Curry Servings Calculator

How it works

portions = (people + ½ × children) × (1 + extra %) · raw-equivalent portion = 170 g (main) or 100 g (shared table) × appetite (0.8 / 1 / 1.3) · ingredient = portion × factor (bone-in chicken 1.45, lamb on the bone 1.35, paneer 0.75, vegetables 1.2, dry chickpeas 0.4, dry lentils 0.35) · sauce = 160 ml (main) or 100 ml × appetite × thickness (0.5 dry, 0.75 thick, 1 medium, 1.3 thin) · onion-tomato base = raw-equivalent total × 0.5 · spices per kg of raw-equivalent ingredient

When curry is the centre of the meal, plan about 170 g of raw boneless meat, fish or vegetables per adult, which cooks down to a satisfying plate with rice or bread. When it is one of several dishes, about 100 g is enough. Bone-in chicken and lamb need more weight for the same meat, paneer less because it does not shrink, and dried chickpeas or lentils far less because they swell as they cook. The sauce should be generous enough to soak the rice without drowning the meat: about 160 ml per person for a medium curry, half that for a dry bhuna and a third more for a thin gravy. The onion-tomato masala is the flavour base and scales with the batch at about half the raw weight. The calculator also gives the coconut milk or yogurt and cream for those styles, a spice list scaled to the batch, the rice and naan, and the size of pot you need.

Worked example

Chicken curry as the main for 6 people with normal appetites: 170 g × 6 = 1,020 g of boneless chicken, 160 ml × 6 = 960 ml of finished sauce, and 1,020 × 0.5 = 510 g of onion and tomato (about 2 medium onions and 2 medium tomatoes). With bone-in curry-cut chicken, buy 1,020 × 1.45 = about 1.5 kg. Rice at 75 g a head is 450 g uncooked, about 1.35 kg cooked. The finished curry weighs about 1.8 kg, so use a pot of at least 2.5 litres.

Sources: USDA FSIS — Leftovers and food safety (cooling and reheating)

Frequently asked questions