Kolam rice nutrition per 100g: calories, protein and GI

The table below is IFCT 2017's entry for kolam rice, set beside brown rice and poha so the numbers have context. Energy is 357 kcal per 100 g, in line with brown rice at 354 kcal and poha at 354 kcal, and carbohydrate at 78.24 g is the grain's main job. IFCT 2017 lists kolam under its entry for raw milled white rice, so the figures below are the tables' numbers for that raw milled form, not a separate analysis of any one kolam variety.

Two reading notes. First, these are raw values: once cooked, rice weighs more because of the water it absorbs, so a 100 g spoonful of cooked kolam carries only a fraction of these figures; the next section works out the cooked amounts. Second, the pack label may print slightly different numbers, because every brand measures its own lot; the figures on this page are the tables' values.

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 eats 100 g of dry rice; the serving that matters is the cooked katori. A katori of cooked kolam, made from 40 g of dry grain, carries about 143 kcal — 31 g of carbohydrate, 3.2 g of protein and 1.1 g of fibre — before any ghee. A teaspoon of ghee on top brings another 45 kcal, and the water the rice cooks in adds nothing to the count.

For bigger pots, a standard measuring cup holds 200 g of raw rice, which is five katoris: 714 kcal, 15.9 g of protein, 5.6 g of fibre and about 156 g of carbohydrate. Kolam rice calories therefore follow the measure in the pot, not the variety name: the food tables print a single kolam entry, so wada kolam, surti kolam and plain kolam all carry the same calories. The only variety name with a figure of its own is Surti Kolam, whose glycemic index is tested at 77 in the section below.

Protein in kolam rice is 7.94 g per 100 g, and here is a surprise in the tables: basmati and sona masoori show the same 7.94 g, because IFCT 2017 gives Indian white rices one shared raw-milled entry. The real protein gap is against brown rice, at 9.16 g — 1.22 g more per 100 g — while poha sits just below kolam at 7.44 g. Cereal protein is incomplete on its own; the Dietary Guidelines for Indians name the 3:1 cereal-to-pulse mix as the way to good quality protein, and dal-chawal is that mix on a plate.

Fibre tells the same story. Kolam has 2.81 g per 100 g, and the guidelines list highly polished grains among those that lose some fibre in processing — the polish that turns rice white is where the loss happens. Brown rice, with the bran still on, carries 4.43 g, about 58 percent more than kolam, and poha 3.46 g. That gap, not the calories, is what separates kolam from a whole grain.

The glycemic index of kolam rice is 77 — the score the University of Sydney GI database prints for its one kolam entry, a Surti Kolam white rice cooked plain for 32 minutes in a rice cooker and tested on 23 healthy volunteers in India. On the University of Sydney scale, a score of 55 and below counts as low, 70 and above as high, which puts kolam's 77 in the high band; the Dietary Guidelines say the same from the plate side, where sugary and refined-carbohydrate foods carry a high glycemic index.

The 2012 study behind that entry, by Shobana and colleagues, fed each volunteer a portion holding 50 g of available carbohydrate and tracked blood glucose for two hours. The three varieties came out at 72.0 for Sona Masuri, 70.2 for Ponni and 77.0 for Surti Kolam, the gaps between them not statistically significant, and the study classed all three as high-GI rices. The number is one test of one variety, and a 2023 Foods review adds that how rice is processed could change the postprandial glucose response of the product.

For the plate, the katori is what counts: 40 g of dry rice carries about 31 g of carbohydrate, well short of the 50 g that the GI test served. If diabetes is on the table, let your doctor or dietitian set the portion. The raw-versus-boiled question sits on is kolam rice boiled rice, and what each nutrient does in the body is on kolam rice benefits.

Kolam's mineral column is modest, as expected of a polished grain. Per 100 g of raw rice: iron 0.65 mg, calcium 7.49 mg, magnesium 19.3 mg, potassium 108 mg, sodium 2.34 mg, zinc 1.21 mg and folate 9.32 mcg; vitamin C is not reported in the tables. Sodium is the number that stands out — at 2.34 mg, the salt in a kolam meal is almost entirely the cook's addition, not the grain's own.

Milling is why the list is short: polishing strips part of the fibre, as the guidelines themselves record for highly polished grains. What the grain does carry deserves careful washing — wash the grains well, but not repeatedly; the guidelines' point is washing off contaminants — pesticide residues and parasites — before cooking. One katori of cooked kolam carries about 0.26 mg of iron and 0.48 mg of zinc; poha, for contrast, holds 4.46 mg of iron per 100 g.

Cooking does not remove calories; it adds water. That is why the count here starts from the raw grain measured into the pot, and why a calorie app quoting cooked rice per 100 g shows a far smaller number than the table above. Made as the pack suggests — about 12 to 15 minutes, the time COWBERRY's product page gives — a katori of kolam comes out soft and non-sticky, and carries the same 143 kcal it started with.

One cooking choice does change the starch. In a 2015 paper from the Asia Pacific Journal of Clinical Nutrition, white rice that had been cooled for 24 hours at 4°C and reheated held 1.65 g of resistant starch per 100 g, against 0.64 g straight from the pot, and lowered the glycemic response in 15 healthy adults. Cooling, then reheating, is a small kitchen lever if you eat rice in batches. How kolam compares with its boiled form, and what the grain does for health, are on the kolam rice hub and the kolam rice benefits page.

Is kolam rice good for diabetes?

Kolam rice has a high glycemic index — the one test on record, white rice of the Surti Kolam variety tested in India, scored 77 — so people with diabetes should keep the katori small and set the portion with their doctor or dietitian. One katori, cooked from 40 g of dry grain, carries about 31 g of carbohydrate. Fibre from the dal and vegetables eaten with it delays and retards carbohydrate absorption, as the Dietary Guidelines for Indians explain.

Can we eat kolam rice daily?

Yes. Kolam is an everyday white rice: a katori made from 40 g of dry grain gives about 143 kcal, and the pot is done in about 12 to 15 minutes. The Dietary Guidelines for Indians want at least half of each day's cereals kept whole, only lightly polished, so let kolam share the week with brown rice and millets instead of carrying every meal alone.

What is kolam rice used for?

Soft everyday rice dishes. COWBERRY's product page names dal-rice, pulao and khichdi as kolam's home turf, and its FAQ adds biryani where a soft grain is preferred. The grain stays light and non-sticky after cooking, which suits the soft, fluffy plate, and it fits the everyday dal-chawal.

How many calories in kolam rice?

357 kcal per 100 g of raw grain (IFCT 2017), the tables' figure for raw milled white rice. Cooked, one katori made from 40 g of dry rice comes to about 143 kcal before any ghee, and a teaspoon of ghee brings another 45 kcal. A 200 g cup of raw rice holds 714 kcal, or five katoris.

Does kolam rice have protein?

Yes: 7.94 g per 100 g of raw grain (IFCT 2017), about 3.2 g in one cooked katori. Cereal protein is incomplete on its own; mixing cereals and pulses at a 3:1 ratio is the Dietary Guidelines' route to good quality protein — the dal over your chawal is that mix at work.

Is kolam rice high in carbohydrates?

Yes, 78.24 g per 100 g of raw grain, and about 31 g in a katori cooked from 40 g of dry rice — that starch is what makes rice an energy staple. It is not a reason to drop the grain, but a reason to measure the katori and fill the rest of the plate with dal and vegetables.