Makki roti and sarson da saag - the butter is the bomb

A classic winter plate of two makki rotis, sarson da saag and a big white-butter dollop is about 700 kcal. Skip just the makhan tower and the same plate drops to around 520 - the saag is light, the butter is the bomb.

12 Jul 2026 · Burnie Academy
makki-roti sarson-da-saag punjabi-food winter-food

Makki di roti and sarson da saag is the taste of Punjabi winter. The yellow rotis are warm and hearty. The green saag is rich with mustard leaves. Then comes the big white blob of makhan, butter, melted on top. People think this whole plate is super healthy because the saag is greens. It is healthy, yes. But the makhan tower quietly loads on calories. Let us count the plate with it and without it.

Your classic winter plate: 2 makki rotis, saag, and the makhan tower

≈ 700 kcal 660-760

A normal festive plate is two thick makki rotis, one katori of sarson da saag, and a generous lump of white butter on top. That comes to roughly 700 kcal. The saag itself is almost free. The two rotis are the real backbone. But that one butter dollop adds close to 180 kcal on its own, almost as much as a whole extra roti.

Assumptions: Per makki roti: 55 g makki atta at 362 kcal/100 g = 199 kcal, plus ~3 g ghee applied on the tava at 897 kcal/100 g = 27 kcal, so ~226 kcal per roti (rounded ~230). Two rotis = ~455 kcal. Sarson da saag: 1 katori = ~64 kcal per serving (Tarla Dalal home recipe, includes oil tempering). White butter (makhan) dollop: 25 g at 717 kcal/100 g = ~179 kcal, rounded ~180. Total = 455 + 64 + 180 = 699, rounded to 700.

Sources: Nextrient - Cornmeal, whole-grain, yellow (USDA FoodData Central FDC 169697) · USDA FoodData Central - Butter oil, anhydrous (ghee) (FDC 173410), via MyFoodData · USDA FoodData Central - Butter, via FatSecret · Tarla Dalal - Calories for Sarson ka Saag (Punjabi Sarson Ka Saag Recipe)

Same plate, with and without the makhan tower

Here is the whole point of this plate. Keep the two rotis. Keep the saag. Only one thing changes, the butter blob on top. That one change is worth about 180 kcal.

Full plate WITH the makhan tower (2 rotis + saag + 25 g butter)

The traditional way, big white-butter dollop melting on the saag.

Same plate WITHOUT makhan (2 rotis + saag, butter skipped)

Same food, same fullness, ~180 kcal lighter. The butter was the only thing cut.

Use a teaspoon of butter, not a golf ball

≈ 555 kcal saves 145 kcal 540-590

You love the butter flavour, and that is fine. The fix is the size. A small teaspoon dab, about 5 g, gives you the taste for only ~36 kcal. The big 25 g dollop is five times that. So dab, do not tower.

Assumptions: Same 2 makki rotis (~455 kcal) + 1 katori saag (~64 kcal), but the makhan dollop shrinks from 25 g (~180 kcal) to 5 g, one teaspoon, at 717 kcal/100 g = ~36 kcal. Total = 455 + 64 + 36 = 555 kcal. Saving ~145 kcal versus the 700-kcal baseline.

Sources: USDA FoodData Central - Butter, via FatSecret

Stop at one makki roti, keep the saag

≈ 475 kcal saves 225 kcal 450-510

Makki rotis are thick and filling. One is often enough, especially with a full katori of saag. Dropping from two rotis to one cuts about 230 kcal straight off the plate.

Assumptions: One makki roti (~230 kcal: 55 g makki atta at 362 kcal/100 g = 199 kcal + 3 g ghee = 27 kcal) + 1 katori saag (~64 kcal) + the full 25 g makhan dollop (~180 kcal) = 474 kcal, rounded 475. Saving ~225 kcal versus the 700-kcal baseline by removing one roti.

Sarson da saag is a green vegetable, so the whole plate is a light, healthy meal.

mostly false

Mostly false. The saag itself really is light, about 64 kcal a katori, mostly mustard greens and spinach. But the full plate is not just saag. Two makki rotis add about 455 kcal, and the makhan dollop adds another ~180. So the greens are the smallest part of the calories. The flour and the butter are the big pieces. Calling the plate 'light' because of the saag is like calling a pizza 'light' because of the tomato sauce.

Sources: Tarla Dalal - Calories for Sarson ka Saag (Punjabi Sarson Ka Saag Recipe) · Nextrient - Cornmeal, whole-grain, yellow (USDA FoodData Central FDC 169697) · USDA FoodData Central - Butter, via FatSecret

Eat your saag-roti the lighter way

White butter (makhan) is 717 kcal per 100 g. A 25 g dollop is almost a whole extra roti. A teaspoon dab gives the flavour for a fraction of the calories.
At home you control the saag. The simple home recipe is just ~64 kcal a katori. Dhaba versions can hide cream and extra ghee, so they run higher.
Makki atta is whole-grain and gluten-free, but it is still ~362 kcal per 100 g, like any flour. A roti is a roti, so watch the size and the count.
If you keep the makhan dollop, skip the ghee you would brush on the roti. That avoids paying for the fat twice.
Drink a glass of chaas (buttermilk) with it instead of a sweet lassi. Chaas is close to calorie-free; a sweet lassi can add 150-200 kcal on its own.

The bottom line

Makki roti and sarson da saag is a genuinely good winter meal. The saag is light, and the rotis are real food. The calorie bomb is the white butter tower on top. A full plate with two rotis, saag and a big makhan dollop is about 700 kcal. Drop only the butter and the same plate falls to about 520. Eat one roti and use just a teaspoon of butter, and you are near 330, with all the flavour still on the plate.

Full traditional plate ~700 kcal; without makhan ~520 kcal; one roti + saag + 1 tsp butter ~330 kcal.

Best-case recipe, computed independently: One makki roti (55 g makki atta at 362 kcal/100 g = 199 kcal + 3 g ghee = 27 kcal = ~230) + 1 katori sarson da saag (~64 kcal) + 1 teaspoon white butter, 5 g at 717 kcal/100 g = ~36 kcal = ~330 kcal total. Computed independently, not a sum of the deltas above.