Staples 6 min read
Roti vs Rice Calories: Which Is Lower? Naan and Paratha Too
By the Amelior Labs team · October 5, 2026
Does roti have calories? Of course, and so does rice, which is why the roti versus rice debate rarely has a clean winner. What changes the answer is size, fat and how much of each you actually eat. This guide compares common staples per portion using the values in Thali's database, with weights stated, so you can see where the real differences sit. Portions vary with the cook, the tawa and the bowl.
Does roti have calories? Per roti values
Roti calories depend mostly on size. The database holds several entries, and they disagree because recipes and thickness differ. A small phulka is 30 g, a medium chapati is 45 g, and a tandoori roti is 70 g. Compare them and you can see why asking which roti has the least calories is really a question about weight and added fat. Here are per-roti values with the weights used. The two chapati entries differ in both weight and recipe: the NIN-ICMR entry is 45 g at 297 kcal per 100 g, while the INDB entry is 36 g at 202 kcal per 100 g.
- Phulka (30 g): about 79 kcal, 2.5 g protein
- Chapati, medium (45 g, NIN-ICMR): about 134 kcal, 4.1 g protein
- Chapati/roti (36 g, INDB): about 73 kcal, 2.1 g protein
- Tandoori roti (70 g): about 194 kcal, 6.3 g protein
- Jowar roti (65 g): about 174 kcal, 5.2 g protein
How many calories in a katori of rice?
Plain white rice is listed at 130 kcal per 100 g, which makes a 150 g katori about 195 kcal with 4.2 g of protein and 42 g of carbohydrate. Jeera rice is slightly higher at about 210 kcal per 150 g because of the oil used. Another entry, boiled rice from the Indian Nutrient Databank, is 117 kcal per 100 g, so a 300 g plate is about 350 kcal. A restaurant plate of rice can be larger than a home katori, so check the weight. Rice also takes up room on the plate, so a second helping is easy to miss when you log.
Roti vs rice, head to head
Take two phulkas (60 g in total) and one katori of plain rice (150 g). The phulkas come to about 158 kcal, 5.1 g protein, 30.6 g carbohydrate and 3.9 g fibre. The rice comes to about 195 kcal, 4.2 g protein, 42 g carbohydrate and 0.6 g fibre. So on these entries two phulkas are lower in calories and higher in fibre than the rice katori. Add a third phulka and the gap narrows. Neither is wrong; they are different amounts of food, and what goes with them matters as much.
Naan, paratha and puri: when bread gets heavier
Butter, ghee, oil and refined flour lift the calories of breads quickly, and many of these are also bigger than a phulka. Frying a puri or cooking a paratha in fat adds energy in the pan. Stuffed parathas carry the filling as well. The figures below come from Thali's database, with the portion weight shown so you can compare with your own. Naan and paratha entries also differ by source and size, which is why the same word can give very different numbers. A restaurant naan can be bigger than the 53 g entry, and a paratha cooked with extra ghee will be higher than the 60 g entry. Pick the weight closest to what you ate and adjust.
- Naan (53 g, INDB): about 152 kcal
- Garlic naan (100 g): about 305 kcal
- Plain paratha (60 g, USDA): about 187 kcal
- Aloo paratha (100 g): about 252 kcal
- Puri (25 g): about 84 kcal
Is roti bad for weight loss, and how many should you eat?
No food on this list is bad on its own, and the right number of rotis is personal, so we do not set one. What the database shows is that bread and rice both add up quickly when they are bigger, buttered or served with rich gravy. The NHS suggests a gradual rate of about 0.5 to 1 kg a week for weight loss and advises not to skip meals. Counting what you actually eat helps you see which part of the plate is doing the work. Whichever staple you choose, the rest of the plate counts too.
Logging roti and rice in Thali
Thali lets you log by roti count and katori of rice, so you do not have to weigh each one. AI photo scanning can identify the meal and voice logging works if your hands are busy. When a dish is matched, the calories come from the verified database rather than from AI, and a scan that cannot be matched is shown as a labelled estimate. If your rotis are thicker or larger than the standard entry, log a bit more. Thali is available on Android now, and iOS is awaiting approval. If your roti is bigger than the standard entry, log extra, and if you add ghee to each roti, add that too. One teaspoon of ghee (4 g) is about 36 kcal in the database.
Frequently asked questions
Does roti have calories?
Yes. In Thali's database a 30 g phulka is about 79 kcal, a 45 g chapati about 134 kcal and a 70 g tandoori roti about 194 kcal. Calories rise with size, and with ghee or oil on the roti.
Is roti low calorie?
A single small phulka is fairly low at about 79 kcal, but roti calories scale with weight and fat. Four thick rotis add up. Use the portion weight and count of rotis you actually eat rather than a single figure.
Which roti has the least calories?
Smaller and thinner rotis come out lowest because they weigh less. In the database a 30 g phulka is about 79 kcal and a 36 g INDB roti about 73 kcal, while a 70 g tandoori roti is about 194 kcal. Check the entry's weight.
Is roti or rice lower in calories?
It depends on portions. Two phulkas (60 g) are about 158 kcal, while a 150 g katori of plain white rice is about 195 kcal. Larger rotis, more rotis or a bigger rice plate change the result. Add ghee or a third roti and the picture changes, so log what you ate.
How many calories in naan versus paratha?
In Thali's database a 53 g naan is about 152 kcal, a 100 g garlic naan about 305 kcal, a 60 g plain paratha about 187 kcal and a 100 g aloo paratha about 252 kcal. Weight and fat explain most of the gap.
