 g of onion, 50 g of tomato and 4 teaspoons of oil, so one plate holds 50 g of raw rice, 50 g of meat and 2 teaspoons of oil. That is a small serving next to what a biryani shop sells as a plate, which carries much more rice, meat on the bone with its fat, fried onions and usually ghee. Use 396 kcal for a measured home plate, and expect a restaurant or wedding serving to be well above it.

Carbohydrate supplies 48% of the energy, fat 37% and protein 16%. The rice accounts for the carbohydrate. The fat comes from two places, the cooking oil and the meat itself, and the recipe keeps both low by using boneless mutton and only 2 teaspoons of oil a plate. The mutton is what lifts the protein to 15.3 g, against 7.2 g in a plate of plain pulao from the same set. So in this recipe the meat adds protein more than it adds calories; it is the oil and ghee in richer versions that push the calories up.

A plate gives about 19% of a sedentary man's daily energy requirement and 24% of a woman's, with 15.3 g of protein, which makes it a fair one-dish meal in the size described. What it lacks is vegetables: 5 g of fibre, mostly from the onion and tomato. A raita and a kachumber salad cover that better than a second plate does. Two plates supply 792 kcal and 30.6 g of protein, a reasonable guide for someone taking a double helping at home.

The gap between this figure and a shop biryani is the main thing to understand. The recipe is lean and the plate is small; a plate bought outside usually holds more rice, more meat and a good deal more fat. The marinade and masala also make this a salty dish. Red meat and salt are both things that people with blood pressure, heart or kidney conditions are often asked to limit, and they should follow the advice of their doctor or dietitian.