How many calories are in a paratha?
A plain paratha, medium-sized and cooked with a teaspoon of oil, is about 210 kcal. Dry-roasted it is nearer 150; stuffed with potato and finished in ghee and butter at a dhaba, it reaches 400–500. Few everyday foods cover that much ground under one name, and the flour is the part that varies least.
Per portion
| Portion | Calories | Protein | Carbs | Fat |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plain paratha, medium, dry-roasted | 140–165 | 5 g | 29 g | 1 g |
| Plain paratha, medium, 1 tsp oil | ~210 | 5 g | 29 g | 7 g |
| Plain paratha, dhaba style with ghee and butter | 280–350 | 5 g | 30 g | 16 g |
| Aloo paratha, home, medium, 1 tsp ghee | 290–330 | 7 g | 46 g | 10 g |
| Aloo paratha, restaurant, large, buttered | 400–500 | 9 g | 56 g | 21 g |
| Paratha, 100 g cooked | 290–330 | 7 g | 38 g | 12 g |
What changes the number
The cooking fat. A teaspoon of oil is about 40 kcal, ghee 45, butter 35, and the pat of butter melted over a dhaba paratha is often 15–25 g — 110–180 kcal on its own. A paratha cooked on a dry tawa and brushed with a quarter teaspoon afterwards lands close to a roti; the same dough shallow-fried in three teaspoons is double that.
The stuffing. This is the other half of the range:
| Type | Typical, medium, home | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Plain | 180–220 | Layered with oil, cooked with oil |
| Methi or palak | 200–250 | Greens kneaded into the dough |
| Mooli (radish) | 220–270 | Radish adds bulk, few calories |
| Onion | 250–300 | |
| Gobi | 250–310 | Cauliflower is light, the oil is not |
| Mixed vegetable | 260–320 | |
| Aloo | 290–330 | Potato filling, 70–110 kcal per paratha |
| Lachha or layered | 300–380 | Fat between the layers is the point |
| Malabar parotta | 280–330 | Refined flour, generous fat |
| Paneer | 330–380 | Also the highest in protein, 14 g |
Restaurant versions run 100–150 kcal above these: bigger, cooked more generously.
Size. A 25 cm paratha holds roughly twice the dough of a 15 cm one, and dhaba parathas sit at the large end.
Where it fits in a deficit
A paratha is not a problem food, but it is an expensive one per gram: at 290–330 kcal per 100 g it sits in the high-density band, and most of that density is fat added in the kitchen rather than anything in the wheat.
It has real advantages over plain bread. The potato, radish or cauliflower in a stuffed paratha adds genuine bulk, and a paneer paratha carries around 14 g of protein — more than most Indian breakfasts manage. One aloo paratha with curd is about 400 kcal and holds for hours. Three with butter and pickle is closer to 1,200, a large share of the day for anyone running a calorie deficit. The number of parathas matters far more than which filling you pick.
The flour barely changes the number
Atta, maida, multigrain blends, bajra and jowar flours all sit within roughly 330–360 kcal per 100 g. Swapping white flour for whole wheat or a multigrain mix changes the fibre, the micronutrients and how full you feel — it does not meaningfully change the calories. A multigrain paratha fried in two teaspoons of ghee contains more energy than a plain maida one cooked dry, which is the opposite of how the two are usually ranked.
The same caution applies to frozen parathas. The figure on the box is normally for the uncooked paratha as supplied, before the fat you add on the tawa, so a pack listing 180 kcal a piece can plausibly serve at 260 — worth checking the serving basis rather than the headline number. And if you want the same meal for much less, the comparison is not another flour: it is an unstuffed, unfatted roti at 70–120 kcal, or a steamed idli or plain dosa.
Figures are typical values and vary by variety, size and preparation. General information, not medical advice.