Dalia (broken wheat): what it is, names, benefits and how to cook it

Dalia is made from whole wheat grain (Triticum aestivum) broken into small pieces; the English name broken wheat comes from that cracking, and the grain is the same species as the wheat that becomes atta. And since it is wheat, dalia contains gluten the way any wheat food does.

Two points separate it from lookalikes. Bulgur is also cracked wheat, but it is parboiled before the cracking, a step Indian dalia skips. And the dal in dalia is not the dal of pulses: chana dal is split bengal gram, a pulse, and the two share only the word. The names table sits below, and the broken wheat cooking guide takes the grain into the pot.

In English, dalia is broken wheat, and IFCT 2017 lists the English name as wheat, bulgur; in Hindi the name is Dalia, also written daliya, and the same word appears in the Punjabi, Bengali, Odia, Assamese and Urdu columns. The western and southern rows go their own way: Bulgur gahu in Marathi, Bulgur ghaum in Gujarati, Bulgur godhi in Kannada, plain Bulgur in Telugu and Godumai ravai in Tamil, while Malayalam and Sanskrit carry no name in the list. The full table is below.

The daliya meaning page explains each language and sorts dalia from atta, rava and chana dal.

Source: IFCT 2017 (ICMR-NIN) local-names list. — means no name recorded in the source.

Hindi ‘Daliya’: spelling variant of the IFCT 2017 name ‘Dalia’.

In the Indian Food Composition Tables (IFCT 2017, ICMR-NIN), dalia sits under wheat, bulgur. Each 100 g of the raw grain holds 342 kcal, 10.8 g of protein, 1.5 g of fat, 69.1 g of carbohydrate and 8.8 g of fibre, with 3.9 mg of iron, 116 mg of magnesium, 330 mg of potassium and only 2.1 mg of sodium. The table below gives the same values for whole wheat and raw milled rice from the same tables.

On the plate, one cooked katori is 40 g of the dry grain, which cooks into 137 kcal, 4.3 g of protein and 3.5 g of fibre. For the glycemic index there is one caveat to carry: the glycemic index database has no entry for Indian dalia itself, and its closest tested form, plain boiled bulgur, scores a mean of 48 across five Canadian tests from 1984 to 1988, with readings of 46 to 53, inside the low band. The per-100 g and per-katori arithmetic, mineral by mineral, is on the dalia protein and nutrition page.

Per 100 g raw, edible portion. Composition: IFCT 2017 (ICMR-NIN). GI: University of Sydney GI database. — means not reported. These are average values for the food; the label on a pack gives the values for that product.

Every point below hangs on a number from the table above; the full list of ten, each with its supporting nutrient or study, is on the dalia benefits page, and its Hinglish sister page carries the same facts in Hindi.

Fibre that slows the meal down

Dalia holds 8.8 g of fibre per 100 g, so a katori brings 3.5 g. The ICMR-NIN Dietary Guidelines for Indians explain that fibre slows the body's absorption of carbohydrate and fat from a meal and raises its satiety value, and a bowl of dalia registers as food partly because of that.

A low GI band reading

The boiled-bulgur mean of 48 sits under the 55 line that marks the low band in the GI database. What that reading means on a diabetic plate, portions included, is on is dalia good for diabetes.

Wheat-level protein, paired with dal or milk

At 10.8 g per 100 g, dalia carries protein at whole wheat's level, and cereal proteins run short of certain amino acids. The same guidelines note that cereals, millets and pulses combined provide most of the amino acids, one family of foods making up what another lacks, so moong dal in the khichdi and milk in the porridge do exactly that.

Iron, magnesium and potassium

The mineral column reads 3.9 mg of iron, 116 mg of magnesium and 330 mg of potassium per 100 g, against a sodium of 2.1 mg. To help the body take up plant iron, the guidelines suggest vitamin C foods in the same meal and tea kept an hour away from meals.

What the whole-grain studies add

In a 2016 BMJ meta-analysis of 45 prospective studies, each extra 90 g of whole grains a day was associated with a 19 percent lower coronary heart disease risk and a 22 percent lower cardiovascular disease risk; a 2013 meta-analysis of sixteen cohorts found that each three daily servings of whole grains went with a type 2 diabetes risk 32 percent lower (relative risk 0.68). Dalia is one way to fill those servings, and for weight the serving math sits on is dalia good for weight loss.

Most people can eat dalia as an everyday staple in ordinary portions. Four cautions cover the rest.

• Gluten: dalia is wheat, and wheat is one of the three gluten cereals on the NHS list, with barley and rye. Coeliac disease means a gluten-free diet, so dalia stays off that plate.
• A sudden rise in fibre: moving from a low-fibre day straight to dalia at two meals can unsettle the stomach; start with one katori and drink more water alongside the extra fibre.
• Phytate: phytic acid in cereals slows the body's uptake of iron, zinc and other minerals. Boiling or pressure cooking brings its concentration down substantially, the guidelines note, and dalia is always cooked before it is eaten.
• Extra energy: at 342 kcal per 100 g, doubled portions and sweet kheer or laddu versions add up like any staple.

If your meals follow a plan set for a medical condition, talk to your doctor or dietitian before dalia becomes the daily grain.

Because the grain is already cracked, dalia needs no soaking and cooks in ten to fifteen minutes. The base is one cup of dalia to three cups of water, simmered covered on low, or two to three whistles in a pressure cooker; the grains are done when a piece crushes soft between your fingers. Soaking is optional: fifteen to thirty minutes in cold water shaves a little off the simmer, and an overnight soak is unnecessary because the grain is already cracked. Upma roasts the grain in ghee first so the pieces stay separate, khichdi pressure cooks dalia with moong dal, and porridge simmers it in milk and water.

One 240 ml cup of dalia weighs about 200 g and serves three to four people; a single katori is the measure for one. Ratios and timings for each dish, plus the mistakes to avoid, are in the how to cook broken wheat guide.

Dry dalia keeps for months in an airtight container in a cool, dry cupboard, away from moisture; if a pack has been open a while, smell it before cooking and throw out anything musty. Cooked dalia follows the rule for cooked grains: chill it within an hour or two, refrigerate it and eat it within two days, or freeze the rest (UK Food Standards Agency). When reheating, add a little water so the grain stays soft. Dry dalia needs no fridge; only the cooked dish does.

Three full recipes on the site cover the everyday forms, each built on one 240 ml cup of dalia.

• Dalia upma: the grain roasted in ghee, then cooked in three cups of hot water with a mustard, cumin and curry-leaf tempering and vegetables; about 30 minutes start to plate, a serving at 318 kcal with 5.9 g of fibre.
• Dalia porridge: simmered in two and a half cups of milk plus one and a half cups of water, sweetened with jaggery and cardamom off the flame; ready in about 20 minutes, a bowl at 278 kcal, with the milk adding more on top of that figure.
• Dalia khichdi: one cup of dalia with half a cup of green moong split, pressure cooked in four cups of water, about three whistles and a rest; serves four, a bowl at 286 kcal and 11.4 g of protein.

Seven more, from cutlets and chivda to laddu, kheer and halwa, are in the dalia recipes roundup.

Plain dalia is a single-ingredient food, so the pack should say wheat and little else; sweetened instant mixes add sugar or jaggery, so read the label before a pack becomes the daily breakfast. Choose a clean, airtight pack and an amount you will use within a few months, since dry dalia slowly picks up smells and moisture. For organic broken wheat, check that the pack carries a certification mark. Whatever the brand, plain cracked dalia is the same 342 kcal per 100 g grain; the difference is what the dish adds. Coarse or fine, every plain pack holds that same grain; what differs is the dish you cook.

What is dalia?

Dalia is broken wheat: whole wheat grain cracked into small pieces and sold across India under the Hindi name dalia, also spelled daliya. IFCT 2017 records it as wheat, bulgur, and the botanical name is Triticum aestivum. It cooks into khichdi, upma and porridge; the cracked grain itself is done in ten to fifteen minutes, and being wheat, it carries gluten.

What is dalia made of?

Wheat. Dalia is made from whole wheat grains broken into small pieces, and unlike bulgur it is not parboiled before the cracking. The wheat is cracked, not ground to flour, so the pieces keep the grain's outer layers. Because it is wheat, dalia contains gluten, and the English name broken wheat describes the cracking.

Is dalia good for weight loss?

As a swap, yes. Dalia helps a lighter plate when a katori of it replaces a refined or fried food at the same meal: one katori, cooked from 40 g of dry grain, holds 137 kcal along with 3.5 g of fibre and 4.3 g of protein, and fibre raises a meal's satiety value. The serving math and a simple meal plan are on is dalia good for weight loss.

What is dalia called in english?

Broken wheat. IFCT 2017 lists wheat, bulgur as the English name of dalia, and an Indian pack may write broken wheat, daliya or cracked wheat, all three the same cracked whole wheat. The name list by language is on the daliya meaning page.

Is dalia good for health?

Yes, as a whole-grain wheat food inside a mixed diet. Per 100 g it gives 8.8 g of fibre, 10.8 g of protein and 3.9 mg of iron, and the closest tested form of the grain sits in the low GI band at 48. Dalia is food, not medicine; in excess it adds weight like any staple, and with coeliac disease it is off the plate because it is wheat.

Does dalia have protein?

Yes: 10.8 g per 100 g of raw dalia (IFCT 2017), and a cooked katori brings 4.3 g. That is wheat-level protein, short of certain amino acids on its own; dal in the khichdi or milk in the porridge fills the gaps. The full per-100 g breakdown is on the dalia protein and nutrition page.

How many calories in daliya?

342 kcal per 100 g of raw dalia (IFCT 2017), the ordinary energy of a grain. One cooked katori, made from 40 g of dry dalia, holds 137 kcal; cooking water adds weight, not calories. Whatever ghee, jaggery or milk the dish carries adds on top, so a plain savoury katori stays the lighter form.

Is dalia good for constipation?

Through its 8.8 g of fibre per 100 g, dalia can help. Fibre adds bulk to the stool and helps keep the bowel working, and water alongside the dalia keeps the extra bulk moving. Constipation that keeps coming back belongs with a doctor, not more fibre.