Protein in Indian Foods: Real Serving Numbers

For You by Recovery+ · Protein

Protein in Indian foods: what a real serving gives you

Here's what Indian food actually delivers, per serving you'd genuinely eat, not per 100g of a food nobody measures. The headline: add up an ordinary vegetarian day from this table and it lands around 40–50g of protein (cereals add a few grams more), against a need of 55–80g+ for most adults (your number here).

12 foods, real servings~3g one roti~26g soya chunks, 50g
Food (real serving) Protein, approx.
Roti (1) ~3g
Cooked rice (1 katori) ~2–3g
Poha (1 plate) ~3g
Cooked dal (1 katori) ~6–7g
Chhole / rajma (1 katori) ~7–8g
Curd (1 katori) ~3–4g
Milk (1 glass, 250ml) ~8g
Paneer (100g) ~18g
Egg (1) ~6g
Chicken (100g cooked) ~25–27g
Soya chunks (50g dry) ~26g
Peanuts (30g handful) ~7–8g

Approximate values for typical home preparations; recipes vary. Use them for arithmetic, not accounting.

Run the arithmetic on an example day, two rotis and dal at lunch (~9g), rice-dal-curd at dinner (~10g), chai-biscuit breakfast (~2g), a milk glass (~8g), and you land near 35–45g. The gap isn't a willpower failure; it's structural: the plate is ~62% carbohydrate by design1, and its cereal protein carries the lysine handicap on top2. The fixes that move the number most: doubling dal portions, 100g of paneer or 50g of soya chunks as a standing item, and a concentrated ~20g dose3 where the day runs emptiest, which is exactly the slot The two emptiest slots, breakfast and night, are exactly where ELXR AM and ELXR PM land: 20g each, no cooking required.the Recovery+ Protocol occupies at breakfast and 9:30pm.

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FAQ

Which Indian food has the most protein?

Per serving among vegetarian staples: soya chunks (~26g per 50g dry), then paneer (~18g per 100g). Among all foods, cooked chicken (~25–27g per 100g) tops the common list.

What's the cheapest protein in the Indian kitchen?

Soya chunks deliver the most protein per rupee, with dals and peanuts next. Eggs are the cheapest complete animal protein.

Does cooking destroy protein?

No, cooking changes protein structure (that's what cooking is) but the amino acids remain and stay usable. Normal Indian cooking doesn't meaningfully reduce protein content.

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Sources

  1. ICMR-INDIAB dietary survey, Nature Medicine (2025): dietary profiles and metabolic risk in India
  2. Kurpad et al., Am J Clin Nutr (2001): lysine requirements of healthy adult Indian subjects
  3. Moore et al., Am J Clin Nutr (2009): ingested protein dose response of muscle protein synthesis