Pearl millet (bajra) nutrition per 100g: calories, protein, GI

Bajra's complete nutrient sheet, per 100 g of raw grain, comes from the Indian Food Composition Tables 2017 of ICMR-National Institute of Nutrition, shown below next to whole wheat and sorghum (jowar) so the figures read in context. Energy is 348 kcal, carbohydrate 61.78 g, protein 10.96 g and fat 5.43 g, the highest fat of the three grains here. The minerals get their own section further down.

Two reading notes. These are raw figures: cooked bajra weighs far more than the grain or flour it came from because of the water, so a 100 g helping of cooked bajra carries only part of these numbers — the serving section below does that arithmetic. And a whole-milled flour keeps this composition, while the label on a pack gives that product's own values, which may differ from these averages.

Per 100 g raw, edible portion. Composition: IFCT 2017 (ICMR-NIN). GI: University of Sydney GI database. — means not reported. These are average values for the food; the label on a pack gives the values for that product.

Nobody sits down to 100 g of raw grain, so these are the servings an Indian kitchen actually cooks, worked out from the IFCT values above. One bajra roti (40 g of flour) and one katori of cooked bajra, which comes from 40 g of raw grain, carry the same numbers; a dinner plate is usually two rotis. Water, salt and the ghee brushed over a roti are not counted, and neither are the dal, curd or vegetables served alongside.

So bajra calories per 100g of raw grain come to 348, and the arithmetic lands like this: one roti is about 139 kcal before any ghee, two rotis come to 278 kcal from the flour alone, and that same roti also carries 4.4 g of protein, 24.7 g of carbohydrate, 4.6 g of fibre, 2.6 mg of iron and 14.4 mcg of folate. Once the ghee goes on, a serving of two rotis reaches 368 kcal, as the bajra roti recipe has it, and a bowl of bajra khichdi comes to 323 kcal a serving. The bajra recipes roundup collects these and the rest of the everyday dishes.

Pearl millet protein per 100g is 10.96 g, ahead of whole wheat's 10.59 g and jowar's 9.97 g, so bajra carries about 3.5 percent more protein than wheat and about 10 percent more than jowar. Quality runs the same way as with other millets: the ICAR-IIMR bulletin notes that millet proteins are poor in lysine and complement well with lysine-rich pulses, which is the job the moong in bajra khichdi and the dal beside a bajra roti are doing.

Fibre is where bajra opens its lead: 11.49 g per 100 g, against 11.23 g in whole wheat and 10.22 g in jowar, or 2.3 percent more than wheat and 12 percent more than jowar. A 2025 review of pearl millet records its high dietary fibre content, surpassing rice, and the Dietary Guidelines describe dietary fibre as slowing the absorption of carbohydrate and fat and adding to the satiety value of a meal. The portion arithmetic is on is bajra good for weight loss. Fat, at 5.43 g, sits well above wheat's 1.47 g and jowar's 1.73 g, and carbohydrate, at 61.78 g, is the lowest of the three. The fuller two-grain reading is on bajra vs wheat.

The glycemic index of bajra is 57 in the University of Sydney GI database. That figure is the mean of three flatbread entries, all tested in India: a chapatti tested at 49, a roasted bajra bread tested at 55 and a chapatti tested at 68. Every one of the three is bajra flour and water only. The database carries no plain-grain entry for bajra, so no GI is recorded there for whole cooked bajra, and the 57 quoted here describes the flatbread, not the raw grain.

On the database's scale, anything up to 55 counts as low and 70 or above as high, which places 57 in the medium band, above the low one. In a real meal the portion then decides: the 40 g of flour in one roti carries about 24.7 g of carbohydrate. What long-term millet eating did to glucose in people with diabetes, and how to portion bajra on a diabetic plate, is on is bajra good for diabetes. For contrast, the same database records 47 for whole wheat and 66 for jowar; each number belongs to a specific form of that grain, and the form matters more than the name.

The minerals finish the pearl millet picture. Iron is 6.42 mg per 100 g, above whole wheat's 3.97 mg and jowar's 3.95 mg, so bajra carries about 62 percent more iron than either — and a 2021 review calls pearl millet rich in micronutrients such as iron and zinc. In the 2021 meta-analysis of millet and iron studies by Anitha and colleagues, haemoglobin in anaemic participants rose 13.2 percent on millet-based meals or drinks against 2.7 percent on the regular diets, across 19 studies. Magnesium is 124 mg, potassium 365 mg and sodium only 4.11 mg per 100 g, so the salt in a bajra meal is almost entirely the cook's. Zinc is 2.76 mg and folate 36.11 mcg, behind jowar's 39.42 mcg but ahead of wheat's 30.09 mcg. Calcium is 27.35 mg, well under whole wheat's 39.36 mg and level with jowar's 27.60 mg. Vitamin C is not reported for bajra in IFCT 2017.

What each of these nutrients does for you is the subject of the bajra benefits page. For the grain's names, forms, storage and buying notes, the bajra hub carries the rest of the story.

Does bajra have protein?

Yes: 10.96 g per 100 g of raw bajra (IFCT 2017), about 4.4 g in one 40 g roti, and more than wheat's 10.59 g or jowar's 9.97 g. Millet proteins are poor in lysine, so dal in the same meal complements them; think of bajra as a fibre-and-minerals grain that carries useful protein.

Does pearl millet have carbs?

Yes. Carbohydrate is 61.78 g per 100 g of raw pearl millet (IFCT 2017), less than wheat's 64.72 g and jowar's 67.68 g. One roti from 40 g of flour carries about 24.7 g of carbohydrate, and that is the number to portion around. Bajra stays a carbohydrate food, so it is counted as one; the 11.49 g of fibre sits alongside that carbohydrate.

Does bajra have fibre?

Yes, and it is the strongest point: 11.49 g per 100 g of raw bajra (IFCT 2017), against 11.23 g in whole wheat and 10.22 g in jowar. One roti from 40 g of flour gives about 4.6 g. A 2025 review of pearl millet records its high dietary fibre content, surpassing rice. If bajra is new to your plate, ease the grain in a meal at a time and drink plenty of water with it.

Does bajra have gluten?

No. Gluten belongs to wheat, barley and rye, and bajra is a different grain; the ICAR-IIMR bulletin counts millets among the gluten-free grains, and the flour milled from bajra keeps that status. For coeliac disease and cross-contact in the kitchen, see does bajra have gluten.

Is bajra good for weight loss?

As a swap rather than an extra, yes: 348 kcal per 100 g with 11.49 g of fibre, and the Dietary Guidelines note dietary fibre adds to the satiety value of a meal. One roti comes to 139 kcal before ghee, which fits a planned deficit when it replaces something bigger. The evidence and the portions are on is bajra good for weight loss.

Is pearl millet good for diabetes?

As a measured swap, yes: bajra flatbreads average a GI of 57, the medium band, and one roti carries about 24.7 g of carbohydrate to count. The 2021 meta-analysis across millet studies reported lower fasting and post-meal blood glucose in people with diabetes who ate millets long term. Portions and fine print: is bajra good for diabetes.