Protein in Indian diets: a practical guide

How much protein do you actually need?

For most adults, a sensible target is around 1.2–1.6 g per kg of body weight if you exercise, and about 0.8–1 g per kg if you don't. A 65 kg person who works out should aim for roughly 80–105 g a day. The average Indian vegetarian diet often lands near 40–50 g — the gap is real, but fixable.

The best Indian protein sources, honestly ranked

• Soya chunks — ~18 g per katori of curry. The cheapest protein in India, gram for gram.
• Paneer — ~18 g per 100 g raw. Watch the fat; palak paneer beats paneer butter masala.
• Dals and chana — 8–10 g per katori. Combine dal with rice or roti for a complete amino profile.
• Curd and Greek yogurt — 5–9 g per katori; hung curd nearly doubles it.
• Eggs — ~6 g each. Two boiled eggs at breakfast is the easiest win in this list.
• Chicken and fish — 24–31 g per katori or 100 g. Tandoori and home-style curry beat creamy gravies.
• Sprouted moong — ~8 g per katori, plus fibre that keeps you full.

A realistic high-protein Indian day

• Breakfast: moong dal chilla ×2 + curd — ~22 g
• Lunch: 2 roti + rajma katori + dahi — ~22 g
• Snack: roasted chana handful + chai — ~9 g
• Dinner: soya chunk curry + 2 roti — ~26 g

That's ~80 g without a single scoop of whey. Add one if you train hard — track it like any other food.

The tracking trick

Protein adds up across the day, so log every meal — even the chai-time handful of chana. Aaharr counts protein per katori, roti and glass, so you see your running total after every entry instead of guessing at night.