Hitting a protein target without a single supplement
What 80 g and 120 g of protein a day actually look like on an Indian plate.
The short answer
Read this bit if nothing else
Protein targets are usually quoted and never illustrated, which makes them feel unreachable. Here is what they look like in food — the same dishes as everywhere else on this site, simply counted.
SOURCE·Computed from ThaliFacts food data·REVIEWED JUL 2026
The same meal, two ways
A vegetarian day at roughly 80 g of protein
- Moong Dal Chilla ×2384 kcal
- Curd (Dahi) ×190 kcal
- രാജ്മ കറി ×1216 kcal
- Roti (Chapati) ×2187 kcal
- Paneer Bhurji ×1252 kcal
- Moong Sprouts Salad ×192 kcal
A non-vegetarian day at roughly 120 g
- Boiled Egg ×3200 kcal
- Masala Oats ×1210 kcal
- Chicken Curry ×1.2234 kcal
- Boiled White Rice ×1168 kcal
- Curd (Dahi) ×190 kcal
- Paneer Tikka ×1294 kcal
- Roti (Chapati) ×2187 kcal
- Moong Dal ×1128 kcal
A difference of 289 kcal and 24.0 g of protein, from the same cuisine, the same restaurant and roughly the same amount of food on the plate. Every figure is computed from the dishes named, at the serving sizes on their ThaliFacts pages.
What actually works
- It is a distribution problem, not a total problem.
- Most Indian plates put nearly all the day's protein in one meal. Twenty grams at each of four eating occasions is far easier than sixty at dinner.
- Two katoris of dal, not one.
- The cheapest change available to a vegetarian household, and the one nobody makes.
- Curd counts.
- A 150 g katori is about 4.5 g of protein. Three of those across a day is a meaningful amount of an 80 g target.
- Do not chase the number every single day.
- The weekly average is what your body sees.
Put it into a week
Guides are for the awkward days. The plans are for the ordinary ones.
The other awkward days
What people ask about this one
Hitting a protein target without a single supplement?
Protein targets are usually quoted and never illustrated, which makes them feel unreachable. Here is what they look like in food — the same dishes as everywhere else on this site, simply counted.
How much difference does it actually make?
1,221 kcal against 1,511 kcal for the two plates on this page — a gap of 289 kcal from a single meal, with 24.0 g of protein difference on top. Repeat that four times a week and it is not a small number any more.
Are these figures exact?
They are computed from Indian food composition data at the serving sizes shown, which makes them a good estimate of home cooking and a conservative estimate of restaurant cooking. A restaurant version of any dish here can run 30 to 60% higher, almost entirely because of fat.
Calories and macros are computed from the ThaliFacts dataset, which is based on the Indian Food Composition Tables 2017 (ICMR–NIN), plus the regional dishes estimated for this site and marked est wherever they appear. Energy reconciles against 4P + 4C + 9F on every build. Every source, with the date it was last checked, is listed on the sources page. General information only — not medical or nutrition advice. These are illustrative plans built on average values; they are not prescriptions and cannot account for allergies, conditions or medication.
SOURCE·Computed from ThaliFacts food data·REVIEWED JUL 2026
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This site and nine others like it are built and photographed by two people: Amit Sharma — behind the build; Geeta Patel — the poses, demonstrated. New work goes up on Instagram and Facebook before it reaches a page here.
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