Cashews are the most moreish nut in existence. 10 cashews is 55 calories. But nobody eats exactly 10 cashews. You eat them by the handful until the bowl is empty. A 100g bag is 553 calories, gone in 15 minutes of mindless snacking. The roasted-salted variety is even worse because the salt makes you eat … Read more
10 almonds is 70 calories. That is a perfectly healthy snack. 30 almonds (a ‘handful’) is 210 calories. 100 almonds (which disappears faster than you think while watching TV) is 576 calories. Almonds are the food where ‘healthy’ and ‘calorie-dense’ coexist perfectly. The nutrition is excellent. The calorie cost is high. Measure or suffer. This … Read more
Peda is condensed milk (khoya) shaped into a disc and flavoured with cardamom and saffron. At 130 calories per piece, it sits between sandesh (110 cal) and gulab jamun (150 cal). Not fried, not soaked in syrup. Just concentrated milk solids and sugar. One of the more moderate Indian sweets. Peda is one of those … Read more
Khaja is a layered, flaky, deep-fried sweet from Bihar and Odisha, soaked in sugar syrup. Think of it as sweet, crispy, syrupy layers. At 350 calories per 100g, it is one of the most calorie-dense Indian sweets. One piece (~35g) is about 120 calories. The flaky crunch makes it easy to eat 3-4 pieces without … Read more
Mishti doi is sweetened, set curd. A Bengali staple that tastes like dessert but is based on curd (60 cal/100g). The sugar and caramelisation double the calories to 130 per 100g. A small earthen pot (100g) is 130 calories. That is lighter than most Indian sweets, making it one of the better dessert choices available. … Read more
This is the dessert dilemma at every Indian gathering. Gulab jamun or rasgulla? Both are round, both are syrupy, both are irresistible. One is 150 calories. The other is 125. The difference is deep frying. Here is the head-to-head comparison. Gulab Jamun vs Rasgulla is one of those foods that’s perfectly fine occasionally but becomes … Read more
Gajar ka halwa is the winter dessert of North India. At 200 calories per 100g, it is the lightest halwa variant because the carrot base dilutes the calorie density. Home version with measured ghee: 200 cal/100g. Restaurant/halwai version swimming in ghee: 280-320 cal/100g. The gap is the ghee, as always. Gajar Halwa is one of … Read more
Sandesh is Bengal’s pride and, quietly, one of the lightest Indian sweets at 110 calories per piece. Made from fresh chenna (paneer) and sugar with no frying and no syrup soaking, it is 25% lighter than rasgulla and 40% lighter than gulab jamun. If you want a traditional Indian sweet that doesn’t wreck your calorie … Read more
Rasmalai is a flattened chenna disc floating in sweetened, thickened milk (rabri). At 185 calories per piece, it is heavier than rasgulla (125 cal) because the rabri adds cream, sugar, and milk fat that plain syrup doesn’t have. It is also one of the most beloved Indian desserts. Here are the numbers so you can … Read more
Halwa is the densest Indian dessert by calorie count. 100g of sooji halwa is 250 calories. 100g of gajar halwa is 200. 100g of moong dal halwa can hit 350+. The ghee-sugar-flour combination creates a calorie density that rivals cheese and chocolate. One small bowl of halwa is a full meal’s worth of calories. Most … Read more