Ranked by what one normal serving gives, because a serving is what you eat, not 100 g.
The top five:
- soya chunks (15.4 g in 30 g dry, about one katori once soaked)
- soya bean (10.7 g in one katori cooked)
- paneer (9.4 g in a 50 g piece)
- green tuvar (8.1 g in one katori)
- buffalo milk (7.4 g in one glass)
| Food | Per serving | Per 100 g |
|---|---|---|
| Soya chunks (soy nuggets)USDA 30 g dry, about one katori once soaked | 15.4 g | 51.5 g |
| Soya bean (Bhatmas) one katori cooked (30 g dry) | 10.7 g | 35.6 g |
| Paneer (Chhena) a 50 g piece | 9.4 g | 18.9 g |
| Green tuvar (fresh pigeon peas, Arhar ki fali) one katori (100 g) | 8.1 g | 8.1 g |
| Buffalo milk one glass (200 g) | 7.4 g | 3.7 g |
| Masoor dal one katori cooked (30 g dry) or whole masoor, 6.7 g a serving | 7.3 g | 24.4 g |
| Green peas (Matar) one katori (100 g) | 7.2 g | 7.2 g |
| Moong dal one katori cooked (30 g dry) or sabut moong, 6.8 g a serving | 7.2 g | 23.9 g |
| Urad dal one katori cooked (30 g dry) or sabut urad, 6.6 g a serving | 6.9 g | 23.1 g |
| Besan (chickpea flour)USDA about three tablespoons of flour, enough for one chilla (30 g dry) | 6.7 g | 22.4 g |
| Cow's milk one glass (200 g) | 6.5 g | 3.3 g |
| Horse gram (Kulthi) one katori cooked (30 g dry) | 6.5 g | 21.7 g |
| Toor dal (arhar dal) one katori cooked (30 g dry) | 6.5 g | 21.7 g |
| Chana dal one katori cooked (30 g dry) | 6.5 g | 21.6 g |
| Drumstick leaves (Saijan patta) one katori cooked (100 g) | 6.4 g | 6.4 g |
| Kabuli chana (white chickpeas)USDA one katori cooked (30 g dry) | 6.1 g | 20.5 g |
| Dry peas one katori cooked (30 g dry) | 6.1 g | 20.4 g |
| Cowpea (Lobia) one katori cooked (30 g dry) | 6.1 g | 20.4 g |
| Moth bean (Motha) one katori cooked (30 g dry) | 5.9 g | 19.8 g |
| Rajma (kidney beans) one katori cooked (30 g dry) | 5.7 g | 19 g |
| Kala chana (whole Bengal gram) one katori cooked (30 g dry) | 5.6 g | 18.8 g |
| Quinoa one katori cooked (40 g dry) | 5.2 g | 13.1 g |
| Amaranth seed (Ramdana) one roti's worth of flour, or a small katori cooked (30 g dry) | 4.4 g | 14.6 g |
| Dalia (broken wheat) one katori cooked (40 g dry) | 4.3 g | 10.8 g |
| Oats (Jai)USDA one small bowl of porridge (30 g dry) | 3.9 g | 13.2 g |
Protein in the 25 richest servings. Source: Indian Food Composition Tables 2017, National Institute of Nutrition (ICMR) and USDA FoodData Central.
Foods marked USDA come from USDA FoodData Central, because the Indian tables do not list them.
The first call is free
Tell Puja what's going on and she will tell you honestly whether she can help.
Things to know before you use this list
- Spoon foods: This list leaves out foods you eat by the pinch or the spoon, such as fenugreek seeds, halim seeds, poppy seeds and mustard seeds, because this list compares foods you eat by the katori or the piece, and per 100 g the spoon foods would top it. Fenugreek seeds have 25.4 g of protein per 100 g, and a pinch to half a teaspoon (2 g) gives 0.5 g. See its page.
- Raw or dry: these are the values for the food as the tables measured it, raw or dry. Cooking changes them: dals and grains soak up water, and boiling vegetables moves some minerals into the water you throw away.
- Vegetarian here means no meat, fish or egg. Milk, curd and paneer are included. There is no vitamin B12 list, because the IFCT data the site uses has no B12 values, so there is nothing honest to rank. What B12 does and where it comes from is in the B12 note.
For your own daily protein number, use the protein calculator.
Words from this page, explained: protein, complete protein, amino acids.
Want this worked out for you?
A list can only go so far. Send Puja your reports and build your own plate with her on a free call.
Questions go to WhatsApp. Prefer to call? +91 88826 96344