Besan Chilla Calories and Protein: 1, 2 and 3 Chillas, Plus the 12 Minute Recipe
1 besan chilla: about 115 kcal, 6 g protein. 2 chillas: 230 kcal, 12 g. 3 chillas: 345 kcal, 17 g. Weighed in grams, 12 minute recipe, 20 g protein options.
Quick answer: A besan chilla made with 25 g of gram flour, a little onion and tomato, and half a teaspoon of oil is about 115 kcal and 6 g protein. Two chillas are about 230 kcal and 12 g, and three are about 345 kcal and 17 g. Weigh the flour, because a heaped cup can hold far more than a level one. The table below is by gram and by number of chillas.
Recipe at a Glance
Besan Chilla Calories and Protein by Number of Chillas
Each chilla below uses 25 g of besan, 15 g of onion, 15 g of tomato, a pinch of coriander and half a teaspoon of oil. That is a 15 cm chilla, about the size of a side plate. If yours are bigger, scale by the grams of flour in the first column, not by the count.
| Chillas | Gram flour | Protein | Kcal | Fibre |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 chilla | 25 g | 6 g | ~115 | 4 g |
| 2 chillas | 50 g | 12 g | ~230 | 8 g |
| 3 chillas | 75 g | 17 g | ~345 | 11 g |
| 4 chillas | 100 g | 23 g | ~460 | 15 g |
Without the oil, one chilla is about 95 kcal. The oil is 19% of the calories, so it is the part worth measuring.
What Is in One Chilla
| Component | Amount | Protein | Kcal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Besan (gram flour) | 25 g | 5.4 g | 82 |
| Onion | 15 g | 0.2 g | 7 |
| Tomato | 15 g | 0.1 g | 3 |
| Coriander leaves | 2 g | 0.1 g | 1 |
| Oil | 1/2 tsp (2.5 g) | 0.0 g | 22 |
| One chilla | 6 g | ~115 |
Besan is ground chana dal. The Indian Food Composition Tables list Bengal gram dal at 21.6 g protein and about 329 kcal per 100 g, so 25 g of flour brings about 5.4 g protein and 82 kcal. The rest of the chilla adds mostly water and a little oil.
Ingredients (2 Chillas, 1 Serving)
- 50 g besan (gram flour), about 1/2 cup, levelled
- 30 g onion, finely chopped (about half a small onion)
- 30 g tomato, finely chopped (about half a small tomato)
- 1 green chilli, finely chopped, and 1 tablespoon coriander leaves
- 1/4 tsp turmeric, 1/4 tsp red chilli powder, a pinch of ajwain, salt to taste
- About 90 ml water, added a little at a time
- 1 tsp oil for the pan, split across the two chillas
Turn the numbers into meals
Knowing the calories is the easy part. Eating to them through a normal Indian week is where most people slip.
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Step by Step (12 Minutes)
Step 1 · Batter (3 min + 5 min rest)
Whisk the besan, turmeric, chilli powder, ajwain and salt with the water, adding it slowly so there are no lumps. The batter should pour like thin dosa batter. Rest it for 5 minutes while you chop.
Step 2 · Vegetables (2 min)
Stir the onion, tomato, green chilli and coriander into the batter.
Step 3 · Cook (4 min)
Heat a non-stick pan on medium and wipe it with half a teaspoon of oil. Pour half the batter and spread it to about 15 cm. Cook for 2 minutes until the edge lifts, flip, and cook 1 more minute. Repeat for the second chilla.
Step 4 · Serve (1 min)
Serve hot with mint chutney or curd. The two chillas alone are about {r5(c2["kcal"])} kcal and {r1(c2["P"])} g protein.
How to Reach 20 g Protein
Two chillas on their own give about 12 g, which is a light breakfast for most adults. These additions are weighed from IFCT values for boiled egg and paneer.
| Plate | Protein | Kcal |
|---|---|---|
| 2 chillas (base) | 12 g | ~230 |
| 2 chillas + 1 boiled egg | 18 g | ~305 |
| 2 chillas stuffed with 30 g grated paneer | 17 g | ~325 |
| 2 chillas + 50 g paneer on the side | 21 g | ~385 |
| 3 chillas + 1 boiled egg | 24 g | ~420 |
Not sure what your own daily target is? The protein calculator turns it into eggs, paneer and dal. For a rough check on any plate, use the Indian food calorie calculator.
Besan Chilla or Moong Dal Chilla?
On the Indian Food Composition Tables the two flours are close: green gram (moong) dal has 23.9 g protein and about 326 kcal per 100 g, and Bengal gram dal has 21.6 g and about 329 kcal. In a chilla that gap is under 1 g. The practical difference is that besan needs no soaking, while moong dal needs a few hours. Our moong dal chilla post uses a larger chilla, so compare by the grams of flour rather than the count.
Is Besan Chilla Good for Weight Loss?
It can fit well. A chilla gives about 5 g of protein per 100 kcal, against about 2.3 g for a plain plate of poha, and besan carries about 15 g of fibre per 100 g. No single food causes fat loss, though. What counts is your total intake across the day, and the oil in the pan is the number most people miss.
3 Variations
- Paneer-stuffed: Spread 30 g grated paneer on one chilla and fold. Two chillas plus the paneer are about 17 g protein and 325 kcal.
- Palak or methi chilla: Stir in a handful of chopped spinach or fenugreek leaves with the onion. It adds colour and fibre for very few extra calories.
- Mixed vegetable: Add grated carrot, cabbage or capsicum. Keep the extra vegetables to a handful so the batter still spreads.
3 Common Mistakes
- Batter too thick: The chilla turns dense and soaks up oil. Add water until it pours easily.
- Pouring straight away: Rest the batter for 5 minutes so the flour softens and the chilla cooks through.
- Eyeballing the oil: A tablespoon poured from the bottle is about 3 teaspoons, so each chilla can quietly gain over 100 kcal. Wipe the pan with a measured half teaspoon instead.
Coach's Tip: Weigh 50 g of besan on a kitchen scale once and mark where it sits in your cup. A heaped cup holds noticeably more flour than a level one, and that is the usual reason a home chilla has more calories than the table says.
Useful Next Reads
- Moong Dal Chilla Recipe
- Paneer Bhurji, 12 Minutes
- Egg Bhurji, 1 to 10 Eggs
- 6 High-Protein Breakfasts Without Whey
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Sources
- Indian Food Composition Tables (IFCT) 2017 · ICMR, National Institute of Nutrition
- Food energy: methods of analysis and conversion factors (FAO Food and Nutrition Paper 77) · FAO, 2003
Figures for Indian foods follow IFCT 2017 (ICMR-NIN). IFCT lists Bengal gram dal, not besan, so the dal row is used for the flour. The oil is counted as pure fat at 9 kcal per gram, the standard Atwater factor in the FAO paper above, with 1 teaspoon taken as 5 g. Coaching guidance on this site is educational and is not a substitute for medical advice. See how we use sources.
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About Anish Agarwal
Founder & Head Coach, YourTrainer · NASM & K11 Certified Personal Trainer · coaching since 2022
Featured in Dietitians.io, Fitness Interview, NRI Pulse, The MASALA Study. Press and media
Anish Agarwal is a NASM and K11 certified personal trainer coaching fat loss, body transformation, strength, and nutrition for clients across India since 2022. He founded YourTrainer to make expert, science-based coaching accessible online and in Bengaluru. Coach Anish's profile and the YourTrainer story.
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