How Many Rotis (Chapatis) a Day? What the ICMR-NIN Reference Diet Says
There is no single number of rotis that is right for everyone. But India's own national guidelines publish reference diets with the cereal quantity per meal, and you can turn those grams into rotis. This page shows the arithmetic and says plainly where it stops applying to you.
The short answer
The Dietary Guidelines for Indians 2024 (ICMR-NIN) give a suggested diet for a reference man of 65 kg and a reference woman of 55 kg, both sedentary and normally nourished. At lunch and dinner together the man's diet has 180 g of cereals (100 g at lunch, 80 g at dinner) and the woman's has 140 g (80 g and 60 g), weighed raw. At 30 g of atta per roti (our assumption), that is about 6.0 rotis for the man and 4.7 rotis for the woman across the two meals. These are reference figures, not a target for you.
What the guideline says
| Reference adult (sedentary, normally nourished) | Day energy | Breakfast: soaked and boiled whole grains | Lunch: cereals | Dinner: cereals | Lunch + dinner |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Man, 65 kg (Figure 9.1) | ~2,080 kcal | 90 g | 100 g | 80 g | 180 g |
| Woman, 55 kg, not pregnant or lactating (Figure 9.2) | ~1,660 kcal | 60 g | 80 g | 60 g | 140 g |
Source: Dietary Guidelines for Indians 2024, Figure 9.1 (printed page 63, PDF page 80) and Figure 9.2 (printed page 65, PDF page 82). The quantities are for raw ingredients, and "cereals" means any cereal: wheat, rice or millet, with the note to prefer at least 50% as whole grain. The breakfast line is a different dish (soaked and boiled whole grains), not rotis. The guideline also says that to adjust total calories, cereals must be reduced if sugar is taken, and that people of a different body weight may refer to its Table 1.6.
From grams to rotis
We assume one roti is made from 30 g of atta, measured as dry flour, not dough. Atta has 320 kcal per 100 g (Indian Food Composition Tables 2017 (IFCT 2017), row A019, PDF p. 42: 1340 kJ divided by 4.184), so one such roti is about 96 kcal before any ghee.
| Lunch | Dinner | Lunch + dinner | Energy of that atta | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Man, 65 kg | 3.3 rotis | 2.7 rotis | 6.0 rotis | 576 kcal |
| Woman, 55 kg | 2.7 rotis | 2.0 rotis | 4.7 rotis | 448 kcal |
Cooking oil is counted separately in the guideline: its example meals allow about 30 g of oil a day for the man and 20 g for the woman, and the guideline gives cooking oil as 900 kcal per 100 g (Table 1.3, PDF p. 25), so a teaspoon of about 5 g adds roughly 45 kcal. The roti-size post weighs dough (which includes water) and this page weighs dry flour, so its 30 to 40 g dough figures and our 30 g of flour are not the same thing.
Why this is not your number
The reference individuals are sedentary adults with adequate physical activity and a BMI of 18.5 to 23. Your size, activity, goal and health change the right amount, and some people eat more rice than roti. Treat the table as a way to see how a national guideline thinks about portions, not a prescription. If you have a medical condition, are pregnant or take medicines, ask your doctor or a registered dietitian before you change what you eat.
If you eat rice instead
The same rule applies: the guideline's cereal grams are raw weights, so weigh rice dry. Weighing cooked rice and using a raw-weight figure will overcount it. A katori is a volume, not a weight: the guideline uses a 200 ml medium katori (and lists 115, 155 and 360 ml sizes), so what your katori holds depends on the food.
Logging it in NYUS
NYUS is an AI diet and workout coach with 8,900+ foods with calories and macros. Search each food, set its amount and log the meal as one entry; the amount of each item can be edited. Your daily calorie and macro targets come from your goal and body, and once you have logged enough, the weekly check-in adjusts them.
Log your rotis and your plate in NYUS
Search each food, set the amount and log the meal, and see your day against targets set from your goal and body. An AI diet and workout coach built around Indian food. 30-day free trial, then ₹499/month, no card needed to start. No ads, no data sold.
Join the NYUS waitlistFrequently asked questions
How many rotis should I eat a day?
There is no single number. ICMR-NIN's reference diets give 180 g of raw cereals at lunch and dinner for a 65 kg sedentary man and 140 g for a 55 kg sedentary woman, which is about 6.0 and 4.7 rotis at 30 g of atta each. They are reference figures, not a personal target.
Is this a diet plan?
No. The figures are suggested diets for normally nourished sedentary reference adults, not a plan to lose or gain weight. Your own needs depend on your size, activity and goal.
Does the guideline count rice and roti the same way?
Yes. Its cereal quantities are raw weights of any cereal (wheat, rice or millet), so weigh rice dry, not cooked.
Does ghee on the roti change the count?
Yes. Oil and ghee are counted on top of the flour. The guideline gives cooking oil as 900 kcal per 100 g, so a teaspoon of about 5 g is roughly 45 kcal.
Sources (read 23 October 2026)
- ICMR-NIN, Dietary Guidelines for Indians 2024: Figure 9.1, suggested diet for normally nourished sedentary men, 65 kg, ~2,080 kcal (printed p. 63, PDF p. 80: lunch cereals 100 g, dinner cereals 80 g, breakfast soaked and boiled whole grains 90 g); Figure 9.2, sedentary women, 55 kg, ~1,660 kcal, not pregnant or lactating (printed p. 65, PDF p. 82: lunch 80 g, dinner 60 g, breakfast 60 g); quantities are for raw ingredients; oil 30 g (man) and 20 g (woman) a day in meal preparation; Table 1.3 (PDF p. 25): cooking oil 900 kcal per 100 g; Annexure I (PDF p. 128): katori sizes 115, 155, 200 and 360 ml.
- Indian Food Composition Tables 2017 (IFCT 2017), Table 1, per 100 g raw edible portion: wheat flour (atta) A019 (PDF p. 42): 1340 kJ divided by 4.184 = 320 kcal.
- The 30 g of atta per roti, the roti counts and the energy totals are NYUS's own assumption and arithmetic. App behaviour (search, amounts, logging as one meal, weekly check-in) read in the app code on 23 Oct 2026, see the NOTES file.