General information: This article is information about food data. No dietitian or doctor has reviewed it, and it is not a substitute for their advice.
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Join the NYUS waitlistहिंदी में पढ़ें: प्रोटीन वाले शाकाहारी फूड (IFCT 2017 के आँकड़ों के साथ)
Short answer: by IFCT 2017, per 100 g, dry soybean has 35.6 g of protein, dry moong dal 23.9 g, dry toor dal 21.7 g, skinless chicken breast 21.8 g, paneer 18.9 g and a boiled whole egg 13.4 g; boiled egg white has the most protein per 100 kcal (23.5 g).
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Protein is a common worry for people who train in India, and many assume it takes supplements or non-vegetarian food. This guide lists protein per 100 g for sixteen foods from the ICMR-NIN Indian Food Composition Tables 2017 (IFCT 2017), splits them into vegetarian, egg and non-vegetarian, gives protein per serving at weights we chose, the grams of food for 10 g of protein and three example days built from them, and says where we found no IFCT row and so give no number.
Each row below is one IFCT 2017 Table 1 row, per 100 g as listed in the book. IFCT gives energy in kJ; we convert at 4.184 kJ per kcal. Dals, soybean and chana are dry (uncooked), chicken is as IFCT lists it (IFCT does not state poultry as raw, PDF p. 27), eggs are boiled. The table is sorted by protein per 100 kcal.
| Food (IFCT 2017 row) | Calories / 100g | Protein | Fat | Protein per 100 kcal |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Egg white, boiled (M005) | 53 kcal | 12.4 g | 0.3 g | 23.5 g |
| Chicken breast, skinless (N003) | 168 kcal | 21.8 g | 9.0 g | 13.0 g |
| Soybean, brown, dry (B024) | 381 kcal | 35.6 g | 19.8 g | 9.3 g |
| Whole egg, boiled (M004) | 148 kcal | 13.4 g | 10.5 g | 9.1 g |
| Moong dal, dry (B010) | 326 kcal | 23.9 g | 1.4 g | 7.3 g |
| Toor dal, dry (B021) | 331 kcal | 21.7 g | 1.6 g | 6.6 g |
| Bengal gram (chana), whole, dry (B002) | 287 kcal | 18.8 g | 5.1 g | 6.5 g |
| Paneer (L003) | 305 kcal | 18.9 g | 24.8 g | 6.2 g |
What the table leaves out: IFCT 2017 has no row for soya chunks (textured soy protein), tofu, Greek yogurt, hung curd, dahi, roasted chana or cooked chicken or dal, so we give no numbers for them; use the label on your pack. Whole soybean (B024) is the nearest IFCT row to soya chunks, but chunks are a processed product and not the same food. Dals are listed dry because cooking adds water: a cooked katori holds less protein per 100 g than the dry figures above, and IFCT has no cooked dal row.
Soya chunks: check whether the label figure is for dry or soaked weight before you log them. Full breakdown in our are soya chunks good for weight loss guide.
Paneer vs tofu: tofu has no IFCT row, so we give no tofu numbers here. Paneer is 305 kcal, 18.9 g protein and 24.8 g fat per 100 g (L003). Which one fits your macros better depends on whether calories or protein grams are your bottleneck; see our full paneer vs tofu comparison.
Whey vs paneer vs dal: if cost per gram of protein is your question, see our whey vs paneer vs dal comparison. We give no prices on this page because we have no price source.
For fat loss, protein relative to calories matters as well as protein per 100 g. From the table above, grams of protein per 100 kcal, highest first:
Our reading: paneer has the lowest protein per calorie in this table because of its fat. IFCT lists 24.8 g of fat per 100 g, and at 9 kcal per gram of fat that is about 223 of its 305 kcal. If you are in a calorie deficit, the portion size of paneer matters more than for the foods above it. To see paneer and dal in real breakfast plates, read our protein per plate for vegetarian Indian breakfasts. For snack servings and for a whole week, see our protein per serving for vegetarian Indian snacks and seven example vegetarian days added up from IFCT 2017.
Counting by the piece rather than per 100 g? Our per-serving guides give a paneer cube, a slice of cheese and khoa and a boiled, fried or scrambled egg, and our per-100 g guides cover chicken breast, thigh and liver and moong, chana and matki sprouts.
Related reading: Protein in Paneer per 100 g: 50, 100 and 200 g, Vegetables With the Most Protein (IFCT 2017) and Calories in Seeds: Flax, Sesame, Sunflower and Poppy.
Eating eggs as well? See how many eggs a day make sense for weight loss, and what the cholesterol research actually says.
Each row is one IFCT 2017 Table 1 row, per 100 g edible portion, energy converted from kJ at 4.184 kJ per kcal. Within each group the rows are sorted by protein per 100 g, highest first. Dals, soybean and chana are dry and paneer, egg, chicken, goat and fish are as IFCT lists them, so the numbers per 100 g of dry dal and per 100 g of meat are not for the same state of food: cooked dal holds water and has less protein per 100 g.
| Food (IFCT 2017 row) | Protein per 100 g | Energy per 100 g | Protein per 100 kcal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vegetarian | |||
| Soybean, brown, dry (B024) | 35.6 g | 381 kcal | 9.3 g |
| Masoor dal (lentil dal), dry (B013) | 24.4 g | 322 kcal | 7.6 g |
| Moong dal (green gram dal), dry (B010) | 23.9 g | 326 kcal | 7.3 g |
| Urad dal (black gram dal), dry (B003) | 23.1 g | 324 kcal | 7.1 g |
| Toor dal (red gram dal), dry (B021) | 21.7 g | 331 kcal | 6.6 g |
| Chana dal (Bengal gram dal), dry (B001) | 21.6 g | 329 kcal | 6.5 g |
| Paneer (L003) | 18.9 g | 305 kcal | 6.2 g |
| Whole chana (Bengal gram whole), dry (B002) | 18.8 g | 287 kcal | 6.5 g |
| Egg (eggetarian) | |||
| Whole egg, boiled (M004) | 13.4 g | 148 kcal | 9.1 g |
| Egg white, boiled (M005) | 12.4 g | 53 kcal | 23.5 g |
| Non-vegetarian | |||
| Goat leg (O003) | 22.1 g | 160 kcal | 13.8 g |
| Chicken breast, skinless (N003) | 21.8 g | 168 kcal | 13.0 g |
| Hilsa (P017) | 21.8 g | 259 kcal | 8.4 g |
| Goat shoulder (O001) | 20.3 g | 188 kcal | 10.8 g |
| Rohu (S006) | 19.7 g | 102 kcal | 19.3 g |
| Chicken thigh, skinless (N002) | 18.2 g | 200 kcal | 9.1 g |
Our reading from the table: dry soybean (35.6 g) and dry masoor, moong and urad dal (23.1 to 24.4 g) are higher per 100 g than any row of meat, egg or fish, while dry toor dal (21.7 g) and chana dal (21.6 g) are about level with goat leg (22.1 g), chicken breast (21.8 g) and hilsa (21.8 g); but the pulses are weighed dry. Per 100 kcal the order changes: boiled egg white (23.5 g), rohu (19.3 g), goat leg (13.8 g) and chicken breast (13.0 g) lead, while hilsa (8.4 g) and chicken thigh (9.1 g) are lower than the other meat and fish rows, because of their fat (hilsa 18.5 g, chicken thigh 14.2 g per 100 g). This page makes no claim about which group is better for you.
A katori, a piece or a plate has no fixed weight in IFCT 2017, which prints only per 100 g. The weights below are ours (the dry dal weights are what we assume goes into one katori of cooked dal, and 50 g for an egg is the page's earlier assumption); none is a standard or a usual serving. Protein is IFCT protein per 100 g times the weight divided by 100, to 0.1 g; energy is the same for kcal.
| Food (IFCT 2017 row) | Weight (our choice) | Protein | Energy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paneer (L003) | 100 g | 18.9 g | 305 kcal |
| Paneer (L003) | 50 g | 9.4 g | 153 kcal |
| Moong dal, dry (B010) | 30 g | 7.2 g | 98 kcal |
| Toor dal, dry (B021) | 30 g | 6.5 g | 99 kcal |
| Masoor dal, dry (B013) | 30 g | 7.3 g | 97 kcal |
| Urad dal, dry (B003) | 30 g | 6.9 g | 97 kcal |
| Chana dal, dry (B001) | 30 g | 6.5 g | 99 kcal |
| Whole chana, dry (B002) | 50 g | 9.4 g | 144 kcal |
| Soybean, dry (B024) | 30 g | 10.7 g | 114 kcal |
| Boiled egg, one (M004) | 50 g | 6.7 g | 74 kcal |
| Boiled eggs, two (M004) | 100 g | 13.4 g | 148 kcal |
| Chicken breast, skinless (N003) | 100 g | 21.8 g | 168 kcal |
| Chicken thigh, skinless (N002) | 100 g | 18.2 g | 200 kcal |
| Goat leg (O003) | 100 g | 22.1 g | 160 kcal |
| Goat shoulder (O001) | 100 g | 20.3 g | 188 kcal |
| Rohu (S006) | 100 g | 19.7 g | 102 kcal |
| Hilsa (P017) | 100 g | 21.8 g | 259 kcal |
Change the weight to match your plate and multiply: for example 60 g of dry toor dal is 13.0 g of protein (21.7 × 60 ÷ 100).
Grams of food for 10 g of protein = 1,000 ÷ protein grams per 100 g (our arithmetic on the IFCT rows). The cost of 10 g of protein is then your price per kg times those grams divided by 1,000, so the last column is the number to multiply your own price per kg by. We quote no prices, because prices change by brand, city and date and we have no price source; for dry dal, paneer and whey side by side see our protein per rupee comparison.
| Food (IFCT 2017 row) | Grams for 10 g protein | Cost of 10 g protein |
|---|---|---|
| Soybean, brown, dry (B024) | 28 g | price per kg × 0.028 |
| Masoor dal (lentil dal), dry (B013) | 41 g | price per kg × 0.041 |
| Moong dal (green gram dal), dry (B010) | 42 g | price per kg × 0.042 |
| Urad dal (black gram dal), dry (B003) | 43 g | price per kg × 0.043 |
| Toor dal (red gram dal), dry (B021) | 46 g | price per kg × 0.046 |
| Chana dal (Bengal gram dal), dry (B001) | 46 g | price per kg × 0.046 |
| Whole chana (Bengal gram whole), dry (B002) | 53 g | price per kg × 0.053 |
| Paneer (L003) | 53 g | price per kg × 0.053 |
| Whole egg, boiled (M004) | 74 g | price per kg × 0.074 |
| Egg white, boiled (M005) | 81 g | price per kg × 0.081 |
| Goat leg (O003) | 45 g | price per kg × 0.045 |
| Chicken breast, skinless (N003) | 46 g | price per kg × 0.046 |
| Hilsa (P017) | 46 g | price per kg × 0.046 |
| Goat shoulder (O001) | 49 g | price per kg × 0.049 |
| Rohu (S006) | 51 g | price per kg × 0.051 |
| Chicken thigh, skinless (N002) | 55 g | price per kg × 0.055 |
Two cautions on the arithmetic. IFCT values are per 100 g edible portion, so for chicken, goat and fish bought with bone, skin or shell the weight you pay for is more than the edible weight. And dals are priced and weighed dry, so use the dry price with the dry weight.
Here is one example day built only from the IFCT 2017 rows above, with weights we chose. It shows the arithmetic and is not a prescription. We have not looked up a protein target for any body weight on this page; ask a doctor or registered dietitian for yours. All weights are as the tables list them (dry or raw, except the chicken and egg rows), and the protein is the amount listed in the food, not what your body absorbs.
Total: about 91 g protein and about 1,330 kcal from these foods alone; rice, roti, vegetables and cooking oil come on top. The plan includes one egg, so it suits an eggetarian. For a strict vegetarian, replace the egg with 30 g of dry moong dal, which adds about 7 g protein instead of the egg's 6.7 g.
Two more example days built only from the IFCT 2017 rows above, to show the arithmetic of reaching a round number. We picked 100 g of protein as that round number; it is not a target we looked up for any body weight and not a recommendation, so ask a doctor or registered dietitian for yours. The weights are ours, dry or as IFCT lists them, and each meal's protein is the sum of its rounded lines.
Total: 98.7 g protein and about 1,406 kcal from these foods alone; rice, roti, vegetables and cooking oil come on top.
Total: 102.2 g protein and about 994 kcal from these foods alone; rice, roti, vegetables and cooking oil come on top. The two days differ by 3.5 g of protein and 412 kcal (our arithmetic on the lines above).
Would rather not plan this by hand? See our guide to an AI diet plan for Indian vegetarians.
The first table covers foods eaten by vegetarians and eggetarians, and the vegetarian, egg and non-vegetarian table above adds chicken thigh, goat and two fish rows. For more cuts of meat and fish, each has its own per-100 g guide with the IFCT 2017 rows (as listed in the book): chicken breast, thigh, liver (chicken is 21.8 g in the table above), mutton (goat leg 22.07 g, goat shoulder 20.33 g, sheep cuts 18.00 to 21.42 g), fish (rohu 19.71 g, catla 17.94 g, hilsa 21.80 g) and goat organ meat (liver 20.32 g, heart 19.38 g). Our reading: cuts of chicken, goat and fish sit in a narrow band of roughly 18 to 22 g per 100 g, so fat and portion size decide the calories more than the protein does; the guides show both.
A 1994 review of plant proteins found that "mixtures of plant proteins can serve as a complete and well-balanced source of amino acids for meeting human physiological requirements" (Young and Pellett, 1994). Our reading: that is why dal with rice or roti has long worked as a pairing. The abstract does not say whether the two must be eaten in the same meal, so we make no claim about timing.
To compare specific foods, see egg vs paneer vs dal: protein per 100 g, which dal has the most protein, how much protein is in paneer and whey vs paneer vs dal: protein per rupee.
Soya chunks are textured soy protein. We have no IFCT row for them (see above), so check the pack label. Our suggestion, which is cooking advice and not a studied claim: soak them in hot water for 15 to 20 minutes and squeeze out the water before cooking.
IFCT 2017 has no row for dahi, curd, Greek yogurt or hung curd, so we give no protein or calorie numbers for them. Straining dahi removes whey, which is why strained curd and Greek yogurt are thicker. Protein and calories per 100 g depend on the product and its fat content, so compare the labels on the packs you buy. For the full picture on dahi, including calories per katori, chaas vs sweet lassi and the night-curd question, see our guide on whether curd is good for weight loss.
Our suggestion, not a studied protocol: eat something you digest easily one to two hours before, such as a banana with a small handful of roasted chana, rice with dal, or roti with a light sabzi. If heavy meals sit badly before training, leave paneer and egg dishes for afterwards.
A meta-analysis of 23 trials on muscle growth found no significant difference between protein taken around training and protein taken at other times, and total protein intake was the strongest predictor of the effect (Schoenfeld et al., 2013). Our reading: a normal meal with protein, such as an egg with rice, 150 g chicken with dal-rice, or yogurt with a banana and roasted chana, is enough; the clock matters less than the day's total. The plates are worked out row by row, with banana, roti, dal, paneer and egg, in our guide to what to eat before and after a workout.
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