Low-Calorie Indian Foods: 37 Foods Ranked by Calories (IFCT 2017)
"Low-calorie Indian foods" and "zero-calorie foods" are common searches, and most lists give no source. This guide ranks 32 of the lowest-energy foods in Table 1 of the ICMR-NIN Indian Food Composition Tables 2017 (IFCT 2017), adds 5 everyday foods for contrast, and shows how many grams of each make 100 kcal. It sets no calorie target and makes no weight or health claim.
The short answer
By IFCT 2017, no food in the table is zero calorie. The lowest here is bottle gourd at 11 kcal per 100 g, then dark-green snake gourd at 12 kcal and ridge gourd at 13 kcal; most of these foods are about 90 to 95 g of water per 100 g. For contrast, potato is 70 kcal, whole cow milk 73 kcal, wheat flour 320 kcal and raw milled rice 356 kcal per 100 g. Our reading: 100 kcal is about 910 g of bottle gourd but only about 30 g of raw rice, which is why portion size and the way a food is cooked matter more than the label "low calorie".
37 foods ranked by energy per 100 g
Each row is one IFCT 2017 Table 1 row (proximate principles), per 100 g edible portion as listed in the book, mean value. Energy is the book's kilojoules divided by 4.184, to the nearest kcal; grams for 100 kcal is 10,000 divided by that kcal, to the nearest 10 g. Every food here is raw except whole cow milk, which is listed as sold. This is a selection of 32 low-energy foods plus the contrast rows, not every row in the book.
| Food (IFCT 2017 Table 1 row) | Energy per 100 g | Grams for 100 kcal | Water per 100 g |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bottle gourd, elongate, pale green (lauki) (D007) | 11 kcal | 910 g | 95.17 g |
| Snake gourd, long, dark green (chichinda) (D071) | 12 kcal | 830 g | 94.92 g |
| Ridge gourd (turai) (D068) | 13 kcal | 770 g | 94.99 g |
| Tinda, tender (D073) | 14 kcal | 710 g | 94.41 g |
| Pak choi leaves (C027) | 16 kcal | 630 g | 93.56 g |
| Bamboo shoot, tender (D002) | 16 kcal | 630 g | 94.56 g |
| Capsicum, green (D033) | 16 kcal | 630 g | 93.89 g |
| Celery stalk (D037) | 16 kcal | 630 g | 92.87 g |
| Knol-khol (ganth gobhi) (D053) | 16 kcal | 630 g | 93.14 g |
| Ash gourd (petha) (D001) | 17 kcal | 590 g | 92.17 g |
| Kovai, big (tindora) (D054) | 17 kcal | 590 g | 92.78 g |
| Water melon, pale green (E066) | 17 kcal | 590 g | 95.33 g |
| Cabbage, Chinese (C013) | 18 kcal | 560 g | 93.19 g |
| Bitter gourd, short (karela) (D005) | 19 kcal | 530 g | 91.60 g |
| Cho-cho-marrow (chayote) (D038) | 19 kcal | 530 g | 93.78 g |
| Colocasia, stem, green (D041) | 19 kcal | 530 g | 92.67 g |
| Tomato, ripe, hybrid (D075) | 19 kcal | 530 g | 93.79 g |
| Zucchini, yellow (D078) | 19 kcal | 530 g | 93.15 g |
| Basella leaves (poi) (C007) | 20 kcal | 500 g | 92.68 g |
| Cucumber, green, elongate (D043) | 20 kcal | 500 g | 92.96 g |
| Chicken mushroom, fresh (J002) | 21 kcal | 480 g | 92.43 g |
| Cabbage, green (C015) | 22 kcal | 450 g | 91.85 g |
| Lettuce (C025) | 22 kcal | 450 g | 92.27 g |
| Cauliflower (D036) | 23 kcal | 430 g | 90.76 g |
| Pumpkin, orange, round (D066) | 23 kcal | 430 g | 91.85 g |
| Musk melon, orange flesh (E045) | 23 kcal | 430 g | 92.97 g |
| Spinach, raw (palak) (C033) | 24 kcal | 420 g | 90.31 g |
| Papaya, raw (D059) | 24 kcal | 420 g | 92.04 g |
| Gooseberry (amla) (E021) | 24 kcal | 420 g | 87.02 g |
| Brinjal, all varieties (baingan) (D031) | 25 kcal | 400 g | 90.00 g |
| Strawberry (E063) | 25 kcal | 400 g | 92.03 g |
| Button mushroom, fresh (J001) | 27 kcal | 370 g | 90.09 g |
| Potato, brown skin, big (F006) (for contrast) | 70 kcal | 140 g | 80.72 g |
| Milk, whole, cow (L002) (for contrast) | 73 kcal | 140 g | 86.64 g |
| Banana, ripe, robusta (E012) (for contrast) | 105 kcal | 100 g | 71.93 g |
| Wheat flour, atta (A019) (for contrast) | 320 kcal | 30 g | 11.10 g |
| Rice, raw, milled (white rice) (A015) (for contrast) | 356 kcal | 30 g | 9.93 g |
Energy in a serving, with weights we chose
IFCT lists food per 100 g, so a serving needs a weight, and these are ours. Each figure is the table's kcal per 100 g times the grams, divided by 100, to the nearest kcal. Rice and flour are dry weights, before cooking.
| Serving (weights are ours) | Energy |
|---|---|
| 200 g bottle gourd (D007) | 22 kcal |
| 150 g tomato (D075) | 29 kcal |
| 100 g cucumber (D043) | 20 kcal |
| 200 g green cabbage (C015) | 44 kcal |
| 100 g raw spinach (C033) | 24 kcal |
| 100 g button mushroom (J001) | 27 kcal |
| 200 g cauliflower (D036) | 46 kcal |
| 200 g pale-green watermelon (E066) | 34 kcal |
| 100 g potato (F006) | 70 kcal |
| 200 g whole cow milk (L002) | 146 kcal |
| 40 g raw milled rice (A015) | 142 kcal |
| 30 g wheat flour (atta) (A019) | 96 kcal |
What the numbers say
- The lowest rows are gourds, leaves and melons. Bottle gourd 11 kcal, ridge gourd 13 kcal, pale-green watermelon 17 kcal and cucumber 20 kcal per 100 g; 200 g of bottle gourd holds about 22 kcal.
- Most of the other vegetables here sit between 16 and 27 kcal per 100 g. Tomato 19 kcal, green cabbage 22 kcal, cauliflower 23 kcal and spinach 24 kcal; see calories in common Indian vegetables and calories in common Indian fruits.
- Dry staples are a different scale. Raw milled rice 356 kcal and wheat flour 320 kcal per 100 g; our calories and macros page shows what a cooked katori or roti works out to.
For a plate without a scale, see the hand-portion method for Indian plates.
What this page leaves out
- Cooked dishes and added oil: IFCT 2017 Table 1 gives these foods raw (milk as sold), so a cooked sabzi, which usually has oil, holds more energy than its row.
- Foods outside the 37 chosen, packaged foods, tofu and curd (no IFCT row).
- A calorie target, and anything about weight loss, fullness, diets or health outcomes: the page adds up food data and makes no such claim.
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Join the NYUS waitlistFrequently asked questions
What are the lowest-calorie Indian foods?
Of the 37 foods here, IFCT 2017 Table 1 gives the lowest energy per 100 g to bottle gourd (D007) at 11 kcal, dark-green snake gourd (D071) at 12 kcal and ridge gourd (D068) at 13 kcal, then tinda (D073) at 14 kcal and pak choi, knol-khol, bamboo shoot, green capsicum and celery at 16 kcal. These foods are mostly water, about 95.17 g per 100 g for bottle gourd.
Are there any zero-calorie Indian foods?
Not in IFCT 2017 Table 1. The lowest row we found is bottle gourd (D007) at 11 kcal per 100 g, and no row we ranked is zero. This guide makes no claim about "negative-calorie" foods; it only lists the energy printed in the table.
How much of a food is 100 kcal?
By our arithmetic from the IFCT 2017 kcal per 100 g, 100 kcal is about 910 g of bottle gourd (11 kcal per 100 g), 420 g of raw spinach (24 kcal), 140 g of potato (70 kcal), but only about 30 g of raw milled rice (356 kcal) and 30 g of wheat flour (320 kcal).
How many calories should I eat in a day?
We have not looked up a calorie target for any age, goal or condition, so this guide gives none and makes no claim about weight or health. It lists the energy in raw foods (milk as sold) as printed in IFCT 2017, not in a cooked dish. If you are cutting calories for a medical reason, are underweight or take medicines, ask a doctor or registered dietitian what amount is right for you.
Sources
- ICMR-NIN, Indian Food Composition Tables 2017 (IFCT 2017). Table 1 (Proximate Principles and Dietary Fibre), energy (kJ, divided by 4.184) and moisture per 100 g, rows opened and read from the PDF on 24 Oct 2026: PDF page 41: A015; PDF page 42: A019; PDF page 43: C007; PDF page 44: C013, C015, C025, C027; PDF page 45: C033, D001, D002, D005, D007; PDF page 46: D031, D033; PDF page 47: D036, D037, D038, D041, D043, D053, D054; PDF page 48: D059, D066, D068, D071, D073, D075; PDF page 49: D078, E012; PDF page 50: E021; PDF page 51: E045; PDF page 52: E063, E066, F006; PDF page 56: J001, J002; PDF page 57: L002.
The serving weights, the serving energy, the grams-for-100-kcal figures, the kcal conversion and every sentence starting "Our reading" are NYUS's own arithmetic or opinion, not from a study. Names in brackets are our matching to the IFCT row names.