Is rice or roti better for weight loss?

Neither is better on its own; the portion and the oil around it matter more. Gram for gram, cooked rice has fewer calories than roti because it holds more water, so compare plates by weight, and choose the one you'll enjoy within your target.

Can I make biryani and haleem fit a meal plan?

Yes, as an occasional meal with a measured portion. Both are rich, so pair a smaller bowl with salad or raita, and keep the other meals that day lighter on oil.

Cuisine Meal Plan

Desi meal plan: a 7-day South Asian menu

This desi meal plan is a week of everyday Pakistani and North Indian home cooking: roti or rice with dal, a sabzi, a meat or chickpea curry, and yogurt on the side. It is built for people who want to eat the food they grew up with while keeping an eye on portions, rather than switching to salads and grilled chicken.

Below you'll find the full seven days, one day worked out ingredient by ingredient with calories, protein, carbs and fat, and notes on the ingredients that matter most when you cook desi food often: oil and ghee, flour, rice and lentils.

Updated October 22, 2026

Sample day

1,880 kcal

Protein

113 g · 24%

Carbs

223 g · 46%

Fat

64 g · 30%

What a balanced Desi week looks like

Measure the oil, not just the food. A karahi or a tarka can take several tablespoons of oil or ghee, and that is where most of the hidden calories in desi cooking sit. The sample day uses 5 to 8 g of oil per dish; a tablespoon is about 13 g.
Pick roti or rice at a meal, not both. Two medium rotis and a plate of rice together is a lot of starch for one meal. If you love both, have rice at lunch and roti at dinner, as the plan does.
Let dal and chana do some of the work. Masoor dal, moong dal, chana and rajma add protein and fibre and stretch a smaller portion of meat, which also keeps the weekly shop cheaper.
Keep raita, salad and fruit on the table. Kachumber, cucumber raita and a guava or an apple fill the plate without much oil, and plain yogurt adds protein.

Your 7-day Desi meal plan

Day 1 is the sample day worked out below. Leftovers from one dinner become the next day's lunch where it makes sense.

Day 1
breakfast
Vegetable omelette with a whole-wheat roti and chai
lunch
Chana masala with brown rice and cucumber raita
snack
Guava and a small handful of peanuts
dinner
Chicken karahi with roti, masoor dal and kachumber salad
Day 2
breakfast
Vegetable dalia (cracked-wheat porridge)
lunch
Rajma with brown rice and onion salad
snack
Roasted chana
dinner
Palak chicken with roti
Day 3
breakfast
Besan chilla with mint chutney
lunch
Leftover palak chicken in a roti wrap
snack
Apple and plain yogurt
dinner
Moong dal, aloo gobi, roti
Day 4
breakfast
Boiled eggs, roti, chai
lunch
Chicken pulao with raita
snack
Fruit chaat
dinner
Baked fish tikka, mixed vegetable sabzi, roti
Day 5
breakfast
Plain yogurt with banana and oats
lunch
Lobia (black-eyed bean) curry, rice
snack
Cucumber and carrot sticks
dinner
Keema matar (lean mince and peas), roti
Day 6
breakfast
Aloo paratha (one, cooked with little oil), yogurt
lunch
Daal chawal with kachumber
snack
Guava
dinner
Chicken tikka, vegetable raita, salad
Day 7
breakfast
Masala omelette, toast, chai
lunch
Chicken haleem (a smaller bowl), salad
snack
Orange
dinner
Bhindi masala, masoor dal, roti

A sample day with calories and macros

Day 1, weighed ingredient by ingredient. Rice, pasta, beans, lentils and meat are cooked weights.

Breakfast: Vegetable omelette with a whole-wheat roti and chai

440 kcal

Ingredient	Amount	kcal	Protein	Carbs	Fat
Eggs	100 g	143	12.6	0.7	9.5
Onion	30 g	12	0.3	2.8	0.0
Tomatoes	50 g	9	0.4	1.9	0.1
Fresh coriander	5 g	1	0.1	0.2	0.0
Vegetable oil	5 g	44	0.0	0.0	5.0
Whole-wheat roti	50 g	150	3.9	23.1	4.6
Black tea	120 g	1	0.0	0.4	0.0
Milk (2%)	120 g	60	4.0	5.8	2.4
Sugar	5 g	19	0.0	5.0	0.0
Meal total		439	21.3	39.8	21.6

Lunch: Chana masala with brown rice and cucumber raita

590 kcal

Ingredient	Amount	kcal	Protein	Carbs	Fat
Chickpeas, cooked	140 g	230	12.4	38.4	3.6
Tomatoes	80 g	14	0.7	3.1	0.2
Onion	50 g	20	0.6	4.7	0.1
Garlic	5 g	7	0.3	1.7	0.0
Ginger	5 g	4	0.1	0.9	0.0
Vegetable oil	8 g	71	0.0	0.0	8.0
Brown rice, cooked	130 g	160	3.6	33.3	1.3
Plain low-fat yogurt	120 g	76	6.3	8.4	1.9
Cucumber	50 g	8	0.3	1.8	0.1
Meal total		589	24.3	92.2	15.1

Snack: Guava and a small handful of peanuts

190 kcal

Ingredient	Amount	kcal	Protein	Carbs	Fat
Guava	150 g	102	3.8	21.5	1.4
Peanuts, dry-roasted	15 g	88	3.7	3.2	7.4
Meal total		190	7.5	24.7	8.9

Dinner: Chicken karahi with roti, masoor dal and kachumber salad

660 kcal

Ingredient	Amount	kcal	Protein	Carbs	Fat
Chicken breast, cooked	130 g	215	40.3	0.0	4.6
Tomatoes	100 g	18	0.9	3.9	0.2
Onion	30 g	12	0.3	2.8	0.0
Vegetable oil	8 g	71	0.0	0.0	8.0
Whole-wheat roti	50 g	150	3.9	23.1	4.6
Lentils, cooked	150 g	174	13.5	30.2	0.6
Cucumber	60 g	9	0.4	2.2	0.1
Carrots	40 g	16	0.4	3.8	0.1
Meal total		664	59.8	66.0	18.2

Day total: about 1,880 kcal, with 113 g protein, 223 g carbs and 64 g fat (24% / 46% / 30% of calories). To fit your own target, multiply every amount by your daily calories divided by 1,880; the macro calculator gives you that target.

Figures are estimates calculated from per-100 g values in USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy). Brands, recipes and cooking change the real numbers, so treat them as a guide, not a label.

Desi staples to keep in your kitchen

Atta (whole-wheat flour) for roti
Basmati or brown rice
Masoor, moong and chana dal
Canned or dried chickpeas and kidney beans
Onions, tomatoes, garlic and ginger
Cumin, coriander, turmeric, garam masala and chilli
Plain yogurt
A measuring spoon for oil and ghee

Vegetarian, vegan and pescatarian versions

vegetarian

Swap the chicken karahi for paneer or chana karahi, the keema for soya mince or extra dal, and the fish tikka for paneer tikka. Desi cooking already has many vegetarian mains, so this is the easiest of the three.

vegan

Use dals, chana, rajma and lobia as the main protein, cook with oil instead of ghee, and replace yogurt and raita with a soy or coconut yogurt or a plain cucumber and mint salad.

pescatarian

Use fish for the chicken in karahi and tikka, and try prawn or fish curry in a tomato and onion masala. Keep dal on the table for extra protein on the other days.

Allergens to watch in Desi cooking

Dairy: ghee, yogurt, raita, paneer, kheer and milky chai. Ghee is butterfat, so it is not dairy-free.
Gluten: roti, paratha, naan and dalia are wheat. Rice, besan (chickpea flour) and most dals are naturally gluten-free, but check packaged spice mixes and asafoetida (hing), which is often blended with wheat flour.
Nuts: many korma, shahi and biryani recipes use cashew or almond paste, and sweets often contain pistachios or almonds.

In Meal Planner Pro you can exclude nuts, lactose, gluten, shellfish and soy. If you have a severe allergy, always check the labels of the products you buy.

How Meal Planner Pro plans Desi meals

Choose "Desi / South Asian" as one of your cuisines in the quiz. Each day of your plan is cooked in one of the cuisines you pick, and they rotate through the week.
Each day is built around a different main protein, and no dish repeats within the week.
Your allergies and any health condition you select always come before tradition: a dish is adapted rather than served with an ingredient you've excluded.
Your country is used to choose ingredients that are easy to buy where you live.
Daily calorie and macro targets come from your age, height, weight, activity and goal. You can swap any meal you don't fancy, and the week's ingredients become one grocery list.

General information, not medical advice. If you have a health condition, are pregnant or take medication, talk to your doctor or a registered dietitian before changing your diet. Our editorial policy

Get your own Desi week

Meal Planner Pro builds a 7-day plan in the cuisines you choose, sized to your calorie target, with recipes and a grocery list.

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Frequently Asked Questions

It depends on your calorie target, not on a fixed number. A 50 g whole-wheat roti is about 150 calories by USDA values, so on a lower-calorie day most people have one or two at a meal and fill the rest of the plate with sabzi, dal and salad.

Desi recipes with calories and macros

Chana Masala 260 kcal per serving Chicken Karahi 320 kcal per serving Masoor Dal 220 kcal per serving Aloo Gobi 190 kcal per serving

Sources: USDA FoodData Central records used

Eggs: Egg, whole, raw, fresh (FDC 171287)
Onion: Onions, raw (FDC 170000)
Tomatoes: Tomatoes, red, ripe, raw, year round average (FDC 170457)
Fresh coriander: Coriander (cilantro) leaves, raw (FDC 169997)
Vegetable oil: Oil, corn and canola (FDC 169867)
Whole-wheat roti: Bread, chapati or roti, whole wheat, commercially prepared, frozen (FDC 174075)
Black tea: Beverages, tea, black, brewed, prepared with tap water (FDC 173227)
Milk (2%): Milk, reduced fat, fluid, 2% milkfat, with added vitamin A and vitamin D (FDC 171267)
Sugar: Sugars, granulated (FDC 169655)
Chickpeas, cooked: Chickpeas (garbanzo beans, bengal gram), mature seeds, cooked, boiled, without salt (FDC 173757)
Garlic: Garlic, raw (FDC 169230)
Ginger: Ginger root, raw (FDC 169231)
Brown rice, cooked: Rice, brown, long-grain, cooked (FDC 169704)
Plain low-fat yogurt: Yogurt, plain, low fat (FDC 170886)
Cucumber: Cucumber, with peel, raw (FDC 168409)
Guava: Guavas, common, raw (FDC 173044)
Peanuts, dry-roasted: Peanuts, all types, dry-roasted, without salt (FDC 173806)
Chicken breast, cooked: Chicken, broilers or fryers, breast, meat only, cooked, roasted (FDC 171477)
Lentils, cooked: Lentils, mature seeds, cooked, boiled, without salt (FDC 172421)
Carrots: Carrots, raw (FDC 170393)