Idli-sambar is considered one of the high-protein breakfast options, especially in southern India. But does it really contain as much protein as it is often touted to provide? In this edition of Indian Food Decoded, HT Lifestyle spoke with Jeanne Ribeiro, a qualified clinical nutritionist and certified diabetes educator, to decode the reality of one of the most hyped breakfasts.
That’s a decent breakfast. “That doesn’t mean you don’t need to stop eating idli. You just need to stop overestimating what it is giving you,” advises Jeanne.
So three idlis with a proper serving of sambar could give you somewhere around 9 to 12 grams of protein. But it isn’t a 20 or 25 gram protein meal.
A thick, home-cooked sambar with plenty of dal and vegetables is a completely different meal, according to Jeanne.
The idli batter is fermented before steaming, which changes the food matrix and can improve digestibility and nutrient availability. Our traditional food combinations weren’t designed around protein targets on a food label, but they often made nutritional sense. The problem is when we take a good traditional meal and make the protein portion smaller and smaller.
