Dal Makhani Calories: Home-Style vs Rich Worked Out

By NYUS Inc. · Published 30 October 2026

"Dal makhani calories", with "per 100g", "and protein", "1 bowl", "1 cup" and "restaurant", is searched in India, and the answers online differ. No primary table has a dal makhani record: IFCT 2017, the Indian Food Composition Tables from ICMR-NIN, prints raw, dry pulses (and almost entirely raw foods; its few cooked rows are boiled and omelette eggs and roasted vermicelli) and no dal makhani or other cooked dish, no butter row and no cream row, and USDA FoodData Central SR Legacy has no dal makhani record. So this page does not quote a number. It works one portion out line by line: the dry whole urad and red rajma, onion, tomato, ginger, garlic and spices from named IFCT 2017 rows and the butter and cream from USDA records, with weights that are our assumptions and the butter and cream shown apart so you can see what they add, once as a lighter home-style pot and once as a rich butter-and-cream pot. They are estimates, shown so you can change the weights to match your cooker. For the other dals see our cooked dal guide, for a tadka dal our dal tadka guide, and for the spoon values our ghee, oil and sugar guide.

The short answer

By our working, one portion of rich dal makhani (40 g dry whole urad, 10 g dry red rajma, onion 40 g, tomato 60 g, ginger 4 g, garlic 4 g, cumin seeds 1 g, red chilli 1 g, turmeric 0.5 g, 15 g of butter and 2 tablespoons (30 g) of cream) is about 400.5 kcal and 13.5 g protein, and the lighter home-style portion (40 g dry whole urad, 10 g dry red rajma, onion 40 g, tomato 60 g, ginger 4 g, garlic 4 g, cumin seeds 1 g, red chilli 1 g, turmeric 0.5 g, 5 g of butter and no cream) is about 226.8 kcal and 12.5 g protein. Across 40 to 60 g of dry beans and the stated butter amounts the rich version runs 335.3 to 465.6 kcal and the home-style 197.5 to 327.8 kcal, with the butter in every cell. These are estimates from the weights below, not measured values, not from a dal makhani record and not a restaurant figure. Our reading: in the rich main case the dry beans are the largest line (146.4 kcal), then the butter (107.6 kcal) and the cream (102.0 kcal), then the onion, tomato, ginger, garlic and spices (44.5 kcal); the butter and cream together are 209.6 kcal, and the rich version is 173.7 kcal above the home-style one at the same 50 g of dry beans.

IFCT 2017 rows used, per 100 g

IFCT 2017 Table 1 prints, per 100 g edible portion, water, protein, ash, total fat, total dietary fibre, insoluble and soluble fibre, carbohydrate and energy in kJ. We read these 9 rows from the PDF text on 29 October 2026, as the mean of the regions shown (PDF pages in the Sources); the kcal is ours (kJ divided by 4.184, to 0.1). IFCT prints no portion weights; the bean rows are raw, dry pulses, so we count dry weights, and the water the beans take up and the cooked weight of a dal makhani are not printed in any table. IFCT has three rajma rows (brown B019 with 6 regions, black B018 with 2, red B020 with 3); we use the red row, B020.

The butter and the cream: USDA SR Legacy, per 100 g

IFCT 2017 has no butter or cream row, so these come from USDA FoodData Central SR Legacy; both are US records. Energy is USDA's kcal with the kJ beside it; water, protein, total fat and carbohydrate (by difference) are in g, then fibre (g), total sugars (g) and sodium (mg), all per 100 g.

The data-type label on each USDA field, as the record shows it

USDA's record pages show a data-type label beside some fields and none beside others. This table copies what each record shows, read field by field from the nutrient table of each record page; "no label shown" means the record prints no label there, and "not printed" means the record has no row for that field. We do not interpret the labels beyond printing them. IFCT 2017 prints no such labels.

The household portions USDA prints for the two records

These are the entries in each record's Measures list, as printed; the other entry on every record is 100 g. The kcal in the last column is ours: the printed kcal per 100 g times the grams, divided by 100, shown to 0.1.

The portion sums: 173410 1 pat (1" sq, 1/3" high) (5 g): 717 × 5 / 100 = 35.85, so 35.9 kcal; 173410 1 stick (113 g): 717 × 113 / 100 = 810.21, so 810.2 kcal; 173410 1 cup (227 g): 717 × 227 / 100 = 1627.59, so 1627.6 kcal; 173410 1 tbsp (14.2 g): 717 × 14.2 / 100 = 101.81, so 101.8 kcal; 170859 1 cup, whipped (120 g): 340 × 120 / 100 = 408.00, so 408.0 kcal; 170859 1 cup, fluid (yields 2 cups whipped) (238 g): 340 × 238 / 100 = 809.20, so 809.2 kcal; 170859 1 tbsp (15 g): 340 × 15 / 100 = 51.00, so 51.0 kcal; 170859 1 fl oz (29.8 g): 340 × 29.8 / 100 = 101.32, so 101.3 kcal. Our butter weights of 5, 10, 15 and 20 g are 35.9, 71.7, 107.6 and 143.4 kcal by the same arithmetic, and our 2 tablespoons of cream (2 × 15 g, 30 g) are 102.0 kcal.

Worked example 1: rich dal makhani (butter and cream)

Every weight here is our assumption for one portion, counted dry or raw: whole urad and red rajma (the beans soaked and boiled in water, which carries no energy), onion, tomato, ginger, garlic, cumin seeds, dry red chilli and turmeric powder, then butter and two tablespoons of cream (USDA's printed 15 g each). This is our assumed rich recipe, not a measured restaurant dish. Each IFCT line is the kJ divided by 4.184, times the grams, divided by 100, to 0.1 kcal; each USDA line is the printed kcal per 100 g times the grams, divided by 100; protein is the table's protein per 100 g times the grams, divided by 100. Salt, ghee, kasuri methi, garam masala and sugar are not counted.

The grid varies the dry beans (40, 50 or 60 g, urad and rajma in the same 4 to 1 split) and the butter (10, 15 or 20 g); the onion, tomato, ginger, garlic and spices stay as above and the 2 tablespoons of cream are always in.

Worked example 2: lighter home-style dal makhani

Same method, the same beans, onion, tomato, ginger, garlic and spices; only the fat changes: 5 g of butter (one 5 g pat, USDA's printed portion) and no cream.

The grid varies the dry beans (40, 50 or 60 g, urad and rajma in the same 4 to 1 split) and the butter (5, 10 or 15 g); the onion, tomato, ginger, garlic and spices stay as above, with no cream.

The two main cases side by side

These are the single examples used in the short answer; each follows from the tables above and from the weights in the cell.

What stands out in the numbers

• The beans are the largest line: the 50 g of dry beans (40 g whole urad B004, 291.3 kcal per 100 g, and 10 g red rajma B020) are 146.4 kcal, against 44.5 kcal for the onion, tomato, ginger, garlic and spices together.
• Butter and cream are the difference between the two: 15 g of butter is 107.6 kcal and 2 tablespoons of cream 102.0 kcal, 209.6 kcal together, against 35.9 kcal for the 5 g of butter in the home-style pot, so the rich main case is 173.7 kcal higher.
• Bean weight against butter: in the rich version the butter (10 to 20 g) moves the total more than the bean weight: 71.7 kcal against 58.6 kcal; in the home-style version the butter (5 to 15 g) moves it more than the bean weight: 71.7 kcal against 58.6 kcal.
• Protein: about 13.5 g in the rich main case and 12.5 g in the home-style one; the beans supply 10.8 g of it, and the cream and butter add 1.0 g to the rich version.
• These are estimates: no dal makhani record exists, the weights are ours, and ghee, more cream or butter, or a bigger portion will be higher.

Why these are estimates, not your dal makhani

• No record exists for the dish. IFCT 2017 prints raw dry pulses and no cooked dish, and USDA SR Legacy has no dal makhani record.
• The weights are assumptions. No table prints how many beans, how much butter or how much cream one portion takes; ours are stated so you can replace them. The 4 to 1 urad to rajma split is ours.
• Dry weights. The beans take up a lot of water in cooking and no table prints the cooked weight, so the page counts dry weight and cannot say how many katori or bowls the portion makes.
• No restaurant figure. The rich version is a recipe we assumed, not a measured restaurant dish; no table prints a restaurant weight or fat use.
• No per 100 g figure. No table prints a cooked dal makhani weight, so a calories-per-100-g number cannot be derived from these rows.
• US fat data. The butter and cream rows are US records; IFCT has neither.
• Labels are printed, not judged. Calculated and the other labels are USDA's words on the records; we print them and draw no conclusion from them.

How to log it so the numbers hold

• Log it by parts. Weigh the urad and rajma dry before soaking, estimate the onion and tomato, and log the butter and cream by their own weight (weight × figure ÷ 100); our ghee, oil and sugar guide has the spoon values.
• Say how much butter and cream. They are the inputs this page cannot know; a 5 g pat of butter is 35.9 kcal and a tablespoon of cream 51.0 kcal.
• Say how many beans. From 40 to 60 g dry it moves the rich pot by 58.6 kcal.
• Log the naan, roti or rice separately. They are not in these figures.

Where NYUS fits (our app)

We make NYUS, so read this as ours. NYUS is an AI fitness and nutrition coach in early access on Android, with no ads and no data selling. You log foods yourself by searching 8,900+ Indian and global foods or by barcode, and a weekly check-in adjusts your calories, macros and step goal once enough is logged. Barcode coverage of Indian packaged foods is not complete, so search by name when a scan finds nothing.

What this page leaves out

• A measured calorie figure for dal makhani as a dish: no primary record prints one, so every figure here is an estimate from stated weights.
• A calorie target, and any claim about what dal, butter or cream does to your body: we have not looked up any for any person, so we give none. If you have a medical condition or are pregnant, ask your doctor or dietitian.
• Ghee, kasuri methi, garam masala, coriander, sugar, cashew paste, salt and spice powders other than red chilli and turmeric, and other versions such as dal fry, dal tadka or langar dal: not covered here; log them from their own rows (our dal tadka guide works the tadka dals out, and our butter chicken guide counts the same butter and cream on chicken).
• Restaurant, dhaba and packaged dal makhani: no table prints a restaurant weight or fat use, so we give no such figure; read the pack for packaged ones.
• Other IFCT rows for the same ingredients (the brown and black rajma rows, split urad and other onion and tomato rows): they exist and are not used here.
• Nutrients beyond energy, water, protein, fat, carbohydrate, fibre, total sugars and sodium: not covered here.

Sources

• ICMR-NIN, Indian Food Composition Tables 2017 (IFCT 2017), Table 1, per 100 g edible portion, mean of the regions shown (read from the PDF text 29 October 2026): B004 Black gram, whole (6 regions, 1219 kJ, PDF p. 42); B020 Rajmah, red (3 regions, 1252 kJ, PDF p. 43); G017 Onion, big (6 regions, 201 kJ, PDF p. 54); D075 Tomato, ripe, hybrid (6 regions, 79 kJ, PDF p. 48); G014 Ginger, fresh (6 regions, 230 kJ, PDF p. 54); G011 Garlic, big clove (6 regions, 518 kJ, PDF p. 54); G025 Cumin seeds (6 regions, 1274 kJ, PDF p. 54); G022 Chillies, red (6 regions, 990 kJ, PDF p. 54); G033 Turmeric powder (6 regions, 1174 kJ, PDF p. 55). IFCT 2017 prints raw, dry pulses (and almost entirely raw foods; its few cooked rows are boiled and omelette eggs and roasted vermicelli) and no dal makhani or other cooked dish, no butter row and no cream row (PDF text searched for dal makhani, makhani, butter, cream and ghee; the whole urad row is B004 and the red rajma row is B020).
• USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy 173410 (Butter, salted): Energy 717 kcal (3000 kJ), protein 0.85 g, total fat 81.1 g, carbohydrate by difference 0.06 g, fibre 0 g, total sugars 0.06 g, sodium 643 mg per 100 g; labels as printed: kcal Calculated, carbohydrate by difference Calculated, total sugars Nutrient that is based on other nutrient/s; value used directly, ex. Nut.#204 from Nut.#298, kJ Calculated, water Analytical, sodium Nutrient that is based on other nutrient/s; value used directly, ex. Nut.#204 from Nut.#298; portions used: 1 pat (1" sq, 1/3" high) (5 g); 1 stick (113 g); 1 cup (227 g); 1 tbsp (14.2 g) (read 29 October 2026).
• USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy 170859 (Cream, fluid, heavy whipping): Energy 340 kcal (1420 kJ), protein 2.84 g, total fat 36.1 g, carbohydrate by difference 2.84 g, fibre 0 g, total sugars 2.92 g, sodium 27 mg per 100 g; labels as printed: kcal Calculated, carbohydrate by difference Calculated, total sugars Analytical, kJ Calculated, protein Analytical, fat Analytical, sodium Analytical; portions used: 1 cup, whipped (120 g); 1 cup, fluid (yields 2 cups whipped) (238 g); 1 tbsp (15 g); 1 fl oz (29.8 g) (read 29 October 2026).
• nyus.in, the NYUS landing page, read on 29 October 2026 for the app statements in the NYUS section and the CTA.

The ingredient weights, the 4 to 1 bean split, the kJ to kcal conversions, the line values, the sums, the grids, the portion kcal, the rounding, the comparisons and every sentence starting "Our reading" are NYUS's own assumptions, arithmetic or opinion, not from USDA or IFCT. The IFCT values are the means printed in IFCT 2017 Table 1; the USDA values, data-type labels and Measures-list portions are exactly as shown on the USDA record pages. The names in the first column are the tables' own names.

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