Appam

One serving of Appam — 1 appam — comes to 100 kcal, 1.6 g protein, 20 g carbs and 1.5 g fat. Scaled to 100 g it works out to 167 kcal and 2.7 g protein, which makes it not a meaningful protein source on its own for a grain & staple item. That single serving is about 6.7% of a 1,500 kcal day and 5% 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 Appam takes roughly 2,500 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 ₹8 a serving it costs about ₹100 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, Jain, vegan. It works at breakfast and dinner.

If you want variety without changing the macros much, the closest swaps in the grain & staple category are Bajra roti (pearl millet), Brown / whole wheat bread, White bread, Khaman dhokla — each keeps a similar role on the plate while shifting the exact protein-to-carb balance a little.