The per-person plan, by component
| Component | Per adult | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Rice (plain, jeera, pulao) | 180–220 g cooked | Lower if biryani is also served |
| Biryani as the main | 250–300 g | A kilo of cooked biryani serves 3–4 adults |
| Curries, total across dishes | 180–220 g | Two to three curries; guests take less of each |
| Breads | 1–1.5 pieces | Up to 2–3 with no rice on the menu |
| Dry vegetable / sabzi | 60–80 g | |
| Dal or sambar | 100–120 ml | More on a South Indian leaf, where it is a course |
| Raita, salad, pickle | 50–60 g | |
| Dessert | 80–100 g or 2 pieces | Two kinds; one live |
| Starters, pre-dinner | 2–3 pieces | 5–7 pieces at a snack-led sangeet |
The buffer
An Indian wedding is not a Western plated dinner where one plate is one guest. People go back. Elders take less, cousins take more, the groom's friends take a great deal more at eleven at night. The kitchen cooks 10–15% above the guaranteed count for a wedding and 5–10% for a corporate lunch, and the last wave of the leaf lunch is cooked last so it is as hot as the first.
On the leaf
A South Indian leaf meal is served in courses, so the arithmetic changes: sambar, rasam and majjige huli are each a course over rice rather than a side, and a 22-item leaf uses about 150 g of rice across the courses plus 40–60 g of each palya and gojju. The portioning is in the serving order, and it is why leaf service needs one server per twelve leaves.