KitchenHow much to cook per person
Enter the number of people and get a starting quantity of rice, atta, dal and vegetables for an everyday Indian meal, in grams and in cups.
What the calculator assumes
These are everyday home quantities for one adult at one meal. They are a starting point: you know your family's appetite better than any table.
| Food | Per adult | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Rice, raw | 75 g if only rice; 45 g with rotis | One cup of raw rice is about 185 g |
| Rotis | 3 to 4 if only roti; 2 with rice | About 30 g of atta for each roti |
| Dal, raw | 45 g | One cup of raw dal is about 190 g |
| Vegetables for sabzi, raw | 150 g | Weight before peeling and cutting |
Tips for cooking for a crowd
- Rice and dal are cheap insurance. If you are unsure, add a little extra of these, not of the costly dishes.
- Rotis are best made fresh in batches. For more than fifteen people, think about puris, or rice dishes, which hold better.
- Large pots cook slower and need a little less water per cup than small ones, because less steam escapes for the amount inside.
- Write down what you cooked and what was left over. Next time your own notes will beat any calculator.
Questions people ask
How much rice for one person?
About 75 g of raw rice (a little over a third of a cup) when rice is the main grain of the meal, and about 45 g when rotis are served too. Rice roughly triples in volume when cooked.
How many rotis from 1 kg of atta?
About 30 to 35 medium rotis, taking 30 g of atta for each.
How much dal for four people?
About 180 g of raw dal, which is close to one cup. It makes four generous bowls.
Should I cook more for a party?
When there are many dishes, people take less of each. For a meal with four or more dishes, the "light" setting is usually enough for each dish.
More kitchen help
- Cups to gramsAtta, maida, sugar, rice, ghee and more, by ingredient.
- MeasuresTeaspoon, tablespoon, cup, ml, katori, pav, tola and seer.
- Oven temperaturesCelsius, Fahrenheit and gas mark, with fan oven settings.
- SubstitutesWhat to use when an ingredient is missing.
- Cooking timesPressure cooker minutes for dals, beans and rice.
- Food storageHow long food keeps in the fridge and the freezer.
- Spice namesJeera, ajwain, kalonji: English and Hindi names with uses.
- Dal and grain namesDals, flours and millets in English and Hindi.
- Vegetable namesTori, tinda, parwal: English and Hindi names with season.