Most people guess their protein intake and guess wrong. This guide gives you protein in Pakistani foods per standard serving, from roti, daal and chicken karahi to dahi, eggs and nuts, so you can plan a high protein desi food day without a calculator app. Figures come from USDA FoodData Central values, rounded, and every row says whether it is a database value or an estimate.

A roti gives about 3 g, a katori of daal 11 to 13 g, 100 g of cooked chicken breast 31 g, one egg 6 g and a chicken karahi serving around 30 g.

How to use the table

Find the food, match your actual serving to the one listed, and add the grams up through the day. Raw and cooked weights differ a lot, so every meat figure here is for cooked weight. Dishes such as karahi, nihari and biryani change with the recipe, so those rows are labelled estimates and can vary by about 20 percent.

If you are building muscle, a common evidence based target is at least 1.6 g of protein per kg of body weight a day, which is about 120 g for a 75 kg person. For a broader plan on a Pakistani budget, see our guide to high protein foods in Pakistan on a 150g budget.

Grains and breads: roti, naan, rice

Protein in roti is modest. Wheat is about 10 to 12 percent protein, so a single roti adds little, but four or five a day quietly contribute 12 to 15 g. Rice is lower still. Treat bread and rice as the base of the plate and not as the protein source.

Pulses and daals

Protein in daal is the backbone of a vegetarian desi diet. One katori of cooked masoor or chana gives 11 to 13 g, and eating daal with roti or rice gives a better amino acid mix than either alone. Restaurant daal is often watered down, so home cooked values run higher. Vegetarians can read more in our guide for Pakistani vegetarians.

Meat, chicken and fish by common cut

Cooked chicken breast is the leanest and densest option at 31 g per 100 g. Beef kaleji is an underrated budget pick. Always compare cooked weight to cooked weight, because raw meat loses roughly a quarter of its weight in the pan.

Dairy: milk, dahi, lassi, paneer

Dairy is the easiest way to add 5 to 10 g at a time. A glass of milk or a katori of dahi fits into breakfast or a snack without extra cooking. Paneer is the densest of the group.

Eggs and nuts

How much protein in 1 egg? About 6 g for a large one, and the white and yolk both contribute. Eggs are cheap, quick and easy to count. Nuts add protein plus calories, which helps when you are trying to gain weight and hurts when you are cutting. See also hard boiled eggs in fitness.

Common cooked dishes per standard serving

Here is protein in chicken karahi and other everyday dishes. These are estimates built from typical home recipes, so use them for planning and not for strict tracking.

Hitting 120g or 150g a day from desi food alone

It is possible, but it takes planning. Protein is also the macro most people undershoot with a traditional carb heavy plate. Here is a sample day built only from the table above.

For a 120 g day, skip the snack and cut dinner chicken to 100 g, which lands at about 121 g. Spreading protein across three or four meals, with roughly 25 to 40 g each, is a practical pattern for most lifters.

Two cautions. First, the real cost is calories and budget: the 150 g day above needs a lot of chicken, which is expensive. Second, this is general information and not medical advice. If you have kidney disease or another medical condition, ask your doctor before raising your protein intake. Compare the costs in high protein diet vs supplements price in Pakistan and whey protein vs desi food for muscle gain.

Where a shake fills the gap

On days when cooking, budget or appetite gets in the way, a shake closes the gap quickly. One scoop of whey typically provides about 24 g of protein, which is close to four eggs, with no cooking. Check the label for your product, since values vary by brand. Browse whey protein in Pakistan or the wider protein supplements range. For a portable option, try the Applied Nutrition Protein Crunch Bar. SportsOne has supplied authentic Imported Supplements in Pakistan since 2002, with COD delivery across the country.

Sources and method

Values are rounded from USDA FoodData Central entries for the closest matching food. Rows marked as estimates use typical home recipe weights and ingredient ratios, since Pakistani dishes vary widely by cook and region. For official local reference data, check the Food Composition Table for Pakistan.

Frequently asked questions