Most high-protein meal guides written for India quietly assume you can spend freely on paneer, whey and chicken. This one does not. Every meal below costs under ₹100 and delivers at least 25 g of protein, using ingredients available in any local kirana shop.
Prices are approximate mid-2026 retail and will vary by city. The ratios are what matter.
Why cost per protein is the only number worth tracking
Paneer at ₹400 a kilo gives you 180 g of protein. Chana at ₹90 a kilo gives you 190 g. Same protein, a quarter of the price. Once you start judging food by rupees per gram of protein rather than rupees per kilo, cheap high-protein eating becomes straightforward.
Ten meals under ₹100
| Meal | Protein | Approx cost |
|---|---|---|
| Soya chunk curry, 60 g dry, with 2 rotis | 36 g | ₹18 |
| Rajma chawal, 80 g dry rajma | 25 g | ₹28 |
| Chana chaat, 100 g dry chana, onion, lemon | 19 g | ₹14 |
| Sattu drink, 60 g, plus 3 boiled eggs | 31 g | ₹27 |
| Egg bhurji, 4 eggs, with 2 rotis | 29 g | ₹36 |
| Moong dal khichdi, 80 g dal, plus 150 g curd | 27 g | ₹24 |
| Peanut and curd bowl, 40 g peanuts, 250 g curd | 25 g | ₹30 |
| Besan chilla, 80 g besan, with mint chutney | 17 g | ₹12 |
| Soya keema with pav | 34 g | ₹25 |
| Dal tadka, 70 g dry, with rice and 100 g curd | 21 g | ₹22 |
Not one of these approaches ₹100. Several come in under ₹25.
The five ingredients worth keeping stocked
- Soya chunks — 52 g protein per 100 g, roughly ₹23 per 100 g of protein. Nothing else comes close.
- Chana and rajma — cheap, filling, high in fibre, and they keep for months.
- Sattu — roasted gram flour, 20 g protein per 100 g, mixes into water in seconds.
- Eggs — the most convenient complete protein at the price, if you eat them.
- Curd — set it at home from ₹60/L milk and it costs a fraction of shop-bought.
Making soya chunks taste like food
The usual complaint is texture. Three things fix it. Soak in hot salted water for ten minutes, then squeeze the water out firmly — most people skip this and the spongy result is why they give up. Sear the squeezed chunks in a hot pan before adding gravy. Finally, treat them like keema rather than like paneer; they absorb strong masala far better than they carry a mild one.
A full day under ₹150
- Morning: sattu drink — 8 g protein, ₹5
- Breakfast: 3 eggs with 2 rotis — 24 g, ₹30
- Lunch: dal, rice, sabzi — 16 g, ₹25
- Evening: 50 g roasted soya — 26 g, ₹6
- Dinner: rajma with roti, 200 g curd — 30 g, ₹40
Roughly 104 g of protein for about ₹106.
Is vegetarian protein worse than non-vegetarian?
Individually, most plant proteins have a less complete amino acid profile than eggs or dairy. Across a full day of dal, soy, curd and grains, that difference largely disappears. Soy in particular is a complete protein. The practical issue for vegetarians is total quantity, not quality — and the foods above solve quantity cheaply.
How do I get 100 g of protein a day as a vegetarian in India?
Anchor three points in your day: a soya or dal-based main, a curd or milk serving, and a sattu or besan item. Those three alone reach 60 – 70 g. Ordinary rotis and rice quietly add another 15 – 20 g across the day, which most people forget to count.
Work out how much you actually need
100 g is a round number, not your number. The free builder calculates your protein target from your bodyweight and goal, then lays it out across Indian meals at real portions.