How this was built
The evidence behind the numbers
Every recipe on this site carries a per-serving nutrition panel. This page explains where those figures come from, how they were derived, what they can reasonably be used for, and — just as importantly — what they cannot.
Where the numbers come from
Ingredient-level nutrient values are taken from the Indian Food Composition Tables 2017, published by the National Institute of Nutrition (ICMR) in Hyderabad. This matters more than it sounds. Most nutrition apps resolve Indian ingredients against American or European databases, which either lack the food entirely or substitute something adjacent. Grated coconut, matta rice, jaggery, drumstick, raw jackfruit and curry leaf all carry different values in an Indian table because they were measured on Indian samples.
Glycaemic index values are drawn from the 2021 international tables of glycaemic index and glycaemic load, the current systematic review of published GI measurements. National dietary framing follows the ICMR–NIN Dietary Guidelines for Indians (2024), and the sodium position follows the World Health Organization.
How each figure is derived
Ingredient quantities are converted to grams, matched to a composition-table entry, summed, adjusted for cooking losses and gains where the tables provide a factor, then divided by the stated yield. Available carbohydrate is total carbohydrate minus fibre. Glycaemic load is available carbohydrate per serving multiplied by the glycaemic index of the dominant carbohydrate source, divided by one hundred.
Where a value could not be sourced with confidence, the panel omits it rather than estimating. That is why a small number of preparations — mostly the mother preparations, which are used by the spoonful rather than eaten as a dish — carry no panel at all.
What these figures are not
They are not laboratory assays of the plate in front of you. Composition varies with variety, season, soil, ripeness and storage. A cup of grated coconut in your kitchen is not identical to the sample that produced the reference value. Cooking method shifts glycaemic response in ways no static table captures: the same rice, cooled and reheated, behaves differently from rice served straight from the pot.
Treat the panels as a way to compare — this dish against that one, this week against last — rather than as a precise account of a single meal. That comparison is where the useful information lives, and it survives the uncertainty comfortably.
Common questions
Where do the nutrition numbers come from?
Ingredient values come from the Indian Food Composition Tables 2017, published by the National Institute of Nutrition (ICMR) in Hyderabad, because those values are measured on Indian samples rather than converted from Western databases. Coconut, matta rice, jaggery, curry leaf and drumstick are not the same foods in an American table as they are in an Indian one.
Are the figures per serving or per 100 g?
Per serving, and each recipe states the serving it refers to. That is a deliberate choice: per-100 g figures are easier to compute and much harder to act on. If you change the yield using the scaler on a recipe page, the ingredient quantities change but the per-serving nutrition does not, because the serving is still one serving.
How is glycaemic load estimated?
Glycaemic load is derived from available carbohydrate per serving and a glycaemic index value for the dominant carbohydrate source, drawn from the 2021 international tables. It is an estimate, not a measurement. Cooking time, cooling, fat and acid all shift the real figure, and no published table can account for your kitchen.
Is this medical advice?
No. It is a cookbook with the arithmetic shown. If you are managing diabetes, hypertension, kidney disease or pregnancy, the numbers here are a starting point for a conversation with a clinician or dietitian who knows your history — not a substitute for one.
Why does the sodium target matter so much here?
Because Kerala cooking is not intrinsically high in sodium, but the modern shortcuts around it are — the pickle, the papad, the stock cube, the packet masala. The World Health Organization recommends under 2000 mg of sodium a day for adults. Several recipes here rebuild those shortcuts so the flavour survives and the sodium does not.
Can I trust a nutrition figure to the exact gram?
No, and you should not want to. Ingredient composition varies by variety, season, soil and ripeness; home measures vary by hand. The figures are accurate enough to compare dishes against each other and to see the shape of a day's eating. They are not laboratory assay values for the plate in front of you.
References
World Health Organization. Sodium reduction (fact sheet).
WHO recommends less than 2000 mg/day of sodium for adults — equivalent to less than 5 g/day of salt, just under a teaspoon.
https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/sodium-reduction
World Health Organization. Guideline: Sodium Intake for Adults and Children. Geneva: WHO.
The full guideline document behind the sodium recommendation, including the evidence review on blood pressure.
Atkinson FS, Brand-Miller JC, Foster-Powell K, Buyken AE, Goletzke J. International tables of glycemic index and glycemic load values 2021: a systematic review. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 2021;114(5):1625–1632.
The reference tables used for glycaemic index values. doi:10.1093/ajcn/nqab233 · PMID 34258626.
Indian Food Composition Tables 2017. National Institute of Nutrition (ICMR), Hyderabad.
The primary nutrient source for Indian ingredients — measured on Indian samples rather than converted from Western databases.
ICMR–National Institute of Nutrition. Dietary Guidelines for Indians. 2024 edition.
India's current national dietary guidance, used as the reference frame for what a balanced plate looks like here.
https://nin.res.in/dietaryguidelines/pdfjs/locale/DGI_2024.pdf
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central.
Used only where an ingredient has no entry in the Indian tables — chiefly imported and non-native items.
FAO/INFOODS. Food composition tables and databases: India, 2017.
FAO's catalogue entry for the Indian tables, for readers who want to place them among international datasets.
https://www.fao.org/food-composition/tables-and-databases/detail/(country--date)-title-9/en
Medical disclaimer
This site is a cookbook with its arithmetic shown. It is not medical advice, and it is not a treatment plan. Nothing here diagnoses, treats or prevents any condition. If you are managing diabetes, high blood pressure, kidney disease, coeliac disease or a food allergy, or if you are pregnant, discuss dietary changes with a qualified clinician or registered dietitian who knows your history. If a recipe conflicts with advice you have been given by your own clinician, follow your clinician.