Indian food calories vary more with the cooking fat than with the dish name. USDA lists 1 cup of chicken curry at 257 calories, 1 cup of chicken biryani at 204 and a 90 g naan at 262. Takeaway curries are a different story: an Irish survey found the average chicken tikka masala portion had 1,249 calories.
The numbers below come from USDA FoodData Central, with gram weights so you can match them to your plate.
Key takeaways
- Curries: about 220-260 calories per cup for home-style chicken or fish curry. A creamy takeaway curry portion can be about five times that.
- Biryani: 204 calories per cup with chicken, 284 with lamb or other meat.
- Breads: roti 202 (68 g), naan 262 (90 g), paratha 228, puri 147 each.
- South Indian: idli 49 each, a medium plain dosa 168, a medium masala dosa 491.
- The fat is the swing factor: 1 tbsp of ghee is about 117 calories, 1 tbsp of butter 102, 1 tbsp of cream 51.
Calories in popular Indian dishes
Per USDA serving. Survey (FNDDS) entries reflect dishes as typically prepared in the US, including cooking fat.
| Dish | Serving | Calories | Protein (g) | Fat (g) | Carbs (g) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken curry | 1 cup (240 g) | 257 | 15.6 | 15.6 | 15.7 |
| Fish curry | 1 cup (240 g) | 223 | 11.9 | 13.0 | 16.0 |
| Palak paneer | 1 cup (200 g) | 202 | 10.8 | 14.0 | 8.6 |
| Chana saag (chickpeas and greens) | 1 cup (245 g) | 218 | 10.0 | 10.6 | 21.5 |
| Dal, cooked with fat | 1 cup (240 g) | 348 | 20.6 | 10.3 | 46.1 |
| Lentil curry | 1 cup (240 g) | 266 | 8.8 | 13.6 | 29.5 |
| Chicken biryani | 1 cup (196 g) | 204 | 14.0 | 4.7 | 26.7 |
| Meat biryani | 1 cup (196 g) | 284 | 16.7 | 13.3 | 23.9 |
| Vegetable biryani | 1 cup (172 g) | 187 | 3.3 | 5.5 | 30.8 |
| White rice, plain | 1 cup (158 g) | 204 | 4.2 | 0.4 | 44.2 |
| Naan, plain | 1 piece (90 g) | 262 | 8.7 | 5.1 | 45.4 |
| Chapati or roti | 1 piece (68 g) | 202 | 7.7 | 5.1 | 31.5 |
| Samosa | 1 large (100 g) | 310 | 5.1 | 17.5 | 33.2 |
| Masala dosa | 1 medium (267 g) | 491 | 14.6 | 11.4 | 82.2 |
| Idli | 2 pieces (76 g) | 97 | 4.8 | 0.3 | 19.0 |
Dal has the most protein and fiber on the list: 20.6 g protein and 18 g fiber per cup. Plain boiled lentils without added fat are 230 calories per cup (198 g) with 17.9 g protein.
Butter chicken and creamy curries: home vs takeaway
USDA has no entry for butter chicken or tikka masala, so here is a home-style serving built from USDA ingredient values.
| Ingredient (1 serving) | Amount | Calories | Protein (g) | Fat (g) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boneless chicken thigh, raw | 150 g (5.3 oz) | 182 | 29.5 | 6.2 |
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14.2 g) | 102 | 0.1 | 11.5 |
| Heavy cream | 2 tbsp (30 g) | 102 | 0.9 | 10.8 |
| Tomato puree | 1/2 cup (125 g) | 48 | 2.1 | 0.3 |
| Whole-milk yogurt (marinade) | 1/4 cup (61 g) | 37 | 2.1 | 2.0 |
| Total | 470 | 34.6 | 30.8 |
That's a Nutrify estimate, and spices add almost nothing. Add 1 cup of rice (204) and a 90 g naan (262) and the meal comes to about 936 calories.
Takeaway portions are bigger and richer. safefood's survey of 280 Indian takeaway samples from 36 outlets in Ireland found these averages per portion:
| Takeaway item | Average calories per portion |
|---|---|
| Chicken tikka masala | 1,249 |
| Chicken korma | 1,248 |
| Chicken jalfrezi | 721 |
| Pilau rice | almost 500 |
| Peshwari naan | 748 |
The tomato-based jalfrezi came in at little more than half of the cream-based curries. Our curry calories comparison puts Indian, Thai and Japanese curries side by side.
Rice and biryani calories
Biryani is rice and meat cooked together, so per cup it is close to plain rice. The difference is in the portion and the fat.
| Rice dish | Per cup | Calories | Protein (g) | Fat (g) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| White rice, plain | 158 g | 204 | 4.2 | 0.4 |
| Vegetable biryani | 172 g | 187 | 3.3 | 5.5 |
| Chicken biryani | 196 g | 204 | 14.0 | 4.7 |
| Meat biryani | 196 g | 284 | 16.7 | 13.3 |
USDA's default portion for biryani, used when the amount isn't known, is 245 g: about 255 calories for chicken biryani and 355 for meat biryani. Restaurant plates vary, so estimate your plate in cups and multiply.
Naan, roti and other Indian breads
| Bread | Serving | Calories | Fat (g) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chapati or roti | 1 piece (68 g) | 202 | 5.1 |
| Paratha | 1 (70 g) | 228 | 9.2 |
| Puri (fried) | 1 (36 g) | 147 | 9.0 |
| Naan, plain | 1 piece (90 g) | 262 | 5.1 |
| Naan, large restaurant | 10 in (177 g) | 550 | 12.9 |
Roti and naan are close per gram (297 vs 291 calories per 100 g). Size is the difference: a big restaurant naan can weigh twice a home roti or more. Homemade rotis are often smaller than USDA's 68 g. Weigh one and scale it: a 40 g roti is about 119 calories.
South Indian food: dosa, idli and more
| Dish | Serving | Calories | Protein (g) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Idli | 1 (38 g) | 49 | 2.4 |
| Vada | 1 (30 g) | 80 | 3.8 |
| Upma | 1 cup (170 g) | 148 | 3.4 |
| Plain dosa | 1 medium (80 g) | 168 | 4.6 |
| Plain dosa | 1 large (155 g) | 326 | 8.8 |
| Masala dosa | 1 small (113 g) | 208 | 6.2 |
| Masala dosa | 1 medium (267 g) | 491 | 14.6 |
| Masala dosa | 1 large (523 g) | 962 | 28.6 |
Idli is steamed and almost fat-free, which makes it one of the lowest-calorie items in Indian cooking. A large restaurant masala dosa, on the other hand, can approach 1,000 calories once the potato filling and oil are counted. Add sambar and chutney separately.
Indian snacks: samosa, pakora and vada
| Snack | Serving | Calories | Fat (g) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Samosa | 1 small (25 g) | 78 | 4.4 |
| Samosa | 1 large (100 g) | 310 | 17.5 |
| Pakora | 5 pieces (60 g) | 75 | 2.9 |
| Vada | 1 (30 g) | 80 | 2.9 |
Samosa size varies more than any other snack, from a 25 g party samosa to a 100 g restaurant one, so the label "1 samosa" can mean 78 or 310 calories.
Where the calories hide: ghee, butter and cream
| Added fat | Amount | Calories |
|---|---|---|
| Ghee | 1 tbsp (about 13 g) | about 117 |
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14.2 g) | 102 |
| Heavy cream | 1 tbsp (15 g) | 51 |
| Vegetable or olive oil | 1 tbsp (13.5 g) | 119 |
Ghee (900 calories per 100 g) and oil (884) are almost the same, so switching one for the other doesn't save much. Using less of either does. A tadka of 2 tablespoons of ghee over a pot of dal adds about 234 calories to the pot, not to each bowl, so divide it by the servings you get.
How to order Indian food with fewer calories
- Pick tomato or onion-based curries like jalfrezi, or tandoori and tikka dishes cooked dry, over korma, makhani and pasanda.
- Choose roti over a large naan, or share the naan.
- Have dal, chana or a vegetable side in place of a second creamy curry.
- Ask for plain rice rather than pilau, and portion it yourself.
- Go easy on fried starters like samosas and pakoras, or have one.
How to log Indian food accurately
The camera can name the dish, but it can't see the ghee. When you log with Nutrify, add the details that change the number: "restaurant butter chicken, creamy", "dal with 1 tbsp ghee", "large masala dosa". Edit the portion if you ate half the rice, and save dishes you cook often as recipes. Our guides to how Nutrify recognizes food from any cuisine and tracking restaurant meals with AI go further. Set your targets with the macro calculator, and if you eat mostly vegetarian Indian food, see our guide to iron for vegetarians.
Sources
- USDA FoodData Central (Survey/FNDDS): chicken curry, FDC 2706437; fish curry, FDC 2706460; palak paneer, FDC 2709631; channa saag, FDC 2709632; dal, FDC 2707427; lentil curry, FDC 2707431; biryani with chicken, FDC 2706538; biryani with meat, FDC 2706490; biryani with vegetables, FDC 2708985; white rice, cooked, FDC 2708408; naan, FDC 2707613; paratha, FDC 2707715; puri, FDC 2707714; samosa, FDC 2708730; pakora, FDC 2710066; idli, FDC 2708346; dosa, plain, FDC 2708347; dosa with filling, FDC 2709129; vada, FDC 2709130; upma, FDC 2709128.
- USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy): naan, plain, FDC 171845; chapati or roti, FDC 171844; lentils, boiled, FDC 172421; ghee, FDC 171314; butter oil, FDC 173412; butter, FDC 173410; heavy cream, FDC 170859; olive oil, FDC 171413; chicken thigh, raw, FDC 173627; tomato puree, FDC 170460; whole-milk yogurt, FDC 171284.
- safefood survey of Indian takeaways, as reported in The Irish Catholic; tikka masala figure also cited by WebMD.
