Chole / chana masala

One serving of Chole / chana masala — 1 katori (40 g raw kabuli chana) — comes to 181 kcal, 8.2 g protein, 20.3 g carbs and 7.4 g fat. Scaled to 100 g it works out to 121 kcal and 5.5 g protein, which makes it not a meaningful protein source on its own for a dal & legume item. That single serving is about 12.1% of a 1,500 kcal day and 9.1% of a 2,000 kcal day, so it's more of a filler than a target-hitter on protein without much extra planning.

Walking off Chole / chana masala takes roughly 4,525 steps, using the rough approximation of 0.04 kcal burned per step (a population-average estimate for a moderate walking pace, not a personalised number). At ₹10 a serving it costs about ₹24.4 for every 20 g of protein it delivers, which is a mid-to-high price for protein compared with dal, eggs or soya chunks. It fits nearly every Indian diet type, including vegetarian, vegan, eggetarian. It works at lunch and dinner. It's a daily staple in most Indian kitchens and one of the cheaper ways to hit a protein target.

If you want variety without changing the macros much, the closest swaps in the dal & legume category are Besan chilla, Chana sundal (South Indian chickpea stir-fry), Chana dal, Masoor dal (red lentil) — each keeps a similar role on the plate while shifting the exact protein-to-carb balance a little.