Calories in curd, milk, buttermilk and lassi

Dairy is where a lot of Indian protein comes from, and where a lot of uncounted fat comes from too. The two facts sit in the same foods and are separated entirely by which version you buy.

The numbers

Food	Serving	kcal	Protein (g)	Carbs (g)	Fat (g)
Curd, full-fat	100 g	60	3.5	4.5	3.4
Curd, toned milk	100 g	46	3.6	4.7	1.7
Curd, low fat	100 g	37	3.8	5	0.5
Hung curd	100 g	98	10	5	5
Milk, buffalo	100 ml	100	4.3	5	6.5
Milk, cow	100 ml	67	3.2	4.8	4.1
Milk, toned	100 ml	58	3.1	4.8	3
Buttermilk, thin	200 ml	35	1.8	4	1

Source: IFCT 2017

Curd is a good protein deal

Measured as calories per gram of protein — the number that matters when you are trying to reach a target inside a budget:

• Low-fat curd: 9.7 kcal per gram of protein
• Hung curd: 9.8
• Toned-milk curd: 12.8
• Full-fat curd: 17.1
• Paneer, full-fat: 16.2
• Chicken breast: 5.2

Low-fat curd is one of the best vegetarian options available in an Indian kitchen, and hung curd is the same deal in a thicker, more useful form. Both beat paneer, which surprises people — see paneer or tofu: the protein comparison in full.

Hung curd is the underused one

Straining curd removes whey and concentrates everything else. The result is roughly 10 g of protein per 100 g, a thick texture that works as a dip, a marinade, a raita base or a cream substitute.

Two practical uses. As a replacement for cream in gravies: two tablespoons of cream is 100 kcal, the same volume of hung curd is about 30, and it thickens nearly as well. And as a high-protein snack with fruit, at around 150 kcal for 15 g of protein.

The cream substitution alone is worth 60 to 70 kcal per serving in a paneer or chicken gravy, which is the kind of change discussed in how much oil is actually in your curry.

Milk: the change with the largest daily effect

Buffalo milk is around 100 kcal per 100 ml. Toned milk is 58.

That gap appears everywhere: in tea four times a day, in curd, in cooking, in coffee. A household drinking a litre a day between two people saves roughly 210 kcal per person by switching, without any change in habit.

For anyone drinking several cups of tea, this is the highest-leverage single change available, as set out in calories in chai, coffee and everything you add.

The lassi spectrum

Same base ingredient, four very different drinks.

• Thin buttermilk (chaas): 25 to 40 kcal a glass. Essentially free, and a good volume filler in hot weather.
• Salted lassi: 100 to 150, depending on the curd.
• Sweet lassi: 200 to 300, mostly from three to four teaspoons of sugar.
• Mango lassi: 300 to 400, with cream and sugar both involved.

Ordering chaas instead of a sweet lassi with a meal is a 200 kcal decision that most people make without thinking about it either way.

Cheese and cream

Processed cheese slice: about 60 to 70 kcal each, with modest protein. Amul-style cheese cube: around 55 kcal. Fresh cream: 100 kcal for two tablespoons, which is the item most often forgotten in a gravy. Malai: similar, and often added to tea in generous households.

These are not large items individually and they are frequently invisible, which is the pattern described in how to log leftovers and second helpings honestly.

Lactose and the practical workaround

For people who do not tolerate milk well, curd is usually easier, because fermentation breaks down much of the lactose. Hard cheeses and paneer contain relatively little. Lactose-free milk exists and is similar in energy.

This matters for tracking only in that dairy is the main protein route for a large number of Indian vegetarians, and losing it makes the target considerably harder — see vegetarian protein worth the calories it costs.

The practical summary

Switch to toned milk. Keep a katori of curd with meals. Use hung curd instead of cream. Drink chaas rather than lassi. Four changes, no loss of anything you were enjoying, and around 300 kcal a day in most Indian households.