Planner
Party food quantity planner
How much rice, meat, bread and dessert to make for a crowd.
| Shopping list | Quantity |
|---|
How the planner works
It starts from typical portions for a buffet or dawat where guests help themselves from several dishes, then adds them up. Children count as half an adult. The more dishes on the table, the less of each one people take, so when you add a second meat dish the planner shares the meat between the two instead of doubling it.
| Per adult | Amount |
|---|---|
| Rice for biryani or pulao (uncooked) | 100 g |
| Plain rice as a side (uncooked) | 60 g |
| Meat or chicken, one main dish | 200 g bone-in (about 150 g boneless) |
| Meat or chicken, two main dishes | about 260 g bone-in in total, shared between them |
| Daal / lentils (dry) | 40 g |
| Vegetable dish | 120 g |
| Naan or roti | 2 pieces |
| Salad / raita | 80 g each |
| Soft drinks | 500 ml |
Tips for cooking for a crowd
- These are estimates. Appetites vary with the crowd, the time of day and how long the party runs. A lunch after Friday prayers or a late dinner usually needs more than an afternoon tea.
- Rice is the cheapest buffer. If you’re worried about running out, make extra rice and bread rather than extra meat.
- Boneless meat goes further: use about three quarters of the bone-in weight.
- Cook in batches you can handle. Two pots of 3 kg chicken karahi cook better than one pot of 6 kg.
- Scale the recipes with the Recipe scaler, and work out water for big pots of rice with the rice and water calculator.
- Food safety: keep hot food hot (above 60 °C / 140 °F) and don’t leave cooked food out for more than 2 hours. See Safe temperatures.