Ragi Idli Calories: Less Oil and More Oil

By NYUS Inc. · Published 3 November 2026

The figures on this page are built from IFCT 2017 Table 1 rows and, where Table 1 has no row, USDA FoodData Central SR Legacy records. No primary table has a ragi idli record: IFCT 2017, the Indian Food Composition Tables from ICMR-NIN, prints raw foods (its few cooked rows are boiled and omelette eggs and roasted vermicelli) and no ragi idli, no idli, no batter and no cooking oil row, and USDA FoodData Central SR Legacy has no ragi idli record. So this page does not quote a number. It works one plate out line by line: the ragi, dry urad dal and green chilli from named rows and the oil from a USDA record, with weights that are our assumptions and the oil shown apart so you can see what it adds, once with 3 g of oil and once with 10 g. They are estimates, shown so you can change the weights to match your pan. For a rice and urad dal idli with sambar see our idli sambar guide, for a semolina idli our rava idli guide, for a ragi dosa our ragi dosa guide, and for the spoon values our ghee, oil and sugar guide.

The short answer

By our working, one plate of ragi idli with a little oil (60 g ragi (as ragi flour), 20 g dry urad dal and 2 g green chilli and 3 g of peanut oil (about 0.7 teaspoons)) is about 284.5 kcal and 8.9 g protein, and one plate with more oil (60 g ragi (as ragi flour), 20 g dry urad dal and 2 g green chilli and 10 g of peanut oil (about 0.7 tablespoons)) is about 346.4 kcal and 8.9 g protein. Scaling the ragi flour from 50 to 70 g (every other ingredient scaled with it) and the oil from 2 to 5 g the less oil plate runs 232.9 to 345.2 kcal, and with 8 to 15 g of oil the more oil plate runs 285.9 to 433.6 kcal. These are estimates from the weights below, not measured values, not from a ragi idli record and not a shop or restaurant figure. Our reading: the parts of the less oil main case rank the ragi and urad dal 257.2 kcal, the oil 26.5 kcal, the green chilli 0.8 kcal; the parts of the more oil main case rank the ragi and urad dal 257.2 kcal, the oil 88.4 kcal, the green chilli 0.8 kcal; and the more oil plate is 61.9 kcal above the other because only the oil differs.

Table 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 3 rows from the PDF text on 3 November 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; every row here is raw, so we count raw weight, and IFCT prints ragi as the whole dry grain and has no ragi flour row; we apply the grain row to the flour weight and do not claim the two are equal. The water in the batter, fermentation and steaming are not printed in any table.

The oil: USDA SR Legacy, per 100 g

IFCT 2017 Table 1 has no cooking oil row, so the oil comes from USDA FoodData Central SR Legacy; it is a US record (peanut oil). 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 some fields and none beside others. This table copies what the record shows, read field by field from the nutrient table of the 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 USDA records

These are the entries in the records' Measures lists, as printed; the other entry is 100 g. This page counts the oil in grams and takes 1 teaspoon as 4.5 g and 1 tablespoon as 13.5 g, the oil record's own measures. 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: 171410 1 tsp (4.5 g): 884 × 4.5 / 100 = 39.78, so 39.8 kcal; 171410 1 cup (216 g): 884 × 216 / 100 = 1909.44, so 1909.4 kcal; 171410 1 tbsp (13.5 g): 884 × 13.5 / 100 = 119.34, so 119.3 kcal. By the same arithmetic 5 g of oil is 44.2 kcal and 10 g 88.4 kcal.

Worked example 1: ragi idli with a little oil

Every weight here is our assumption for one plate, counted raw: a batter of 60 g of ragi flour and 20 g of urad dal with a little green chilli, fermented and steamed as idlis, counted as one plate (our assumption: about four idlis); the oil is what greases the moulds, an amount we assume. 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 and spice powders are not counted.

The grid varies the raw ragi flour per plate (50, 60, 70 g, with every other ingredient scaled by the same factor and rounded to 0.1 g) and the oil (2, 3, 5 g); the weights in the table above are the 60 g main case.

Worked example 2: ragi idli with more oil

Same method and the same 60 g ragi (as ragi flour), 20 g dry urad dal and 2 g green chilli; the 3 g of oil becomes 10 g. This is our assumed recipe, not a measured plate.

The grid varies the raw ragi flour per plate (50, 60, 70 g, with every other ingredient scaled by the same factor and rounded to 0.1 g) and the oil (8, 10, 15 g); the weights in the table above are the 60 g main case.

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

• Less oil, part by part: the ragi and urad dal 257.2 kcal, the oil 26.5 kcal, the green chilli 0.8 kcal. Ragi is 320.7 kcal per 100 g (IFCT A010), dry urad dal 324.1 kcal per 100 g (IFCT B003) and the oil 884 kcal per 100 g (USDA 171410).
• More oil, part by part: the ragi and urad dal 257.2 kcal, the oil 88.4 kcal, the green chilli 0.8 kcal; against the less oil plate the oil is 61.9 kcal higher, and that is the whole difference between the plates.
• Size against oil: on the less oil plate the ragi flour weight (50 to 70 g) moves it more than the oil (2 to 5 g): 85.8 kcal against 26.5 kcal; on the more oil plate the ragi flour weight (50 to 70 g) moves it more than the oil (8 to 15 g): 85.8 kcal against 61.9 kcal. Each 5 g of oil is 44.2 kcal.
• Protein: about 8.9 g in either plate (the oil adds none).
• These are estimates: no ragi idli record exists, the weights are ours, and a different weight of any ingredient in the tables above will change them.

Why these are estimates, not your ragi idli

• No record exists for the dish. IFCT 2017 prints raw foods and no cooked dish, and the USDA SR Legacy searches found no ragi idli record (0 results for ragi idli, 0 results for idli). There is no SR Legacy record for ragi idli or for idli at all (0 results for each).
• The weights are assumptions. No table prints how much of each ingredient or of the oil a plate takes; ours are stated so you can replace them.
• Raw weights. No table prints the weight of the ragi idli after cooking, so the page counts raw weight and cannot give a per 100 g or per plate figure.
• Only the oil in the pan is counted. Oil used any other way, or left in the pan, is not counted unless it is in the oil weight.
• US data. The oil row is a US record; IFCT Table 1 has no oil row.
• Labels are printed, not judged. Calculated and Assumed zero are USDA's words on the record; we print them and draw no conclusion from them.

How to log it so the numbers hold

• Log it by parts. Weigh the raw ingredients once for your usual pan, and log the oil by its own weight (weight × figure ÷ 100); our ghee, oil and sugar guide has the spoon values.
• Say how much oil. It is an input this page cannot know; 5 g of oil is 44.2 kcal.
• Say how the pan was divided. The page gives one plate from raw weights; divide the pan's total by the portions you actually made.
• Say what else went in. Anything not in the listed ingredients is not counted.

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 ragi idli 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 the ingredients or the oil do 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.
• Other versions and add-ins, such as rice or semolina in the batter, vegetables, a tempering and a restaurant or packaged ragi idli: not counted here; log them from their own rows (rice and urad dal idli with sambar is in our idli sambar guide, a semolina idli in our rava idli guide).
• Other fats: ghee, butter and other oils were not looked up for this page.
• Shop, restaurant and packaged ragi idli: no table prints a weight or oil use, so we give no such figure; read the pack for packaged ones.
• Per 100 g and per plate figures: no table prints a cooked weight, so none is given 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 3 November 2026): A010 Ragi (5 regions, 1342 kJ, PDF p. 41); B003 Black gram, dal (6 regions, 1356 kJ, PDF p. 42); G008 Chillies, green - all varieties (6 regions, 177 kJ, PDF p. 53). IFCT 2017 prints raw foods (its few cooked rows are boiled and omelette eggs and roasted vermicelli) and no ragi idli, no idli, no batter and no cooking oil row (PDF text searched on 3 Nov for idli and batter (0 matches each); the rows used are A010 ragi (PDF p. 41), B003 black gram dal (p. 42) and G008 green chilli (p. 53)).
• USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy 171410 (Oil, peanut, salad or cooking): Energy 884 kcal (3700 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 Calculated, carbohydrate by difference no label shown, total sugars Assumed zero (Insignificant amount or not naturally occurring in a food, such as fiber in meat); portions used: 1 tsp (4.5 g); 1 cup (216 g); 1 tbsp (13.5 g) (read 3 November 2026).
• USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy searches run on 3 November 2026 (control 'roll dinner' 11 results): ragi idli 0 results, idli 0 results.
• nyus.in, the NYUS landing page, read on 3 November 2026 for the app statements in the NYUS section and the CTA.

The ingredient weights, the scaling, 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 totals add the rounded line values, so a total can differ from the unrounded sum by a rounding step. 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 page. The names in the first column are the tables' own names.

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