Dalia protein and nutrition per 100g: calories, carbs and GI

IFCT 2017, the Indian Food Composition Tables of ICMR-National Institute of Nutrition, records dalia as wheat, bulgur, and the table below gives the values per 100 g of the raw, uncooked grain, with whole wheat and raw milled rice beside it from the same tables. Energy sits at 342 kcal, between whole wheat at 322 kcal and rice at 357 kcal, and the differences that matter on a plate sit in the fibre and mineral columns.

Two things before reading it. First, these are raw values: cooked dalia weighs more than the dry grain because of the water it takes up, so a 100 g serving of cooked dalia carries only part of these figures; the katori section below does that arithmetic. Second, a pack label may print slightly different values for its own batch; every number on this page is the IFCT value.

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.

Dalia protein per 100 g is 10.8 g (IFCT 2017), which puts the grain level with whole wheat at 10.6 g and clearly above raw milled rice at 7.9 g. A cooked katori made from 40 g of dry dalia delivers 4.3 g of that protein, and the dal, milk or vegetables in the dish add more on top.

Like other cereals, dalia protein is short of certain amino acids on its own. The Dietary Guidelines for Indians note that a mix of cereals, millets and pulses supplies most of the amino acids, one group filling in what another lacks, so the traditional pairings do the work: moong dal in the khichdi, milk in the porridge. A bowl of dalia khichdi as this site cooks it carries 286 kcal and 11.4 g of protein, about half of it from the moong. Anyone counting on dalia as a protein source should read it as a supporting grain, not a dal.

Energy is 342 kcal per 100 g of dry dalia, with 69.1 g of carbohydrate, 1.5 g of fat and 8.8 g of fibre. The katori numbers follow the same arithmetic: one katori of cooked dalia comes from 40 g of dry grain and holds 137 kcal, 27.6 g of carbohydrate and 3.5 g of fibre, with barely 0.6 g of fat. Two katoris double it, to 274 kcal and 55 g of carbohydrate; the katori, not the bowl, is the serving that keeps the count honest.

Recipes build on these figures. A plate of dalia upma from this site, made with 2 tbsp of ghee, comes to 318 kcal and 5.9 g of fibre per serving, and a bowl of dalia porridge to 278 kcal per bowl, with the milk in the bowl adding more on top of that figure. Cooked dalia takes up water and looks like more food than the dry grain behind it, but the energy stays the grain's own; the ghee, jaggery or milk added on top is what moves the total.

For wheat dalia, the University of Sydney glycemic index database prints a glycemic index of 48: the average of five Canadian entries for plain boiled bulgur, spanning 1984 to 1988, with readings spread from 46 to 53. The database ranks foods by how much blood glucose rises after eating, measuring each one on ten or more healthy people fed 50 g of available carbohydrate, and its bands class anything up to 55 as low and 70 onwards as high; the number sits in the low band, close to whole wheat kernels at 47 and white basmati rice at 50 in the same database.

One caveat travels with that number: the tested food is bulgur, parboiled before its cracking, and Indian dalia skips that parboiling step, so 48 is borrowed from the closest tested food, not measured on Indian dalia itself. Nothing else changes the reading: dalia is a wheat food, its carbohydrate is 69.1 g per 100 g, and the portion still decides the meal. For people with diabetes, the katori numbers and the better and worse ways to eat it are on is dalia good for diabetes.

Iron in dalia is 3.9 mg per 100 g, nearly six times the 0.7 mg of raw milled rice, and a katori brings about 1.5 mg. To help the body use that plant iron, the Dietary Guidelines for Indians suggest vitamin C foods — guava, pineapple and citrus among them — in the same meal, and they want tea kept away from mealtimes because tea binds dietary iron. Magnesium is 116 mg per 100 g, about six times rice's 19.3 mg, and potassium is 330 mg against rice's 108 mg; the same guidelines describe these minerals as part of nerve cell transmission and of the body's fluid balance, and as needed for enzyme and hormone activity.

Calcium is 27.1 mg per 100 g, over three and a half times the 7.5 mg in rice but well under whole wheat's 39.4 mg, and zinc is 2 mg with folate at 26.3 mcg per 100 g. Sodium is only 2.1 mg, so the salt in a dalia dish comes almost entirely from the cook. No value is printed for vitamin C in dalia in IFCT 2017, so pair it with a squeeze of lemon or an orange. One more note on minerals: phytic acid in cereals hinders their absorption, and the same guidelines state that boiling or pressure cooking lowers its concentration considerably, which is how dalia is always cooked. For what each nutrient does in the body, the list of dalia benefits takes them one by one.

Cooked dalia weighs more than the dry grain because of the water it absorbs, so calorie apps that list 'cooked dalia per 100 g' show far lower figures than the table above; both can be right, they just count different weights. The dependable way is to count the dry grain: 40 g per katori, scaled up for a family pot. Soaking and pressure cooking soften the grain, and the pressure cooking cuts its phytic acid, but neither changes the energy; the oil, ghee and jaggery of a dish do.

For cooking, the broken wheat cooking guide fixes the water ratios and timings, and the dalia recipes roundup collects ten dishes from khichdi to laddu. The katori arithmetic above applies to every one of them; how much to eat for weight sits on is dalia good for weight loss, and names, storage and buying sit on the broken wheat hub.

Does dalia have protein?

Yes. Dalia carries 10.8 g of protein in every 100 g of the raw grain (IFCT 2017), and one cooked katori brings 4.3 g of it. Like other cereals it is short of some amino acids, so pair it with dal, milk or curd; the khichdi and porridge recipes do exactly that.

How many calories in daliya?

342 kcal per 100 g of raw dalia (IFCT 2017), the ordinary energy of a whole grain. A katori of cooked dalia, made from 40 g of dry grain, holds 137 kcal with 3.5 g of fibre; the cooking water changes the weight, not the calories. Ghee, jaggery or milk added to the dish are extra and count on top.

What is dalia made of?

Wheat. Dalia is whole wheat grain broken into small pieces; that cracking is where the English name broken wheat comes from. Unlike bulgur, it is not parboiled first, and because it is wheat it carries gluten like any wheat food.

Is dalia healthy?

Yes, as a whole-grain wheat staple inside a varied diet. Per 100 g it gives 8.8 g of fibre and 10.8 g of protein, and its closest tested form, plain boiled bulgur, reads 48, in the low GI band. The whole-grain studies quoted on the benefits page are what the health claims rest on. It is food, not medicine, and like any staple it adds weight when eaten in excess.

Is dalia good for constipation?

It can help, through 8.8 g of fibre per 100 g: the Dietary Guidelines for Indians note that fibre makes stools bulkier and matters for proper bowel function, so drink enough water alongside it. Add dalia to the day along with the water, not instead of it; constipation that keeps returning is a matter for a doctor.

Does broken wheat have protein?

Yes, and the same amount as dalia, because the two are one food: 100 gram daliya protein is the same figure as 100 gram dalia protein, 10.8 g per 100 g (IFCT 2017), with a katori bringing 4.3 g. Wheat protein is short on a few amino acids that dal and milk supply, so a khichdi or a milk porridge covers those amino acids better than plain boiled dalia.