· 4 min read
How Many Calories in 2 Rotis? (With Dal, Ghee, and Sabzi Combos)
Two medium rotis have roughly 200-240 calories. Here's the full breakdown by size, what ghee adds, and what your whole roti-dal-sabzi thali actually comes to.
Short answer: 2 medium rotis (phulkas) have about 200-240 calories - roughly 100-120 calories each. But almost nobody eats plain rotis by themselves. The real question is what your whole plate comes to once dal, sabzi, and that spoonful of ghee join in. Let's build it up piece by piece.
Calories in one roti, by size
A roti's calories depend almost entirely on how much atta (whole wheat flour) goes into it. Atta has about 340-350 calories per 100 g, and a roti is mostly atta plus water.
| Roti type | Approx. atta used | Calories |
|---|---|---|
| Small phulka (5") | ~25 g | ~85 |
| Medium roti (6") | ~30-35 g | ~100-120 |
| Large roti (7-8") | ~45 g | ~150 |
| Tandoori roti (restaurant) | ~50-60 g | ~170-200 |
| Roti with 1/2 tsp ghee | - | +22 |
| Roti with 1 tsp ghee | - | +45 |
So "2 rotis" can honestly mean anything from 170 calories (two small phulkas) to 400 calories (two large tandoori rotis brushed with ghee). When you track, the size matters more than the count.
Macros in 2 medium rotis
For two medium whole-wheat rotis (~70 g atta total), you're looking at approximately:
| Nutrient | Amount |
|---|---|
| Calories | ~220 |
| Protein | ~7 g |
| Carbs | ~44 g |
| Fat | ~1.5 g (plain, no ghee) |
| Fiber | ~5 g |
Rotis are a decent fiber source and contribute some protein, but they're carb-dominant. That's fine - the protein should come from what you eat with them.
What ghee actually adds
Ghee is nearly pure fat: 1 teaspoon (about 5 g) is roughly 45 calories. A light brush on each roti adds 20-25 calories per roti; a generous spoon over dal adds 45-90.
This is not an argument against ghee. It adds satiety and makes the meal more satisfying. It's an argument for counting it, because "2 rotis with ghee" and "2 rotis" differ by about 90 calories - the same as an entire extra small roti.
The real math: full plate combos
Here's what typical roti meals come to. A katori here means the standard Indian bowl, about 150 ml.
| Meal | Calories (approx.) |
|---|---|
| 2 rotis + 1 katori dal | ~340-380 |
| 2 rotis + 1 katori dal + 1 tsp ghee | ~390-430 |
| 2 rotis + 1 katori dry sabzi (bhindi/gobi) | ~320-400 |
| 2 rotis + dal + sabzi + salad | ~440-530 |
| 2 rotis + 1 katori paneer curry | ~500-580 |
| 2 ghee rotis + dal makhani (restaurant) | ~650-750 |
A homestyle roti-dal-sabzi plate lands around 450-550 calories - a genuinely balanced meal. The restaurant version of the "same" meal can be 40-50% higher, mostly from oil, cream, and bigger rotis.
For a bigger reference list - 50 common foods with protein, carbs, and fat - see our Indian food calorie chart.
Which dal is lightest?
Per katori (150 ml, home-cooked with modest tadka):
| Dal | Calories | Protein |
|---|---|---|
| Moong dal | ~100-120 | ~6 g |
| Toor/arhar dal | ~120-140 | ~6 g |
| Masoor dal | ~120-140 | ~7 g |
| Chana dal | ~150-170 | ~8 g |
| Dal makhani | ~250-330 | ~9 g |
The dals themselves are similar; the spread comes from butter and cream. Dal makhani is a dessert wearing a dal costume, calorically speaking.
Should you eat fewer rotis to lose weight?
Not necessarily. Two rotis with dal and sabzi is a well-portioned meal for most adults. The usual calorie creep in an Indian meal isn't the rotis - it's:
- Invisible oil in the sabzi and tadka (each tablespoon is ~120 calories)
- Roti size drift - homemade rotis quietly growing from 30 g to 50 g of atta
- The third roti you take "just to finish the dal"
- Ghee applied by feel rather than by spoon
If you're cutting, keeping 2 medium rotis and trimming the oil usually beats dropping to 1 roti and feeling hungry by 6 pm.
Tracking this without a food scale
You don't need to weigh every roti. Count rotis by size, measure dal and sabzi in katoris, and count ghee in teaspoons - those units are consistent enough for real progress. We wrote a full guide on this: how to count calories in Indian food without weighing everything.
You can also add up your plate right now with our free Indian food calorie calculator - it has rotis, dals, sabzis, and 60 other common foods with standard portions.
And if even that feels like work: DietTracker lets you type "2 rotis with ghee, dal tadka, and bhindi" as one sentence - the AI estimates the calories, protein, carbs, and fat, you review the numbers, and it's logged. No database searching, no barcode gymnastics. Try it free.