Calories by quantity and serving size
| Amount | Weight | Calories | Protein | Carbs | Fat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 idli (about 45 g) | 45 g | 65 kcal | 2 g | 13.5 g | 0 g |
| 2 x idli (about 45 g) | 90 g | 130 kcal | 4.5 g | 27 g | 0.5 g |
| 3 x idli (about 45 g) | 135 g | 200 kcal | 6.5 g | 40.5 g | 0.5 g |
| 4 x idli (about 45 g) | 180 g | 265 kcal | 8.5 g | 54.5 g | 1 g |
| 1 plate (2 idlis, about 90 g) | 90 g | 130 kcal | 4.5 g | 27 g | 0.5 g |
| 1 small idli (about 30 g) | 30 g | 45 kcal | 1.5 g | 9 g | 0 g |
| 1 large idli (about 60 g) | 60 g | 90 kcal | 3 g | 18 g | 0.5 g |
| 100 g | 100 g | 145 kcal | 5 g | 30 g | 0.5 g |
How cooking and toppings change the calories
| Version | Calories | Protein | Fat |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 idli (about 45 g) (as above) | 65 kcal | 2 g | 0 g |
| 2 idlis with 1 katori (150 g) sambar | 260 kcal | 11 g | 4.5 g |
| 2 idlis with 2 tbsp coconut chutney (about 20 g fresh coconut) | 200 kcal | 5 g | 7 g |
| 2 idlis with 1 katori sambar and 2 tbsp coconut chutney | 330 kcal | 11.5 g | 11 g |
Nutrition facts for 1 idli (about 45 g)
| Nutrient | 1 idli (about 45 g) | Per 100 g |
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 65 kcal | 145 kcal |
| Protein | 2 g | 5 g |
| Carbohydrates | 13.5 g | 30 g |
| Fat | 0 g | 0.5 g |
| Fibre | 1 g | 2.5 g |
| Sugars | not available | not available |
| Sodium | 2 mg | 4 mg |
| Potassium | 68 mg | 151 mg |
| Calcium | 16 mg | 35 mg |
| Iron | 0.4 mg | 1 mg |
Is idli good for weight loss?
Yes. Idli is one of the lighter Indian breakfasts: steamed, almost fat-free and easy to count at about 65 kcal a piece. Its weak spot is protein, only 4.5 g for 2 idlis, so it may not keep you full for long on its own.
Make it a fuller meal with a katori of sambar, which adds dal and vegetables, or add curd or eggs on the side. Go easy on coconut chutney and on podi mixed with oil or ghee. ICMR-NIN's 2024 guidelines list a glycaemic index of about 69 for idli with sambar, so if you have diabetes, ask your doctor or a registered dietitian how many idlis suit you.
Tips to keep idli lighter
- Choose sambar over extra chutney. Sambar brings protein and fibre; coconut chutney mostly brings fat.
- Watch the podi. Gunpowder podi is usually mixed with oil or ghee, and that oil can add more than the idli.
- Rava and instant idli are different. They are made with semolina and often curd and oil, so log them separately.
- Idli or dosa? A plain dosa uses more batter and is cooked with oil, so it has more calories than an idli. Compare them on the dosa calories page, or snap your plate with the photo calorie calculator.
1 idli me kitni calorie hoti hai? Ek idli (45 g) mein lagbhag 65 kcal hoti hai, aur 2 idli sambar ke saath lagbhag 260 kcal.
Idli compared
| Food (per 100 g) | Calories | Protein | What to know |
|---|---|---|---|
| Idli | 145 kcal | 5 g | - |
| Dosa | 310 kcal | 7 g | Same batter family, but dosa is cooked on a tawa with oil and loses water, so it has more calories per piece and per 100 g. |
| Poha | 185 kcal | 3 g | Poha is cooked with oil, so it has more calories per 100 g; idli is steamed and almost fat-free. |
How we calculated these numbers
Calculated from a standard home recipe (about 22 idlis (1 kg), 1000 g cooked) using USDA FoodData Central values for each ingredient.
Standard recipe (about 22 idlis (1 kg)): 300 g of idli rice and 100 g of urad dal (3 to 1, the ratio of the idli recipe in The Art and Science of Cooking manual, as published in the Indian Nutrient Databank) are soaked, ground with water, fermented overnight and steamed in idli moulds. Steaming adds no fat. We take the steamed idlis as 1,000 g in total, which puts their water content at about 64%, within the 63 to 65% measured for rice and black gram idlis in a laboratory study (Anene et al., 2023). That makes about 22 idlis of 45 g; USDA's survey data uses 38 g for one idli. Salt is left out. USDA lists whole urad beans; dehusked urad dal has less fibre (IFCT 2017 gives 11.9 g per 100 g for black gram dal against 20.4 g for the whole seed), so treat the fibre figure as an upper estimate. For comparison, USDA's survey entry 'Idli' (FDC 2708346) is 128 kcal per 100 g and the Indian Nutrient Databank idli works out at 138 kcal per 100 g; this recipe is within about 15% of both.
- Idli rice (parboiled rice), raw: 300 g
- Urad dal (black gram), raw: 100 g
Calories are rounded to the nearest 5 kcal and macros to the nearest 0.5 g. Home cooking varies, mostly in portion size and oil, so treat these as good estimates rather than exact values. The text on this page was drafted with AI assistance and checked by the Calo AI Team; every number is calculated from the data above. Read more in how we calculate.