Calorie tracking in Bangladesh
The AI calorie tracker that knows Bangladeshi food.
Bangladeshi food is close to invisible in mainstream calorie databases. Rice-and-fish-curry meals, mustard oil as the default cooking fat, and dishes like bhorta and shutki have no reliable entries, which leaves most people guessing or giving up.
The problem
Why generic trackers struggle here.
- Mustard oil is the default cooking fat and is used generously, which most database entries do not reflect.
- Rice portions are large relative to Western norms and vary a lot between households.
- Dishes like bhorta, bhaji and shutki have essentially no coverage in Western databases.
BetterCal takes a different route. There is no database to search — you describe the meal in plain words, and the estimate is made against how that food is actually cooked and served in Bangladesh: the ingredients, the cooking fats, the serving vessel and the portion size.
Reference
Bangladeshi food, roughly counted.
Ranges rather than single numbers, because home and restaurant versions of the same dish differ enormously — mostly in cooking fat. Use these as a starting point, then correct against your own kitchen.
| Dish | Serving | Calories |
|---|---|---|
| Plain rice, cooked | 1 plate | 300–450 |
| Fish curry (rui/katla) | 1 piece with gravy | 200–320 |
| Beef bhuna | 1 katori | 300–450 |
| Dal | 1 katori | 120–170 |
| Aloo bhorta | 1 serving | 150–220 |
| Khichuri | 1 plate | 400–550 |
| Paratha | 1 | 200–280 |
| Chicken biryani | 1 plate | 700–950 |
| Cha with milk and sugar | 1 cup | 70–110 |
| Mishti (roshogolla) | 1 | 120–160 |
Voice logging
Say a whole Bangladeshi meal out loud.
Tap the microphone and describe the plate the way you would to a person — "plain rice, cooked, fish curry (rui/katla) and beef bhuna". BetterCal transcribes it, separates every dish, and writes the lot into your day with calories and macros.
One recording covers the whole meal, however many items are in it. You see the transcript before anything is saved, so a misheard dish name is obvious rather than buried inside a number.
Journal logging
Or type it like a note.
Write what you ate the way you would text a friend. No search box, no results list to choose from, no serving-size picker to scroll — just a line of plain text that turns into a logged meal.
It is the faster option when you are somewhere quiet, and it works just as well hours after the meal. Anything you log often is saved automatically, so the second time round it is a single tap and costs nothing.
Details
Portions and diets.
Serving units. Describe portions the way you normally would — plates, katori, pieces, cups all work. You do not need to convert anything into grams first.
Diets. Halal is the default and fish features heavily. BetterCal supports pescatarian, vegetarian, eggetarian, vegan and everything.
Corrections stick. If a dish is made differently in your household, adjust it once and BetterCal remembers. Over a few weeks the estimates converge on your kitchen rather than an average of everyone else's.
Frequently asked questions
Can I log Bangladeshi food by voice?
Yes. Hold the microphone, describe the meal in your own words, and it is transcribed and logged with calories and macros. One recording handles several dishes at once, and you can review the transcript before it saves.
Can I type instead of speaking?
Yes — the journal takes plain typed sentences in exactly the same way. Most people mix the two: voice at home, typing when they are somewhere quiet or logging a meal after the fact.
Does it know Bangladeshi dishes?
Yes — bhorta, bhuna, khichuri, shutki and similar are handled as ordinary entries rather than forced into the nearest Western match.
Does it account for mustard oil?
Estimates use local cooking norms, which for Bangladesh means mustard oil used generously. Correct a dish once if your household differs.
Is fish counted properly?
Yes. Name the fish where you can — rui, katla, ilish — since oil content varies considerably between them.
How much does it cost in Bangladesh?
Free to download, with 20 AI meal logs a day at no cost. Meals already in your memory are always free to log again, however often you repeat them. See what is free.
Do I need to photograph my food?
No. BetterCal has no camera and no barcode scanner. You log by speaking or typing, which means you can log a meal after you have eaten it rather than having to remember beforehand.
Start today
Log Bangladeshi food in one sentence.
Free to start on iPhone and Android.
