How many calories are in a chapati?
Two chapatis with a ladle of tempered dal and a spoon of raita come to about 430 kcal. This is a weekday plate rather than a celebration one, and it is quietly one of the best built meals here: 19 g of protein and 11 g of fibre.
The plate, as served
Two chapatis made from about 30 g of atta each, a ladle of tempered dal, and three tablespoons of raita.
Where the calories come from
| Nutrient | Grams | Calories | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Protein | 19g | 76 | 18% |
| Carbs | 66g | 264 | 61% |
| Fat | 10g | 90 | 21% |
| Fibre | 11g | counted within carbs | |
The ring is sized by calories, not grams: protein and carbs are 4 kcal a gram, fat is 9. Drawn by grams, fat would look like a sliver of what it actually contributes.
What is on the plate
| Chapati or roti x2One, made from about 30 g of atta | 220 kcal |
| Dal, temperedA ladle, about 150 g | 165 kcal |
| RaitaThree tablespoons, about 60 g | 45 kcal |
The same dish, several ways
This is where the calories actually move. Not the ingredient, the cooking.
- Parathas instead of chapatis730+300
Layered and shallow-fried. This is the single biggest swing available on this plate.
- With saag as well580+150
Greens finished with ghee. Good food, but heavier than it looks.
- Chapatis brushed with ghee520+90
A teaspoon each. That is how they are usually served at home.
- Two chapatis made from about 30 g of atta each, a ladle of tempered dal, and three tablespoons of raita.As served430
Where each number comes from
Composition tables list ingredients, not dinners. There is no row anywhere for this plate, so it is built from its parts, and the preparation assumed for each part is written next to it, because that assumption is usually worth more calories than the ingredient.
| Component | Portion and preparation | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Chapati or roti x2 | One, made from about 30 g of attaWholewheat atta, dry-cooked on a tawa with no ghee. Brushing it with ghee afterwards adds roughly 45 kcal per teaspoon. | 220 |
| Dal, tempered | A ladle, about 150 gCooked toor or masoor dal with a tempering of oil, mustard seed and curry leaf. The tempering is most of the fat. | 165 |
| Raita | Three tablespoons, about 60 gWhole-milk yoghurt with cucumber. | 45 |
| Total | 430 | |
Sources: Indian Food Composition Tables 2017 (ICMR-NIN). Every figure is an estimate with a range around it, and is rounded to the nearest 5 kcal rather than pretending to a precision that does not exist.
Why you will see 250 to 800 kcal quoted for this
Chapati count and whether they were brushed with ghee. Three ghee-brushed chapatis and two dry ones are 245 kcal apart before anything else on the plate changes.
Which is why this page shows the sum instead of asserting a total. Build the plate you actually eat and the number is yours rather than an average of strangers.
Build your own plateCommon questions
- How many calories are in a chapati?
- About 110 kcal for one, made from 30 g of atta and cooked dry on a tawa. Two chapatis with a ladle of dal and raita, the plate on this page, comes to about 430.
- Does ghee on a chapati add many calories?
- About 45 kcal a teaspoon. Two chapatis with dal and raita go from about 430 to 520 once they are brushed with it.
- Chapati vs rice: which has fewer calories?
- A chapati is about 110 kcal each, so two are 220. A portion of basmati rice is about 185. Close enough that what goes on top decides more than the base.
- Chapati or paratha for weight loss?
- Chapati, clearly: about 110 kcal against 260 for a paratha. The gap comes from the fat it is cooked in, unrelated to the flour itself.
- Is dal good for weight loss?
- Very. A ladle of tempered dal is about 165 kcal with 8 g of protein and 5 g of fibre, and the tempering supplies most of that fat.
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