How to Calculate Calories in Indian Food

Indian food tends to involve many exotic spices, including turmeric.

Indian food is rich in coconut, spices, curries, goat, oils and, you guessed it, calories. The amount of calories in Indian dishes varies with the specific ingredients and quantities. Calculating how many calories are in various Indian staples is a piece of cake, figuratively, once you have the basic information. Just put the ingredient names and amounts into the USDA's National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, record the number of calories, and then add the final numbers together for the calories in a given Indian meal.

Things You'll Need

• Ingredient lists

Instructions

1. Compile a list of ingredients for the Indian dish or dishes you are interested in. Note an estimated measurement for each ingredient.

2. Visit the USDA's National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference. Input the name of the ingredient and the measurement. Write down the number of calories given.

3. Repeat the same process until you have recorded the caloric values for all the ingredients in your dish or recipe. Add the totals together and you have the estimated calories for the Indian food you have chosen.

4. Repeat for any other Indian foods or recipes. Some common calorie counts for Indian dishes include: 140 calories for a samosa, 600 calories for chicken madras, 270 calories for tandoori chicken breast, 250 calories for dal lentils, 55 calories for a single pappadom, and 280 calories for a single naan bread.

Tips & Warnings

• When determining the calories in meat, a good rule of thumb is that for every ounce of meat, you can estimate 45 to 70 calories, depending on how fatty the meat is. Lean chicken breast tends to have 45 calories an ounce, while fattier meat, like beef, might have 55--75 calories calories in an ounce.

• Coconut meat averages 100 calories for every ounce, while coconut oil is more concentrated, at around 125 calories a tablespoon.

• Vegetable oils contain about 125 calories a tablespoon. Butter averages 100 calories for every tablespoon.

References

• USDA: National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference
• Calorie Counter: Calories in Indian Food
• I Love India: Calories in Indian Food
• Fat Free Kitchen: Nutrition and Calories in Indian Food & Cooking

Resources

• Nutrition Data: Nutrition Topics