Calories in Vangi Bath

The recipe makes one plate from 80 g of raw rice, 100 g of brinjal, 20 g of tamarind, 10 g each of chana dal, urad dal and cashew, and 1 teaspoon of oil. The dals are roasted and ground into the spice powder, which is how the dish is made in Karnataka homes. This is a whole meal's rice with a good amount of brinjal cooked into it, so it is a large plate. A helping served as one item of a breakfast or a thali is closer to half, which is 269 kcal.

Carbohydrate supplies 70% of the energy, fat only 18% and protein 12%. That split shows why the plate is heavy. It is not oil: the recipe uses a single teaspoon. It is that several things are added to a full measure of rice, namely the two dals, the cashew and the tamarind, each bringing energy of its own. The dals and cashew are also why the plate has 15.4 g of protein and, with the brinjal, 12.9 g of fibre. Only lemon rice, at 563 kcal, is higher among the 13 rice dishes in the set.

One plate is about 25% of a sedentary man's daily energy requirement and 32% of a woman's, which is a main meal's share. It is better balanced than most rice dishes, with 15.4 g of protein, 12.9 g of fibre and a vegetable already inside it, so it needs little beside it: a bowl of curd or raita is enough. What it does not need is another starchy side. Two plates reach 1,076 kcal and 184.8 g of carbohydrate, so a second helping is best kept small.

The plate has 12.7 g of sugars, which come naturally from the tamarind and brinjal, and the rice makes it carbohydrate-dense, at 92.4 g a plate. That is worth knowing for anyone counting carbohydrate; people with diabetes should take their portion from the plan set by their doctor or dietitian. The recipe is also light on oil compared with many home versions, so vangi bath made with fried brinjal and a generous tempering will be higher than 538 kcal.