VoltraCalories in margoog: meat or chicken, per 100 g and per plate
Margoog made with meat has about 90 to 101 kcal per 100 g in lab analyses from Kuwait and Saudi Arabia [1][2][3], with 4.6 to 6.0 g of protein. Chicken margoog, called margooga or marqoqa in the UAE and Bahrain, measured 96 kcal per 100 g in the UAE and 150 in Bahrain [4][5].
For example, a 450 g plate of meat margoog comes to about 410–450 kcal (calculated).
Calories per 100 g
Meat margoog:
| Per 100 g | Kuwait [1] | Saudi (SFDA) [2] | Riyadh homes [3] |
|---|---|---|---|
| kcal | 101 | 98 | 90 |
| Protein | 5.1 g | 6.0 g | 4.6 g |
| Fat | 2.8 g | 2.5 g | 0.5 g |
| Carbs | 13.9 g | 10.3 g | 16.9 g |
Chicken margooga:
Per 100 g as served, dough, meat and broth together. The Kuwaiti margoog was cooked from a household recipe with mutton on the bone, eggplant, tomato and pieces of wheat dough, in ghee [1]. The Saudi Food and Drug Authority's was made with lamb on the bone, whole-wheat dough, pumpkin, zucchini, eggplant, green beans and ghee [2]; the Riyadh sample with whole-wheat flour, meat, vegetables and butter [3]. The Emirati samples came from restaurants in Al Ain [4]. The Authority's carbohydrate is available carbohydrate, with 5.7 g of fibre on top [2]; the Riyadh figure includes 1.1 g of fibre [3].
A plate of margoog
The Saudi Food and Drug Authority's margoog recipe is written for about four adults, and the whole pot comes to 2,220 kcal [2]: about 555 kcal a person, or roughly 570 g of margoog each (calculated). Abu Dhabi's photographic food atlas, which uses its thareed photos for margooga too, shows portions from 100 g to 606 g [6]. Weigh your plate, or use these examples:
| Amount | Meat margoog | Chicken margooga |
|---|---|---|
| 300 g | 270–300 kcal | 290–450 kcal |
| 450 g | 410–450 kcal | 430–680 kcal |
| 600 g | 540–610 kcal | 580–900 kcal |
Calculated from the lowest and highest figures per 100 g above: meat margoog [1][3], chicken margooga [4][5].
What changes the number
- Dough and broth. Bahrain's chicken margooga held 65.6 g of water per 100 g, against 74 to 77 g in the other samples, and more carbohydrate: 22.7 g against 10.3 to 16.9 g [1][2][3][4][5]. Less broth in each 100 g took it to 150 kcal, against 90 to 101.
- Fat. It ranged from 0.5 g per 100 g in the Riyadh sample to 4.1 g in the Bahraini one [3][5]. The ghee in the pot is only part of it: in the Kuwaiti recipe, 15 g of ghee in a pot of 2,750 g comes to about 0.5 g per 100 g, of the 2.8 g measured [1]; in the Saudi recipe, 30 g in about 2.3 kg comes to about 1.3 g, of 2.5 g [2] (both calculated).
- Chicken or meat. The recipe matters more: the Emirati chicken marqoqa, at 96 kcal per 100 g, sat among the meat versions [4].
- Bones. The figures are for the edible part: the Kuwaiti lab removed the bones before analysis [1], and the Kuwaiti and Saudi recipes both use meat on the bone [1][2].
Making it lighter
We found no advice on margoog itself from Gulf health ministries. Oman's dietary guide gives this advice for meat stews and meat in general [7]:
- More vegetables, less meat. Add crushed tomatoes, lentils or vegetables to meat stews, which the guide says lets you eat less meat and more vegetables.
- Leaner meat. Choose lean cuts, trim all visible white fat before cooking, and drain away any fat that appears while cooking.
- Chicken. Choose breast rather than thigh, and remove the skin before cooking.
We found no lab analysis of a lighter margoog, so we can't say how many calories these changes save.
In Voltra
Search margoog or مرقوق in the Eat tab: Voltra's built-in entry uses the Kuwaiti analysis above, 101 kcal per 100 g. For chicken margooga or a different recipe, tap Describe and type it, for example chicken margooga, 450 g, or tap Scan a meal and photograph it. Check the grams, then tap Log.
Frequently asked
How many calories are in a plate of margoog?
About 410–450 kcal for 450 g of meat margoog, calculated from lab analyses at 90 to 101 kcal per 100 g. One person's share of the Saudi Food and Drug Authority's recipe for about four adults is about 555 kcal (calculated).
Is margoog high in protein?
Not very: 4.6 to 6.0 g per 100 g in the meat versions, because most of it is water, 75 to 77 g in every 100 g. A 450 g plate has about 21 to 27 g (calculated).
Chicken or meat margoog: which has fewer calories?
The recipe matters more than the meat. Chicken marqoqa from UAE restaurants came to 96 kcal per 100 g, among the meat versions at 90 to 101, while a Bahraini chicken margooga with less broth came to 150.
Is margooga the same dish as margoog?
Yes. It's margoog or marqooq in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, and margooga or marqoqa in the UAE and Bahrain: thin sheets of dough cooked in a stew of meat or chicken and vegetables.
Sources
- Eid N, Al-Awadi F, et al. (1989). National Food Composition Table, I: Kuwaiti Composite Dishes (report 3267). Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research. Table 3, code M6 (Margook); recipe in Appendix II.
- National Nutrition Committee, Saudi Food and Drug Authority (2025). Saudi Food Composition Tables, 1st edition. Margaouq, pp. 18–19.
- Al-Faris NA (2017). Nutritional evaluation of selected traditional foods commonly consumed in Saudi Arabia. Journal of Food and Nutrition Research 5(3):168–175. Tables 1–3, No. 3 (marqooq).
- Al Dhaheri AS, Al Ma'awali AK, Laleye LC, et al. (2015). The effect of nutritional composition on the glycemic index and glycemic load values of selected Emirati foods. BMC Nutrition 1:4. Tables 1 and 3 (marqoqa, with chicken).
- Musaiger AO (2011). Food Composition Tables for Kingdom of Bahrain. Arab Center for Nutrition. Composite dishes, No. 30 (Markoukah Dajaj), p. 72.
- Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority (2014). A photographic atlas of food portions for the Emirate of Abu Dhabi: user guide. In Arabic. Item 26, thareed, used for margooga too, pp. 6 and 20. Archived copy of the official file.
- Ministry of Health, Sultanate of Oman (2026). The Omani Guide for Healthy Eating 2026. Box 8.3, pp. 86–87.
Sources checked on 30 September 2026.
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