Real numbers · sources cited

Calories in machboos: USDA has no entry — here's the honest math anyway

Search USDA FoodData Central for "kabsa" or "machboos" and you get nothing — the survey database that anchors most calorie apps simply doesn't contain Gulf rice dishes. So when an app flashes one confident number for machboos, ask where it came from. The honest method — the one Proba uses on every scan — is to break the plate into components that DO have lab-analyzed entries, weigh them, and show the receipt.

The component math (typical 450 g plate, chicken machboos)

Component	Typical amount	USDA basis (per 100 g)	kcal
Spiced rice (cooked in broth + fat)	280 g	Rice, white, cooked as ingredient — FDC 2710788: 130 kcal, 2.5 P / 29.0 C / 0.4 F — plus the cooking fat it absorbs (below)	≈364 + fat
Chicken thigh, skin on	130 g	Chicken thigh, rotisserie, skin eaten — FDC 2706035: 226 kcal, 22.5 P / 0.1 C / 15.1 F	≈294
Same thigh, skin removed	(alternative)	Skin not eaten — FDC 2706036: 193 kcal, 24.1 P / 0 C / 10.7 F	≈251
Ghee/oil retained in the rice	1–2 tbsp	pure fat ≈ 120 kcal/tbsp	120–240
Tomato, onion, dakkus, spices	—	minor calories; the fat they're cooked in is already counted	≈30

Total: ≈810 kcal for a typical plate with skin; 600–900 kcal is the honest range. Skinless chicken and lighter rice bring it near 600; a majlis-style heap with extra ghee clears 900.

The two honest unknowns (same as every composed dish): your portion — machboos is served family-style, and a "plate" spans 350–600 g — and the fat the rice absorbed, which is invisible in a photo and worth ~120 kcal per tablespoon. Ranges with stated assumptions beat single confident numbers.

Macros and the glucose picture

The ~810-kcal plate carries about 40 g protein, 88 g carbs, and ~32 g fat. White rice dominates the carb load, so the estimated glucose impact sits in the high band for most people; starting with the chicken and salad, or swapping a third of the rice for extra protein, moves the estimate down a band. (Estimate from meal composition — not a CGM measurement.)

Scan your actual plate — in Arabic, with the receipt

Proba is fully localized in Arabic, recognizes Gulf plates, lets you correct grams before saving, and cites the USDA line behind every number on a pull-down receipt. Same plate, same answer, every time — try the five-scan test at your next gathering.

Scan your machboos — free, 3 scans/day

Method & limitations: how Proba counts calories. USDA search for "kabsa"/"machboos" returning no survey entries: verified 2026-07-27 against FoodData Central; component entries linked above.