Monthly grocery list for an Indian family of 4

MyKitchenRadar is a family kitchen app that tells you how many days each food at home will last, like "rice: about 6⁠–⁠11 days", and reminds everyone before it runs out. This page is a printable monthly kirana list, with an amount and a source on every row where one exists.

What the amounts are based on

The list is for a family of four. Dad and Mom are adults with mostly seated days (ICMR-NIN's "sedentary" level). Emma is 8 and Jack is 12. Every amount comes from one of two official Indian sources, and each row says which.

The survey report publishes quantities for cereals only: rice, wheat and coarse grains. For dal, oil, milk, vegetables, fruit and nuts we show the recommended amount for this family. Where neither source has a number, the list says "amount depends on your family". We did not fill those gaps with guesses.

The monthly grocery list

A few notes on reading the list:

• Rice and atta numbers are observed. They are what an average person in an Indian city actually used in 2023-24, times four. The survey's rice group includes poha (chira) and puffed rice (muri). Its wheat group includes atta, maida, suji/rava and sewai.
• Ration rice and atta count. The survey records free and subsidized ration (PDS) grain as consumption. If part of your rice comes from the ration shop, buy that much less at the kirana.
• Dal, oil, milk, vegetables, fruit and nuts are recommended amounts. They are what ICMR-NIN suggests for a healthy diet, which is often not what a family buys. Treat them as a ceiling or a target, not a forecast.
• Eggs, fish and meat. ICMR-NIN lets non-vegetarians swap about 30 g of pulses a day for eggs, fish or meat. Add those to the list in the amount your family eats.

Rice or atta? Regional notes from the survey

Where you live changes the list more than anything else. In Tamil Nadu cities, rice is 89.5% of all cereals eaten. In Punjab cities it is 13.6%, and in Rajasthan cities 6.4% (MoSPI HCES 2023-24, Table 3.8U).

This table shows observed use per person per month in cities, and the same figure for four people.

Source: MoSPI HCES 2023-24, Statement 5U (urban, kg per person per 30 days). "For 4" is the per-person figure times four.

What the table tells you:

• South and east India cook mostly rice. In Odisha, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Kerala, a city family of four uses 23⁠–⁠33 kg of rice a month. Wheat stays under 10 kg.
• North, west and central India cook mostly wheat. In Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, a city family of four uses 22⁠–⁠35 kg of wheat. Rice stays under 11 kg.
• Bihar and Maharashtra are close to half and half. Plan for both a large rice bag and a large atta bag.
• Karnataka eats the most coarse grains. City households use 1.11 kg of coarse grains per person a month, the survey's group for jowar, bajra, maize, barley, ragi and small millets. The all-India city figure is 0.20 kg.
• Village homes eat more cereal. The all-India rural average is 9.35 kg of cereals per person a month, against 8.02 kg in cities (Table 3.7).
• Older lists buy too much. Cereal use per person has fallen in every survey since 1999-2000. In cities it went from 10.42 kg to 8.02 kg a month (Table 3.7). A list copied from an older guide will over-buy rice and atta.

How to adjust the list for your family size

Rice and atta: multiply by the number of people

The survey figure is for an average person, which already mixes adults, children and elders. Multiply it by the number of people at home. Use your state's row from the table above if it is listed.

Source: MoSPI HCES 2023-24, Statement 5U. A home with toddlers will use less than this. A home with teenage boys will use more.

Dal, oil and milk: add up each person

ICMR-NIN gives a recommended amount for each age group. Add one row per person in your family to get a monthly total. These are recommended amounts, not observed use.

Source: ICMR-NIN DGI 2024, Table 1.6, daily grams times 30 days. The guidelines say cereal and pulse amounts go up or down with body weight and activity. Children and people over 60 get more milk than adults in these guidelines. A moderately active man is listed at 370 g of cereals a day instead of 260 g. Pregnant and breastfeeding women have their own rows in the same table.

If Grandma (over 60) lives with them, add her row. That is 4.2 kg cereals, 2.1 kg pulses, 12 L milk and 0.45 kg fats and oils a month.

Or let the estimator do it

The free How long will it last? estimator takes your family's ages, your state and the size of your bag, and gives a range of days with the sources shown.

How to store monthly groceries

These storage times come from USDA FoodKeeper, the US government's public food storage data. It has no entries for curd, paneer, idli or dosa batter, or atta itself. For those, follow the date on the pack. FSSAI makes a use-by or expiry date mandatory on packaged food in India.

Source: USDA FSIS FoodKeeper data, version 128. Most pantry times count from the date of purchase.

Three things worth knowing from the same data:

• Millet flour goes stale first. FoodKeeper gives it 1 month in the pantry, against 3⁠–⁠6 months for whole-wheat flour. Buy ragi or jowar flour in small packs, or keep it in the freezer.
• Keep potatoes out of the fridge. FoodKeeper quotes the US Potato Board that cold makes potatoes darken when cooked and taste sweet. Store them in a cool, dark place.
• Keep dals and beans dry. FoodKeeper's note for dried moong is to keep them in an airtight container.

Why monthly lists fail in the middle of the month

A monthly list assumes everything runs out on the same day. Staples run out at different speeds.

Take the all-India city average for four people. A 10 kg bag of rice lasts about 18 days. A 10 kg bag of atta lasts about 21 days. Milk lasts a day. Leafy greens last 1⁠–⁠4 days in the fridge. Ground spices keep for 2⁠–⁠3 years, so the haldi packet finishes on a day nobody can predict.

A typical month looks like this. The big shop happens on the 1st. Rice runs low around the 18th, the night before guests. Milk finishes at breakfast. Someone buys a second bag of atta because nobody knew there was a full one behind the oil tin. The list on the fridge says nothing about any of it, because a list only knows what someone wrote on it.

How MyKitchenRadar handles the middle of the month

MyKitchenRadar keeps a countdown for each item instead of one list for the month. You set up the family once: how many people, their ages, veg or non-veg, and your food culture. The app makes a first guess from typical use for that culture and family size, and shows it as a range, like "Rice: about 6⁠–⁠11 days". Now and then it asks one question, "How much rice is left?", and you tap Full, Half, Low or Out. Each answer tightens the range.

The buy list groups items into "Needed by tomorrow" and "This week", with a suggested amount, and is ready the evening before your shopping day. It is the same kitchen on every phone in the family, so the person at the kirana sees what the cook sees. Spices and snacks that have no steady rate show "last bought 6 weeks ago" instead of a fake date. Order links open Blinkit, Zepto, Instamart, BigBasket or Amazon with the item already searched.

Coming soon for iPhone, iPad and Mac. Android after that. Free core app. One optional Family plan. No ads.

Read how the countdown works, see the app on the home page, or check one bag now with the free estimator.

Related guides

• Pantry staples list with storage times
• How to keep track of groceries at home
• How long will rice last?