PlateDiary.
Menu
Get PlateDiary
  1. PlateDiary
  2. Calories
  3. Indian food
  4. Dal

Calories · Indian

Calories in dal

A typical restaurant serving of dal (one restaurant bowl, about a cup, about 240 g) is about 350 calories, usually 250–600.

Restaurant portions vary; this is a typical estimate, not a label. Also called daal, dhal, dal tadka, lentil curry.

~350
Dal

The usual range

Drawn on one 0–2,000 scale shared by every dish page, so plates compare at a glance.

Protein, carbs and fat

  • Protein21 g
  • Carbs46 g
  • Fat10 g

One serving

Serving
one restaurant bowl, about a cup
Weight
~240 g
Per 100 g
~145

The dish

About dal

Dal is lentils simmered soft and finished with a tadka of spices fried in ghee or oil. Lentils bring protein and carbs; the tadka adds the fat. Creamy dal makhani is the richest.

What moves the number

Why one plate is 250 and another 600

  • Ghee or butter in the tadka
  • Cream in dal makhani
  • Rice or naan alongside

Ordering lighter

If you want a lighter plate

  • Order a yellow dal over dal makhani
  • Share it as a side
  • Pair it with plain rice

Side by side

Next to other Indian dishes

Indian · typical restaurant servingAll about Indian food →

  • Samosa~310one large restaurant samosa · usually 200–400
  • Dal~350one restaurant bowl, about a cup · usually 250–600
  • Chicken korma~440one restaurant curry, no rice · usually 400–900
  • Lamb rogan josh~520one restaurant curry, no rice · usually 400–900
  • Tandoori chicken~540half a tandoori chicken, meat off the bone · usually 250–800
  • Naan~550one whole 10-inch restaurant naan · usually 260–750
  • Chicken vindaloo~670one restaurant curry, no rice · usually 450–1,000
  • Chicken biryani~730one takeaway or restaurant portion · usually 500–1,100
  • Butter chicken with rice~790one serving of butter chicken with one cup of rice · usually 600–1,100
  • Chicken tikka masala~800one curry with about 200 g of plain rice · usually 600–1,300

In PlateDiary

A rough number for the dishes you save — only if you want one.

Off unless you turn them on

Calories in PlateDiary are off unless you turn them on. Switch them on and, when PlateDiary AI reads your photo of the table, each dish gets one rough “~” number. Accept it or change it; a number you correct is remembered for that dish. With Calories off, the app looks exactly as it did before.

A read sends small pictures of the cut-out dishes, with the place's name as a hint — never the table photo, faces or your location. Calorie numbers never go to analytics, and nothing is written to a health app. PlateDiary AI starts with free tries; here is how it works.

Get PlateDiary

How these numbers were made

Method and sources

Last reviewed

Restaurant portions and cooking vary, so these are typical estimates for one serving, built from the sources below. Treat it as a rough number: your plate may land anywhere in the range.

If you manage a health condition, ask a doctor or registered dietitian.

AI helped draft this page; every number was checked against the sources.

  1. USDA FoodData Central (FNDDS 2021–2023) — Dal, FDC 2707427
  2. UK CoFID 2021 (McCance and Widdowson's Composition of Foods) — Curry, lentil, red/masoor dahl, with butter, homemade, code 15-763

Questions

Questions people ask.

How many calories are in dal?

A typical restaurant serving of dal (one restaurant bowl, about a cup, about 240 g) is about 350 calories, usually 250–600. The number depends mostly on the portion and how it is cooked.

Is dal a light dish?

A bowl is about 350, with 21 g of protein from the lentils; the tadka of ghee or oil adds the fat.

Is dal makhani higher than yellow dal?

Yes: creamy dal makhani is the richest kind, and a yellow dal is the lighter order.

What changes the calories in dal?

Ghee or butter in the tadka. Cream in dal makhani.

How can I order dal lighter?

Order a yellow dal over dal makhani. Share it as a side.

Can PlateDiary show calories for the dishes I eat out?

Yes, if you want it to: calories in PlateDiary are off unless you turn them on. Switch them on and each dish you save from a photo of the table gets one rough “~” number you can accept or change.