Sambar and Rasam Calories: Worked from IFCT Rows

By NYUS Inc. · Published 29 October 2026

"Sambar calories", "sambar calories 1 cup", "rasam calories" and "rasam calories 100 ml" are searched in India, and the answers online differ. The reason is simple: no primary table has a sambar or rasam record. IFCT 2017, the Indian Food Composition Tables from ICMR-NIN, prints almost entirely raw foods (its few cooked rows are boiled and omelette eggs and roasted vermicelli) and no sambar, rasam, soup or other mixed dish, and USDA FoodData Central SR Legacy returns 0 results for sambar and for rasam. So this page does not quote a number; it works one katori (about 150 ml) out line by line from named IFCT 2017 rows, with ingredient weights that are our assumptions, and tells you which assumptions move the answer. It is an estimate, and it is shown so you can change the weights to match your own pot. For the idli and dosa plates that sambar goes with see our idli sambar full-plate guide, and for chutney our chutney guide.

The short answer

By our working from IFCT 2017 rows, one 150 ml katori of sambar comes to about 85.9 kcal with 15 g of dry toor dal and no oil, 119.0 kcal with 25 g of dal and no oil, and 158.8 kcal with 25 g of dal and a teaspoon of oil; one 150 ml cup of rasam comes to about 44.6 to 84.4 kcal depending on the oil. These are estimates from the weights listed below, not measured values and not from a sambar or rasam record. Our reading: in the sambar example toor dal supplies 69% of the kcal when there is no oil, and a teaspoon of oil adds 39.8 kcal, so the dal weight and the oil are the two inputs we vary in the grid below.

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 14 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 and these rows are raw ingredients: dry toor dal, raw vegetables, tamarind pulp and dry spices.

The oil: USDA SR Legacy, per 100 g

IFCT 2017 Table 1 has no cooking oil row, so the tempering oil comes from USDA FoodData Central SR Legacy. We use peanut oil and show coconut oil beside it; 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; "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 oils

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: 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; 171412 1 cup (218 g): 892 × 218 / 100 = 1944.56, so 1944.6 kcal; 171412 1 tsp (4.5 g): 892 × 4.5 / 100 = 40.14, so 40.1 kcal; 171412 1 tbsp (13.6 g): 892 × 13.6 / 100 = 121.31, so 121.3 kcal. Half a teaspoon is 2.25 g, 19.9 kcal for peanut oil by the same arithmetic.

Worked example 1: one 150 ml katori of sambar

Every weight here is our assumption for the ingredients that go into one 150 ml katori of finished sambar; change them to match your pot. Each line is the IFCT kJ divided by 4.184, times the grams, divided by 100, to 0.1 kcal; protein is IFCT's protein per 100 g times the grams, divided by 100. The oil is added below.

The sum is the sum of the rounded lines: dal 82.7 kcal plus vegetables, tamarind and tempering 36.3 kcal is 119.0 kcal. The vegetables, tamarind and spices together are 31% of that and the toor dal 69%.

How the total moves with the dal weight and the oil

Only two inputs change in this grid: the dry toor dal per katori and the peanut oil in the tempering (0, 0.5 or 1 teaspoon). The vegetables, tamarind and spices stay as in the table above. Coconut oil would add 0.3 kcal per teaspoon more than peanut oil by USDA's two records.

Worked example 2: one 150 ml cup of rasam

Same method; the weights are again ours. The 5 g of toor dal stands for the dal water that goes into the rasam.

What stands out in the numbers

• The dal and the tamarind are the biggest lines: in the sambar example toor dal is 82.7 kcal and tamarind pulp 11.5 kcal, ahead of every vegetable line (5.9 kcal at most); in the rasam example the same two lead, at 16.5 and 11.5 kcal.
• Oil adds a fixed step: half a teaspoon adds 19.9 kcal and a teaspoon 39.8 kcal to either dish, which is 25% of the 25 g dal sambar with a teaspoon and 47% of the rasam with a teaspoon.
• Dal weight also moves the total: going from 15 g to 25 g of dry dal adds 33.1 kcal and 2.1 g protein to the sambar.
• Rasam is the lighter of the two here: 44.6 to 84.4 kcal against 85.9 to 158.8 for the sambar grid, because it holds 5 g of dal instead of 15 to 25 g.
• These are estimates: no sambar or rasam record exists, the weights are ours, and a pot with ground coconut, jaggery or more oil will be higher.

Why these are estimates, not your sambar

• No record exists for the dish. IFCT 2017 prints almost entirely raw foods and no mixed dish, and SR Legacy returns 0 results for sambar and rasam.
• The weights are assumptions. No table prints how much dal, tamarind or oil goes into a katori; ours are stated so you can replace them.
• A katori is a volume. We use 150 ml; no table converts it to grams, so we count ingredient weights per katori instead of weighing the sambar.
• US oil data. The oil rows are US records; IFCT has none.
• Labels are printed, not judged. Calculated, Analytical and the other labels are USDA's words on the oil records; we print them and draw no conclusion from them.

How to log it so the numbers hold

• Log it by ingredients. Weigh the dry dal, the vegetables, the tamarind and the oil that go into the pot, add each row's kcal (weight × figure ÷ 100) and divide by the number of katoris you get; our ghee, oil and sugar guide has the oil per teaspoon.
• Say how much oil. It is the one input this page cannot know; half a teaspoon and a teaspoon per katori differ by 19.9 kcal.
• Add what this example leaves out. Ground coconut, jaggery, ghee and ready sambar powder are not in the working; log them from their own rows.

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 sambar or rasam 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 sambar, rasam or their ingredients 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.
• Ground coconut, jaggery, ghee, ready sambar powder, other dals and other vegetables: not in the examples; log them from their own rows.
• Restaurant, canteen and packaged sambar and rasam: not covered; read the pack or ask the kitchen.
• USDA soup records (two lentil soups, one a brand, and canned vegetable soups): not sambar or rasam, left out.
• Other IFCT rows for the same ingredients (other tomato, onion, chilli and garlic rows): they exist and are not repeated.
• 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); D046 Drumstick (6 regions, 123 kJ, PDF p. 47); D031 Brinjal - all varieties (6 regions, 106 kJ, PDF p. 46); G018 Onion, small (5 regions, 237 kJ, PDF p. 54); D075 Tomato, ripe, hybrid (6 regions, 79 kJ, PDF p. 48); E064 Tamarind, pulp (6 regions, 1207 kJ, PDF p. 52); H013 Mustard seeds (6 regions, 2132 kJ, PDF p. 55); G026 Fenugreek seeds (6 regions, 983 kJ, PDF p. 54); G022 Chillies, red (6 regions, 990 kJ, PDF p. 54); G010 Curry leaves (6 regions, 266 kJ, PDF p. 54); G009 Coriander leaves (6 regions, 130 kJ, PDF p. 53); G011 Garlic, big clove (6 regions, 518 kJ, PDF p. 54); G025 Cumin seeds (6 regions, 1274 kJ, PDF p. 54); G031 Pepper, black (6 regions, 910 kJ, PDF p. 55). IFCT 2017 prints almost entirely raw foods (its few cooked rows are boiled and omelette eggs and roasted vermicelli) and no sambar, rasam, soup or other mixed dish (PDF text searched for sambar, rasam and soup); its Table 1 has no cooking oil row.
• 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 29 October 2026).
• USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy 171412 (Oil, coconut): Energy 892 kcal (3730 kJ), protein 0 g, total fat 99.1 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), kJ Calculated, water Analytical, protein Analytical, fat Analytical, sodium Analytical; portions used: 1 cup (218 g); 1 tsp (4.5 g); 1 tbsp (13.6 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 kJ to kcal conversions, the line values, the sums, the grid, 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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