Aloo matar: potatoes and peas are light. The fat in the pan is not.
Potatoes, peas and tomatoes are low in calories for their weight. The fat the spices bloom in is where a home cook and a restaurant part ways. With one measured tablespoon of oil, a serving goes from 305 to 237 kcal.
- 237 kcal a serving, down from 305 for the classic, with 9 g protein, 44 g carbs and 5 g fat
- 2 swaps, each with what it does to a serving, and 2 ways to add protein, up to 15 g a serving
- 4 servings, weighed at 1,150 g when finished, from 11 USDA FoodData Central entries in the library
Calories and macros per serving and per 100 g
The lighter example makes 4 servings from a 1,150 g finished batch: 287.5 g per serving. These are sample weights, not a measurement of your plate.
| Portion | kcal | Protein g | Carbs g | Fat g |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| One serving | 237 | 8.8 | 43.5 | 4.5 |
| 100 g cooked | 82 | 3.0 | 15.1 | 1.6 |
Calculated from the ingredient totals below, before rounding the displayed serving. Use your own cooked weight; retained fat, liquid and portions can change the estimate.
Classic vs lighter, per serving.
The same aloo matar, made two ways from the same library entries and the same 4 servings. The lighter version is the one built on the screens below.
| Per serving | Classic | Lighter | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| kcal | 305 | 237 | −68 |
| Protein g | 9 | 9 | 0 |
| Carbs g | 44 | 44 | 0 |
| Fat g | 12 | 5 | −7 |
| Saturated fat g | 7.1 | 0.4 | −6.7 |
Saturated fat comes from the same USDA entries; the recipe sheet itself shows calories, protein, carbs and fat. Calorie and macro figures are fitness estimates, not medical or dietary advice.
Swap by swap.
Each change in turn, from the classic to the lighter version, and what it does to one serving.
1. Cook in canola oil instead of ghee
+1 kcal, −6.1 g saturated fat a serving
Gram for gram the calories are nearly the same. The change is the kind of fat: 6.1 g less saturated fat a serving.
2. Use 14 g of oil, not 45 g
−69 kcal, −7 g fat, −0.6 g saturated fat a serving
One tablespoon is enough to bloom the cumin and soften the onion. The rest was 69 kcal and 7 g of fat a serving.
More protein, if you need it.
Hitting a protein target is the hard part for most people. Each option is added to the lighter version on its own, with what it does to a serving of 9 g protein and 237 kcal. Save the one you like as its own recipe.
Add cubes of paneer
+112 kcal, +6 g protein, +8 g carbs, +5 g fat, +3.4 g saturated fat a serving, making 15 g protein a serving
150 g of paneer, stirred in with the peas, adds 6 g of protein a serving for 112 kcal.
Add a can of chickpeas
+104 kcal, +5 g protein, +17 g carbs, +1 g fat, +0.2 g saturated fat a serving, making 14 g protein a serving
300 g of drained chickpeas simmered in the sauce adds 5 g of protein a serving for 104 kcal.
Oil and fat: the type changes the fat, the amount changes the calories.
The three oils below are each 884 kcal per 100 g, and ghee is within a few calories of them. Swapping one for another moves the saturated fat, not the calories; using less is what saves them. Butter is lower per gram only because part of it is water.
| Fat, per tablespoon, 14 g | kcal | Fat g | Sat fat g |
|---|---|---|---|
| Olive oil | 124 | 14 | 1.9 |
| Canola oil | 124 | 14 | 1.0 |
| Avocado oil | 124 | 14 | 1.6 |
| Ghee (butter oil) | 123 | 14 | 8.7 |
| Butter, salted | 100 | 11 | 7.2 |
The sample data
These are the amounts of the lighter version used on the screens below, with each figure taken from the library entry for that ingredient. They are sample figures for a pot or tray of this size, not a measurement of anyone's kitchen.
| Ingredient | Amount | kcal | Protein g | Carbs g | Fat g |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Potatoes, flesh and skin, raw | 500 g | 385 | 10 | 87 | 0 |
| Green peas, frozen | 300 g | 231 | 16 | 41 | 1 |
| Tomatoes, crushed, canned | 300 g | 96 | 5 | 22 | 1 |
| Onions, raw | 150 g | 60 | 2 | 14 | 0 |
| Ginger root | 10 g | 8 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Garlic | 10 g | 15 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| Canola oil | 14 g | 124 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
| Cumin seed | 3 g | 11 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Turmeric, ground | 2 g | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Coriander seed | 3 g | 9 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| Coriander (cilantro) leaves, raw | 15 g | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Whole recipe | 1,307 g | 948 | 35 | 174 | 18 |
| Per serving (4) | 288 g | 237 | 9 | 44 | 5 |
Calorie and macro figures are fitness estimates, not medical or dietary advice. Ingredient values are from USDA FoodData Central, which is in the public domain.
USDA source entries: Potatoes, flesh and skin, raw; Green peas, frozen; Tomatoes, crushed, canned; Onions, raw; Ginger root; Garlic; Canola oil; Cumin seed; Turmeric, ground; Coriander seed; Coriander (cilantro) leaves, raw. Match the preparation and weighed amounts to your own ingredients.
Why this recipe
Aloo matar looks the same whether it was cooked in one spoon of fat or four, so a generic entry cannot tell you which you ate. Your own recipe carries the amount you poured.
What to weigh
Weigh the potatoes raw and the peas frozen. The ingredients weigh 1,307 g and the sample pan weighs 1,150 g with its sauce, so a serving is 288 g.
How to cook it
The method for the lighter version above, using the amounts in the sample data. Use a food thermometer to check the safe temperatures.
- Cut the potatoes into 2 cm cubes. Chop the onion, grate the ginger and crush the garlic.
- Warm the canola oil in a wide pan, add the cumin for 30 seconds, then cook the onion for 6 minutes until soft.
- Stir in the ginger, garlic, turmeric and coriander for 1 minute, then add the crushed tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes.
- Add the potatoes and 300 ml of water, cover and simmer for 15 minutes until the potatoes are tender.
- Add the frozen peas and cook for 5 more minutes. Season with salt and scatter over the chopped cilantro.
At a glance
- Prep: 15 minutes
- Cook: 30 minutes
- Makes 4 servings
- Per serving: 237 kcal, 9 g protein
Times are for a home kitchen and leave out any marinating or resting the steps mention.
The full workflow, in four steps.
1. Open Create a recipe and search the library
Open Add food and choose Create a recipe, name it, then choose Add ingredient. Search "potatoes flesh and skin raw" for the raw potato entry.
2. Enter the amount you weighed
Pick it, switch the portion to grams and enter 500. The sheet shows 385 kcal for the potatoes.
3. Add the rest, then set the servings and finished weight
Add the peas, tomatoes, onion, ginger, garlic, 14 g of canola oil, the spices and the cilantro, then enter the 4 servings and the 1,150 g the pan weighed.
4. Save it and log a serving
Save the recipe and it becomes one of your own foods. The next screen is the normal Add food form, ready to log one serving or any weight of it.
Tips while you build it
- Weigh the oil into the pan on the scale. It is the one ingredient here where ten grams matters.
- Cut the potatoes to an even 2 cm so they cook through in the sauce at the same time.
- A serving is about 288 g. Rice or roti is logged on its own.
Go further
- Cooking with ghee? Enter it in place of the oil. The calories barely move; the saturated fat does.
- Add the peas for the last five minutes only, so they stay green and sweet.
Each change is a second recipe with its own name, so the first stays as you built it.
Aloo matar questions.
How many calories are in aloo matar?
The sample is 237 kcal a serving, with 9 g protein, 44 g carbs and 5 g fat. Cooked in 45 g of ghee, the same serving is 305 kcal.
Is ghee or oil lower in calories?
Neither, to any useful degree: both are close to 9 kcal a gram. Oil has less saturated fat, and using less of either is what lowers the calories.
Do I weigh the potatoes raw?
Yes, because the library entry is raw. Weigh the finished pan once for the finished weight.
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Keep going.
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- Nutrition and macro trackingBarcodes, label reading, targets that follow your weigh-ins.
- Help: scan, create and recipesThe same steps in the Help Center.
Cook it once. Log it for good.
Build a lighter version of your own indian favourite in Nutrition.