Poha calories: per 100 g, per plate and per bowl (with full nutrition)

All the figures on this page are for dry rice flakes, edible portion, from the Indian Food Composition Tables 2017 published by ICMR-NIN, the standard Indian reference for food composition. IFCT prints the energy of rice flakes as 1480 kJ, which is 354 kcal at its factor of 4.18 kJ per kcal. The same 100 g gives 7.4 g protein, 1.1 g fat, 76.8 g carbohydrate and 3.5 g dietary fibre, so about three-quarters of the flake by weight is carbohydrate, with protein, fibre, water and minerals making up most of the rest.

Two other grains sit beside it in the table. Raw milled rice is there because poha is made from rice; IFCT prints one pooled entry for raw milled rice, so that is the entry used here. Oats are there because readers often ask how the two breakfasts compare; IFCT 2017 has no oats entry, so the oats column comes from USDA FoodData Central. All three are raw, dry weights, which keeps the comparison fair between grains that take up different amounts of water when cooked.

IFCT has no entry for cooked poha. Rinsing adds water and the pan adds oil, and both vary from kitchen to kitchen, so a per-100 g figure for the cooked dish would say little. Counting from the dry weight, as the next section does, gives numbers you can repeat at home.

100 gm poha calories: 354 kcal, with white rice and oats beside it

Per 100 g raw, edible portion. Composition: IFCT 2017 (ICMR-NIN); USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy), FDC ID 169705, NDB 20038. 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.

Poha for a meal is rinsed and then tempered in oil, so the clearest way to count it is by the dry weight that goes into the pan plus the oil it is cooked in. A plate and a small bowl cover most servings.

1 plate poha: about 243 kcal plain, 294 kcal as kanda poha

A breakfast plate starts from 50 g of dry poha, a quarter of the 200 g of flakes in a recipe for four. That 50 g gives 177 kcal, 3.7 g protein, 38.4 g carbohydrate, 0.6 g fat, 1.7 g fibre and 2.2 mg iron. The tempering takes half a tablespoon of groundnut oil per plate, which is 7.5 g at the ICMR-NIN measure of 15 g to the tablespoon; by the USDA groundnut oil entry that adds 66 kcal and 7.5 g of fat. A plain plate of poha and oil therefore comes to about 243 kcal with 8.1 g fat. The kanda poha recipe puts a quarter cup of raw peanuts and a teaspoon of sugar in the same pan, which brings each plate to 294 kcal, with 5.8 g protein, 11.5 g fat and 2.6 g fibre.

1 bowl poha: about 150 kcal

A small bowl holds the cooked poha from 30 g of dry flakes: 106 kcal, 2.2 g protein, 23 g carbohydrate, 1 g fibre and 1.3 mg iron. Cooked in a teaspoon of groundnut oil, 5 g at the same ICMR-NIN measure, it gains 44 kcal and 5 g of fat, for a bowl total of about 150 kcal.

1 cup poha calories: 354 kcal dry

A 240 ml measuring cup holds about 100 g of dry thick poha, the cup weight the kanda poha recipe uses for its 2 cups (200 g), so 1 cup of dry poha carries the full per-100 g figure: 354 kcal, 7.4 g protein and 76.8 g carbohydrate. That is the dry poha for two of the plates above.

What is not counted

The plain plate, the bowl and the cup leave out onion, peas, potato, peanuts, sev and sugar. The kanda poha figure above shows what peanuts and a teaspoon of sugar add, and sev, which is fried, adds more again. If you track what you eat, weigh the poha dry and count each extra on its own.

Poha protein is 7.4 g per 100 g of dry flakes, close to the 7.9 g in raw milled rice and under half the 16.9 g in oats. On the plate that is 3.7 g of protein from 50 g of poha, and 2.2 g from a 30 g bowl, so the flakes alone give a modest amount. Peanuts make the biggest difference in the pan: the kanda poha recipe, with a quarter cup of raw peanuts shared across four plates, gives 5.8 g of protein a plate. Sprouted moong or a spoon of curd on the side, or an egg or a glass of milk, adds more.

Fibre follows the same pattern. Poha has 3.5 g dietary fibre per 100 g, a little more than raw milled rice at 2.8 g and a third of oats at 10.6 g. A 50 g plate brings 1.7 g of fibre from the flakes, and the peanuts in the kanda poha recipe lift that to 2.6 g a plate before any onion or peas are counted. Fat is where the dry flakes look best, 1.1 g per 100 g against 6.9 g in oats, but on the plate the half tablespoon of oil carries 7.5 g of fat, more than ten times what the flakes bring.

The University of Sydney database has no entry for plain rice flakes, so the GI of 59 quoted on this site is the mean of its two India-tested poha dishes in which rice flakes were the only carbohydrate source. The two entries are far apart: a poha made with onion and spices tested at 74, a high value, while a poha made with groundnuts and eaten with lemon tea tested at 43, a low one. On the University of Sydney scale a GI of 55 or below is low, 56 to 69 is medium and 70 or above is high, so 59 is a medium value with a wide spread around it.

The two numbers come from separate studies. The 74 was measured in a paper on sorghum products; the 43 comes from a 2011 study of traditional Indian snacks that were modified to bring their GI down, and that dish was the one cooked with groundnuts. So the gap shows how far a poha dish can move, not the effect of a single ingredient. A 2023 review of rice and rice products names the rice variety, its nutrient make-up, the processing it goes through and the foods eaten with it as factors that shift GI. Portion is a separate matter: GI is measured on a serving that carries 50 g of available carbohydrate, while a 50 g plate of dry poha carries about 38 g, so the size of the plate counts alongside the number. For comparison, the rice column's GI of 50 comes from a single India-tested white basmati entry, and plain oat porridge averages 60 across the database, so poha's mean sits between them. If you have diabetes, 59 is a starting point only; talk to your doctor or dietitian to settle how large a plate suits you.

Minerals are where poha differs most from the rice it is made from. IFCT 2017 gives rice flakes 4.5 mg iron per 100 g against 0.65 mg for raw milled rice, 77.9 mg magnesium against 19.3 mg, 148 mg potassium against 108 mg and 1.5 mg zinc against 1.2 mg. Folate is 8.5 mcg, calcium a modest 9.2 mg, and sodium 2.6 mg, so the flakes themselves contribute almost no salt to the dish. Vitamin C in rice flakes is below the level IFCT can detect, so any vitamin C on the plate has to come from something else.

Iron is the standout. A 50 g plate carries about 2.2 mg of iron and a 30 g bowl about 1.3 mg, though how much of it the body takes up is a separate question. A 2007 University of Mysore study bought flakes of four thicknesses from four commercial sources and tested them in the laboratory: the share of iron available for absorption ranged from 7% to 26%, and the flakes' phytin phosphorus and dietary fibre were linked to how much iron and calcium stayed bound. The iron in those samples ranged from 3.38 to 6.86 mg per 100 g, so the IFCT figure is an average, not a promise for every pack. The ICMR-NIN dietary guidelines add two practical points: eat vitamin C fruits such as lemon, or coriander and green chilli chutney, with plant foods to absorb more of their iron, and keep tea an hour or more away from meals, because it binds iron. For poha that means lemon squeezed over at the table and the tea later.

Flattened rice calories per 100 g (354 kcal) are almost the same as raw milled rice (357 kcal) and lower than oats (389 kcal), but a meal is measured in plates, not in 100 g of dry grain. A plain poha plate comes to about 243 kcal and a kanda poha plate with peanuts to 294 kcal; oat porridge made with milk and rice with dal can come out higher or lower depending on the milk, the ghee and the portion, so none of the three is a diet food or a fattening food by itself.

Choose oats when fibre and protein come first: per 100 g they carry 10.6 g fibre and 16.9 g protein, well above both poha and rice. Choose poha when you want a quick meal that is low in fat until the oil goes in and carries far more iron than rice; its 3.5 g fibre and 7.4 g protein are modest, which is why the peanuts and vegetables belong in the pan. Choose rice when the meal is built around dal, sambar or curd.

For weight, count the extras as carefully as the flakes: on a kanda poha plate the oil and peanuts add about 112 kcal to the 177 kcal from the poha. For diabetes, the portion and what goes into the pan with the flakes both count. Anyone managing either should agree changes to a daily staple with their doctor or dietitian. IFCT gives one entry for all rice flakes, though the 2007 Mysore study measured less fibre and phytin phosphorus in the thinner flakes; for most cooks the choice is about the dish, as the guide to thick poha vs thin poha explains. Recipes that put these numbers to work, from Indori poha to a jar of poha chivda, are collected in poha recipes, and everything else about the grain is on the main poha guide.

How much calories in poha?

Dry poha has 354 kcal per 100 g (IFCT 2017). A plain plate made from 50 g of dry poha and half a tablespoon of groundnut oil comes to about 243 kcal, and a small bowl from 30 g of poha with a teaspoon of oil to about 150 kcal. The kanda poha recipe, which adds peanuts and a little sugar, is 294 kcal a plate.

How much protein in poha?

Poha has 7.4 g protein per 100 g of dry flakes, close to raw milled rice at 7.9 g and well under oats at 16.9 g. A 50 g plate gives about 3.7 g of protein and a 30 g bowl about 2.2 g. Cooking it with peanuts, as the kanda poha recipe does, raises a plate to 5.8 g, and curd, milk, sprouted moong or an egg on the side add more.

How many calories in 1 plate poha?

About 243 kcal for a plain plate: 177 kcal from 50 g of dry poha and 66 kcal from half a tablespoon of groundnut oil. The kanda poha recipe, with peanuts and a teaspoon of sugar for four plates, comes to 294 kcal a plate, and the Indori poha recipe to 248 kcal before the sev. Weigh the dry poha once to learn what your own plate holds.

Can diabetics eat poha?

Yes, in a measured portion. Poha's GI of 59 is the mean of two tested poha dishes, one at 43 and one at 74, so it is a medium value with a wide range. Keep the plate to about 50 g of dry poha, cook it with peanuts and vegetables and leave out the sev and sugar. Then talk to your doctor or dietitian to fit that portion into your plan.

Does flattened rice have fiber?

Yes: 3.5 g dietary fibre per 100 g of dry flakes, which clears the FSSAI mark of 3 g per 100 g for calling a food a source of fibre. That is a little more than raw milled rice at 2.8 g and about a third of oats at 10.6 g. A 50 g plate gets 1.7 g of fibre from the flakes, and the kanda poha recipe, with its peanuts, gives 2.6 g a plate.

What is the difference between flattened rice and oats?

Flattened rice is rice that has been heated and pressed flat into flakes; oats are a different cereal. Per 100 g dry, poha has 354 kcal, 7.4 g protein, 3.5 g fibre and 1.1 g fat; oats have 389 kcal, 16.9 g protein, 10.6 g fibre and 6.9 g fat. Poha has less fat and fewer calories and cooks in minutes; oats bring more protein and fibre. Their GI values are close, 59 and 60.