Paneer, chicken or soya chunks: protein per rupee and per calorie

Every beginner asks this in the first month. Paneer is what mom cooks, chicken is what the gym bro eats, and soya chunks are the thing someone on Instagram said is cheap. Here is how the three compare when you look at cost, calories and the real protein you get, not the label on the packet.

Per 100 g, the raw comparison

Two things trip people up. First, chicken loses about a quarter of its weight in cooking, so 100 g on your plate started as 130 g in the shop. Second, soya chunks triple in weight when soaked, so the 52 g figure is for the dry packet, not the bowl.

What 20 g of protein costs you

This is the comparison that matters. Most people need 20 to 35 g of protein per meal. Here is what each food takes to deliver 20 g.

Paneer costs ten times what soya does for the same protein, and brings nearly three times the calories. Chicken sits in the middle on price and is the leanest of the three. Soya wins on both counts, which is why it is the one food every broke hostel student should own.

Where paneer still earns its place

Paneer is not a bad food. It is a fat-and-protein food, like cheese, and it works when you are trying to gain weight or when you are a vegetarian who needs calories anyway. A 100 g paneer bhurji with two rotis is a complete 550 kcal meal with 24 g protein, and it tastes like home.

On a fat loss diet at 1,700 kcal, those 295 kcal for 20 g of protein hurt. You can switch to low-fat paneer, which many dairies now sell at around 200 kcal and 20 g protein per 100 g, or you can simply use less paneer and add soya to the same dish. Paneer-soya bhurji is a real thing and it works.

Where chicken wins

If you eat it, chicken breast is the easiest way to hit 40 g of protein in one meal without thinking. 130 g raw breast becomes 100 g cooked, 31 g protein, 165 kcal. Add a cup of rice and salad and you have a 400 kcal meal that keeps you full for four hours.

The catch is preparation. Boneless breast costs ₹280 to ₹320 a kg in most cities, and you need to cook it two or three times a week. Thigh is cheaper and juicier at about 19 g protein and 180 kcal per 100 g cooked. For a beginner, thigh is fine.

Restaurant chicken is a different food. Butter chicken is 30 g protein in 550 kcal. Tandoori is 55 g in 450. Choose the dry preparation when eating out.

How to actually eat soya chunks

Most people who hate soya chunks have only had them boiled and thrown into gravy. Try this instead. Soak 50 g dry chunks in hot water with salt for 15 minutes. Squeeze hard, twice. Pulse in a mixer for two seconds so they look like keema. Cook with onion, tomato, ginger-garlic and the same masala you would use for chicken. Serve with roti or in a wrap.

Fifty grams dry is 26 g protein for 175 kcal. Two servings a day and a vegetarian is most of the way to target.

Soya does not lower testosterone at normal intakes. That claim has been tested repeatedly and does not hold up for one or two servings a day. If you have a thyroid condition, ask your doctor about timing it away from your medication.

The practical answer

• Fat loss, vegetarian: soya as the main protein, paneer twice a week for variety, milk and curd daily.
• Fat loss, non-vegetarian: chicken breast or thigh at one meal, eggs at breakfast, soya or dal at the third.
• Muscle gain, either: paneer is welcome, the extra calories are useful. Still keep soya or chicken for at least one meal so protein stays ahead of calories.

Rotate all three if you can. The best protein source is the one you will cook again on Thursday. All three are in Repyra's food list with raw and cooked weights, so log whichever you measured.