Quick answer: Curd is one of the easiest protein upgrades available in an Indian diet — around 3 g per 100 g for full-fat dahi, at only 60 kcal, and roughly double that protein if you switch to hung or Greek-style curd. It also goes with almost every Indian meal, which matters more than any single nutrient.
Why curd earns its place
Most weight-loss advice asks you to add foods you do not normally eat. Curd is already there. A katori alongside lunch adds about 5 g of protein for 90 kcal, improves the satiety of a carbohydrate-heavy Indian meal, and requires no new habit.
It also brings live cultures. The evidence on gut bacteria and weight is younger and more tentative than the internet suggests, but the digestive benefit is real enough for most people to notice, particularly alongside a high-fibre diet.
Which milk your house uses changes the number
Curd set from whole buffalo milk is meaningfully higher in fat than the same curd from toned cow's milk. That is a difference of roughly 60 versus 40 kcal per 100 g — small per katori, but it compounds if curd is on the table at every meal.
Neither is wrong. Just know which one you are eating before you estimate — our calories in curd page has the per-katori numbers.
The hung curd swap
Straining curd removes whey and concentrates what is left: hung curd, or shop-bought Greek yoghurt, carries roughly double the protein per 100 g. For anyone trying to hold protein up while eating less overall — which is exactly the situation on a GLP-1 — this is one of the highest-return swaps available, and it costs nothing but a muslin cloth and an hour.
Use it where you would use curd: raita, marinades, as a dip, or with fruit.
Flavoured yoghurt is not curd
The sweetened fruit yoghurts sold in the same fridge are a different product, frequently carrying 12–15 g of added sugar per cup. If you want fruit in your curd, put fruit in your curd.
Chaas and lassi
Buttermilk is curd diluted with water and is genuinely low-calorie — a reasonable thing to drink with lunch instead of a soft drink. Sweet lassi is a dessert, and mango lassi more so. The base ingredient being healthy does not carry the sugar.
