Calories in Masala Dosa

-by Ishita Mondal

–Edited by Srishti Bhattacharya

–Reading Time – 16 min Approx

Masala Dosa is a popular name when it comes to delicious vegetarian dishes. It is a complete meal with a bowl of sweet-savory coconut chutney and hot, delicious sambhar. As a part of the Tuluva Mangalorean cuisine of Karnataka, the batter of this popular variation of South Indian dosa is made of lentils and rice. With the filling of spicy mashed potato inside, this delicious delicacy mesmerizes the foodies with every bite. But, along with the taste, you must also know about the calories in masala dosa to ensure a health check.

How to Measure the Calories in Masala Dosa:

Whether you are a gym enthusiast or a couch person, taking care of your health is a must. Unfortunately, amidst the busy pace of today’s world, we often miss taking care of our health. Instant gratification coming from tasty dishes is more acceptable than having a healthy meal.

Now, how to measure the calories in Masala Dosa? Well, in short, a calorie is a unit of energy that we gain from food. Significant macronutrients like fat, protein, carbohydrates are rich sources of gaining calories. There are two standardized ways to measure calories – bomb calorimeter and Atwater technique.

Bomb calorimeter measures the calories in food by keeping it inside a water-covered, sealed pot and heating it at a high temperature. However, as calorimeter has certain limitations, the best way to find out calories in masala dosa is through the Atwater technique. The technique measures the calorie amount in different foods along with the lost calorie through feces and urine. Thus, it gives a comparatively actual measurement of calories.

As per the technique, generally, proteins and carbohydrates contain four calories per gram and fats consist of 9 calories per gram. Let’s take an example – a food has 20 grams of protein and 10 grams of fat. So the total calorie in the food will be 80 (20*4) +90 (10*9) = 170 calories. So, in this way, we can count the calories in dosa as well.

Calories in Masala Dosa – Mysore Masala Dosa:

Before taking a bite of your favourite Mysorian cuisine, let’s know how many calories it has. As measured by the nutritionists, a whole Mysore masala dosa contains nearly 539 calories. In this dish, carbohydrates consist of almost 200 calories, proteins hold 156 calories, and fat contains 295 calories. If you go by the platter, the coconut chutney contains nearly 44 calories (1 tablespoon), and one standard bowl of sambhar has 120-121 calories. Finally, the king of the platter, the masala dosa, contains 415 calories.

Nonetheless, the number of calories differs as per the amount of the cooking ingredients. The authentic masala dosa platter in Mysore includes simple dosa packed up with the filling of potato masala. On the other hand, you can see a completely different variation of this dish on the streets of Mumbai. Peep inside the rolled-up crunchy dosa here and find a delicious combo of chopped veggies garnished with Mumbai special pav vaji masala. Along with this, sweet-tangy Mysore chutney is an additional bliss. So, calories in masala dosa vary as per these different preparations.

How to Burn out the Calories Consumed from Masala Dosa:

A high calorie is a matter of concern for health-conscious people. However, when it comes to treating your taste buds, you cannot ditch them after all. Being a foodie, you should not deprive yourself of the blissful taste of masala dosa. So, how to stay fit even after consuming the calories in masala dosa? Here is the answer to your question.

Working out is the best remedy to burn out calories and stay fit. All of you, who are fitness enthusiasts, surely know how it helps to reduce the extra fat in the body and prevents the accumulation of fat. It is the most helpful technique for burning out the calories in potato masala dosa or similar dishes. Now, you might have been thinking about the innumerable exercises, fitness techniques. There are so many, which one to choose? Let us guide you.

Take a Walk or Jog:

Walking is an excellent way to stay fit and reduce extra calories. But you must maintain a fast pace while walking.

Running:

Another effective way to burn out the calories found in masala dosa is running.

Swimming:

If swimming is your hobby, cheers! You can beat the calories in dosa easily. Swimming keeps our body active and helps to burn out calories. Swim for about 1.5 hours a day for best results.

Cycling:

When it comes to embarking on the fitness journey, nothing is better than cycling. If you want to have dosa without worrying about calories, just take a ride on your bicycle.

Reduce Calories in Masala Dosa – 4 Easy Preparations:

Due to the busy schedule of today’s life, many of us do not get time to work out. But this shouldn’t be an excuse for letting the extra calories disturb your health. So, if we cannot manage time to burn out calories, why don’t we lower the calorie intake? Here, we have shared some exclusive masala dosa recipes that will reduce the usual calories in masala dosa. But, before moving ahead with the recipes, we have listed down some simple tips to lower down the calories in regular masala dosa.

Tips to Prepare Low-Calorie Regular Masala Dosa:

• Use a nonstick pan to spread the batter.

  

• Put a meagre amount of oil.
• Use onion instead of potato for stuffing.
• To avoid the risk of high cholesterol, use pudina chutney instead of coconut chutney.
• Do not put jaggery in sambhar.
• Keep the liquid of sambhar light.
• Add various vegetables to the sambhar.

So, if you do not want to give up your South-Indian brunch, try these tips and make low-calorie regular masala dosa. However, these tips are enough to keep a loose check on calories. But, if you want to be strict with calorie intake, you must switch to different masala dosa recipes. The recipes are as follows:

Low-calorie Masala Dosa Recipes:

Oats Masala Dosa:

If you prefer a variety of masala dosa enriched with fiber, you must try Oats Masala Dosa with an Urad dal mix. As it does not contain any rice component, you can give it to diabetic patients as well. This gluten-free, protein-rich dish helps you to enjoy the taste of masala dosa with a low-calorie intake.

Ingredients:

1. Urad Dal
2. Oats
3. Salt as per taste
4. Vegetables for stuffing
5. Fenugreek seeds(optional)
6. Refined oil

Preparation:

• Mix the urad dal and oats and blend them well.
• Add some water into it and blend again.
• Keep the blended mix in a bowl and leave it for fermentation in a warm place for 10-12 hours.
• Add some fenugreek seeds for faster fermentation.
• Once it is fermented, add salt and blend the batter well.
• Heat a nonstick flat pot and sprinkle some water on it.
• Wipe the water off and spread the batter on the pot.
• Sprinkle some oil on it and cook on a high flame to make the dosa crisp and brown.
• Boil and smash the vegetables in a bowl
• Put the smashed vegetables on the dosa and roll it accordingly.

  

Nachni Masala Dosa:

One of the most nutritious and delicious South Indian dishes is Nachni Masala Dosa or Ragi Masala Dosa.

Ingredients:

1. Urad dal
2. Fenugreek Seeds
3. Water
4. Nachni flour or ragi flour
5. Grated carrots, chopped onions, chilies
6. Refined oil

Preparation:

• Blend the urad dal with fenugreek seeds in a mixer with water.
• Add nachni flour to it and mix well.
• You can add grated carrots, chopped onions, and chilies to enhance the taste.
• Keep the mix for 10-12 hours for fermentation.
• Heat a nonstick pot and sprinkle water on it.
• Wipe off the water and spread the batter on it.
• Put a little amount of oil on the dosa and cook it on high flame till it gets brown.
• Add some more grated and chopped vegetables for stuffing. Flip the dosa and serve it hot.

Mix Dal Masala Dosa:

Most of the lentils are gluten-free. If you want to cut down the high amount of carbs from your masala dosa, try a mix of various lentils. Here is the recipe for the super delicious, low-calorie variation of masala dosa.

Ingredients:

1. Urad dal
2. Orange Masoor dal
3. Split Moong dal
4. Split Green Gram dal
5. Salt as per taste
6. Refined oil
7. Vegetables for stuffing

Preparation:

• Soak all of the lentils overnight.
• Blend them well by grinding them to a smooth paste.
• Add salt to bring the perfect taste.
• Heat a nonstick pan well.
• Spread the batter of lentils, add some oil to it.
• Put the cooked vegetables in it and fold the dosa.
• Flip it and cook both sides of it until it gets brownish.

Crispy Quinoa Masala Dosa:

Instead of fermenting the rice for hours, switch to easy, healthy quinoa for making a mouth-watering masala dosa platter. Find the simple recipe for this perfect meal for busy days here.

Ingredients:

1. Natural White Quinoa
2. Oats
3. Urad Dal
4. Chana Dal
5. Salt and oil
6. Vegetables for stuffing

Preparation:

• Soak the lentils, quinoa, and oats.
• Put all of them in a blender and mix well.
• Leave the batter for 20 minutes approx.
• Pre-heat a nonstick pan
• Sprinkle some water on the pan and wipe it off gently
• Spread the batter, add some oil and cook it until it gets brown.
• Put the stuffing and roll the dosa well.

Wrapping it up

Here, you found everything from measuring the calories in masala dosa to how to reduce it. I hope this article will help you to stay fit even after having the delicious dish. So, enjoy your favorite dishes with a healthy twist!

-by Ishita Mondal