Dal Tadka Calories: Worked from Raw Dal Rows

By NYUS Inc. · Published 29 October 2026

"Dal tadka calories", "dal tadka calories per 100g", "dal tadka calories and protein", "dal fry calories" and "moong dal fry calories" are searched in India, and the answers online differ. No primary table has a dal tadka 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 tadka, dal fry or other cooked dish, no ghee row, and USDA FoodData Central SR Legacy has no dal tadka record. So this page does not quote a number. It works one portion out line by line: the raw dal and the tadka's onion, tomato, garlic, cumin, chilli and turmeric from named IFCT 2017 rows and the ghee from a USDA record, with weights that are our assumptions and the ghee shown apart so you can see what it adds. They are estimates, shown so you can change the weights to match your pot. For USDA's boiled dal per katori see our cooked dal guide, for the raw dals per 100 g our raw dal guide, and for the spoon values our ghee, oil and sugar guide.

The short answer

By our working, one portion of toor dal tadka (40 g raw toor (arhar) dal, onion 30 g, tomato 50 g, garlic 4 g, cumin seeds 2 g, green chilli 2 g, turmeric 0.5 g and 10 g of ghee) is about 259.4 kcal and 10.2 g protein. Across 30 to 50 g of raw toor dal and 5 to 15 g of ghee the range is 181.3 to 337.5 kcal, every cell with the ghee tempering; with moong, chana or masoor dal in place of toor the main case is 257.4, 258.7 and 256.1 kcal. These are estimates from the weights below, not measured values and not from a dal tadka record. Our reading: in the toor main case the raw dal is the largest line (132.3 kcal, against 90.0 kcal for the ghee and 37.1 kcal for the onion, tomato, garlic, cumin, chilli and turmeric), and the four dals land within 3.3 kcal of each other because their IFCT energy values are close.

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 10 rows from the PDF text on 29 October 2026, as the mean of the regions shown; the kcal is ours (kJ divided by 4.184, to 0.1). IFCT prints no portion weights; the dal rows are raw, dry dal, so we count raw weights, and the cooked weight of a dal is not printed in any table.

The ghee: USDA SR Legacy, per 100 g

IFCT 2017 has no ghee or other cooking fat row, so the ghee comes from USDA FoodData Central SR Legacy; it is a US record. 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 page shows a data-type label beside each field. This table copies what the record shows, read field by field from the nutrient table of the record page; "no label shown" would mean the record prints no label there. We do not interpret the labels beyond printing them. IFCT 2017 prints no such labels.

No household measure for ghee

USDA's record page lists only the 100 g measure for this record: it prints no teaspoon, tablespoon or other household weight, so none is used. The ghee weights on this page (5, 10 and 15 g) are our assumptions, and we call them about 1, 2 and 3 teaspoons only as our own conversion at an assumed 5 g a teaspoon. The kcal for a weight is our arithmetic: the printed 900 kcal per 100 g times the grams, divided by 100: 5 g is 45.00, so 45.0 kcal; 10 g is 90.00, so 90.0 kcal; 15 g is 135.00, so 135.0 kcal.

Worked example 1: toor dal tadka

Every weight here is our assumption for one portion, counted raw: 40 g of dry toor dal (IFCT B021), and a tadka of onion, tomato, garlic, cumin seeds, green chilli and turmeric powder fried in ghee. Each IFCT line is the kJ divided by 4.184, times the grams, divided by 100, to 0.1 kcal; the ghee line is USDA's 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, coriander leaves, curry leaves and lemon are not counted, and the water the dal is boiled in carries no energy.

The grid varies the raw toor dal (30, 40 or 50 g) and the ghee (5, 10 or 15 g); the tadka vegetables and spices stay as above.

Worked example 2: dal fry with moong, chana or masoor dal

Same method, same tadka and the same 10 g of ghee; only the dal row changes, to IFCT B010 (green gram dal, moong), B001 (Bengal gram dal, chana) or B013 (lentil dal, masoor), each at 40 g raw.

What stands out in the numbers

• The raw dal is the largest line: 40 g of toor dal is 132.3 kcal (IFCT B021, 330.8 kcal per 100 g), against 90.0 kcal for 10 g of ghee and 37.1 kcal for everything else in the tadka.
• Ghee against dal weight: in this working the ghee (5 to 15 g) moves the toor portion more than the dal weight: 90.0 kcal against 66.2 kcal. Each 5 g of ghee is 45.0 kcal.
• Four dals, same tadka: masoor 256.1, moong 257.4, chana 258.7, toor (arhar) 259.4 kcal in the main case, lowest to highest, a spread of 3.3 kcal, because IFCT prints 1349 to 1384 kJ per 100 g for the four raw dals; the chana row (B001) has the most fat, 5.31 g per 100 g against 0.75 to 1.56 g for the others, and less carbohydrate.
• Protein: masoor 11.2, moong 11.1, toor (arhar) 10.2, chana 10.1 g, highest to lowest, with 40 g of raw dal; the ghee adds none.
• These are estimates: no dal tadka record exists, the weights are ours, and a heavier tadka, cream, butter or a bigger portion will be higher.

Why these are estimates, not your dal

• No record exists for the dish. IFCT 2017 prints raw dry pulses and no cooked dish, and USDA SR Legacy has no dal tadka record.
• The weights are assumptions. No table prints how much dal, tadka base or ghee one portion takes; ours are stated so you can replace them.
• Raw weights. A dal takes up water in cooking and no table prints the cooked weight, so the page counts raw dry weight and cannot say how many katori it makes.
• No per 100 g figure. No table prints a cooked dal weight, so a calories-per-100-g number cannot be derived from these rows.
• US ghee data and our ghee weights. The ghee row is a US record with no household measure; the gram weights are ours.
• Labels are printed, not judged. The labels on the USDA record are its own words; we print them and draw no conclusion from them.

How to log it so the numbers hold

• Log it by parts. Weigh the dal dry before boiling, estimate the onion and tomato, and log the ghee by its own weight (weight × figure ÷ 100); our ghee, oil and sugar guide has the spoon values.
• Say which dal. The four dals here differ by at most 3.3 kcal at the same weight and ghee, but they differ in protein (10.1 to 11.2 g).
• Say how much ghee. It is an input this page cannot know; each 5 g is 45.0 kcal.
• Log rice or roti 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 tadka 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 or ghee 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.
• Salt, coriander leaves, curry leaves, lemon, cream, butter and coconut, and other dals and mixes such as dal makhani or sambar: not covered here; log them from their own rows (our sambar and rasam guide works sambar out).
• Restaurant, dhaba and packaged dal: no table prints a restaurant weight or ghee use, so we give no such figure; read the pack for packaged ones.
• Other IFCT rows for the same ingredients (whole dals, other onions and tomatoes): 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): B021 Red gram, dal (6 regions, 1384 kJ, PDF p. 43); B010 Green gram, dal (6 regions, 1363 kJ, PDF p. 42); B001 Bengal gram, dal (6 regions, 1377 kJ, PDF p. 42); B013 Lentil dal (6 regions, 1349 kJ, PDF p. 42); G017 Onion, big (6 regions, 201 kJ, PDF p. 54); D075 Tomato, ripe, hybrid (6 regions, 79 kJ, PDF p. 48); G011 Garlic, big clove (6 regions, 518 kJ, PDF p. 54); G025 Cumin seeds (6 regions, 1274 kJ, PDF p. 54); G008 Chillies, green - all varieties (6 regions, 177 kJ, PDF p. 53); 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 tadka, dal fry or other cooked dish, no ghee row (PDF text searched for tadka, dal fry, tempering, ghee and curry; the pulse rows are B001 to B022).
• USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy 171314 (Butter, Clarified butter (ghee)): Energy 900 kcal (3770 kJ), protein 0 g, total fat 100 g, carbohydrate by difference 0 g, fibre 0 g, total sugars 0 g, sodium 0 mg per 100 g; labels as printed: kcal Label claim (back calculated from label by NDL staff; Calculated from label claim/serving (g or %RDI), carbohydrate by difference Label claim (back calculated from label by NDL staff; Calculated from label claim/serving (g or %RDI), total sugars Label claim (back calculated from label by NDL staff; Calculated from label claim/serving (g or %RDI), fibre Label claim (back calculated from label by NDL staff; Calculated from label claim/serving (g or %RDI), kJ Label claim (back calculated from label by NDL staff; Calculated from label claim/serving (g or %RDI), water Taken from another source--other tables of food composition, protein Label claim (back calculated from label by NDL staff; Calculated from label claim/serving (g or %RDI), fat Label claim (back calculated from label by NDL staff; Calculated from label claim/serving (g or %RDI), sodium Label claim (back calculated from label by NDL staff; Calculated from label claim/serving (g or %RDI) (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 ghee gram weights, the kJ to kcal conversions, the line values, the sums, the grids, 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 and data-type labels are exactly as shown on the USDA record page. The names in the first column are the tables' own names.

Frequently asked questions