Poha glycemic index: GI, carbs per plate and glycemic load

Carbohydrates in poha run to 76.8 g per 100 g, with 354 kcal of energy, which makes poha a carbohydrate food first and everything else second. The table sets the three rice grains side by side: poha at 76.8 g of carbs, raw milled rice at 78.2 g and brown rice at 74.8 g. Energy is nearly a tie, 354 kcal for poha and brown rice against 357 kcal for milled rice. The differences live in the smaller numbers: poha carries more iron and magnesium than milled rice, while brown rice has the most fibre.

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.

One plate of poha: 38.4 g of carbs

A plate starts with 50 g of dry flakes, which bring 38.4 g of carbohydrate, 177 kcal, 3.7 g of protein and 1.7 g of fibre. Those carbs are the point of the dish: they fill the plate, and they are what the glycemic index later grades.

One small bowl: 23 g of carbs

For a lighter breakfast or a snack, 30 g of dry poha makes a small bowl with 23 g of carbohydrate, 106 kcal and 1 g of fibre. Beside it, a katori of cooked rice made from 40 g of raw milled rice holds 31.3 g of carbohydrate and 143 kcal, so a poha plate and a rice katori sit in the same carbohydrate league. Protein and fibre against the two peers, per 100 g: brown rice leads both, at 9.2 g of protein and 4.4 g of fibre, poha comes second on fibre at 3.5 g and last on protein at 7.4 g, and raw milled rice trails at 2.8 g of fibre. The full calorie breakdown is on poha calories, and the grain-by-grain comparison is on poha vs rice.

The glycemic index of poha is 59, the mean of the two poha dishes the database records from India. The lower entry, poha with ground nuts eaten with lemon tea, tested 43; the higher, poha with onion and spices, tested 74. Each value was measured on ten people. The database's scale draws low at 55 or under and high at 70 or over, with the ground between counting as medium, so 59 lands in the medium band. A GI belongs to the dish as tested, not to a per-100 g figure; the same flakes can land in either band depending on the dish. The 43 dish comes from a 2011 study of traditional Indian snacks reworked to lower their glycemic index, so it shows a modified snack, not a plain plate; 59 is a midpoint between the two, not a property of the flake itself. What that means for meals and portions is on the poha for diabetes page.

For red poha there is no separate glycemic index entry in the database, and IFCT 2017 records one entry for rice flakes, with thickness and colour unnamed; nothing separate is printed for red flakes, so the 59 figure and the 43 to 74 spread are the numbers on record. The spread matters more than any single number. A 2023 review of rice and its products counts the variety, the processing, the nutrient make-up and what accompanies the rice among the things that move its GI, and the two recorded poha dishes show exactly that: one tested 74, one 43. For cooking, the thick poha guide sorts thick, thin and red flakes and which dish takes which.

Glycemic load applies the GI to the carbohydrate actually eaten: GI multiplied by the carbohydrate in the portion, divided by 100. For poha that gives a glycemic load of about 23 for a 50 g plate (59, times 38.4 g of carbs, over 100), about 14 for a small 30 g bowl, and about 45 for 100 g of dry flakes. A katori of cooked rice from 40 g of raw milled rice, using the GI of 50 from one India-tested basmati entry and 31.3 g of carbohydrate, lands at about 16. The 2021 international tables cover both glycemic index and glycemic load values, and both numbers describe the food as tested; your plate differs with the oil, the vegetables and the portion.

One 50 g plate of poha is a breakfast, not a side dish, and what rides along decides the meal's numbers. The site's kanda poha recipe lands at 294 kcal a plate and is on the table in 25 minutes, onions and groundnuts doing most of the work. For a lighter plate, poha with curd folds the flakes into cold curd, with only a teaspoon of oil in the tempering. Count the plate by its dry weight, then count the oil and peanuts on top, and the rest of the arithmetic stays simple. Whatever the recipe, the poha hub and the poha benefits page walk through the grain and what it adds to the plate.

Does poha have carbs?

Yes, and they dominate the grain: IFCT 2017 lists 76.8 g of carbohydrate per 100 g of dry poha. A 50 g plate carries 38.4 g and a small 30 g bowl 23 g, and most of the plate's 177 kcal comes from carbohydrate. At a glycemic index of 59, poha sits in the medium band.

Does flattened rice have fiber?

Yes: 3.46 g per 100 g dry. That sits over the 3 g per 100 g mark FSSAI sets before a food may be called a source of fibre, and per portion it is modest, 1.7 g in a 50 g plate. Brown rice carries more at 4.4 g per 100 g, raw milled rice less at 2.8 g.

Can diabetics eat poha?

Poha at a glycemic index of 59 sits in the medium band, and the 43-GI entry shows that entry was poha with ground nuts, eaten with lemon tea, so it shows a modified snack can test low. Portion still decides: one 50 g plate holds 38.4 g of carbohydrate. The portions, pairings and limits for diabetes are on the poha for diabetes page.

How many calories in one plate poha?

177 kcal for a plain plate made from 50 g of dry poha, before oil, vegetables or peanuts are added. The site's kanda poha recipe reaches 294 kcal a plate and takes 25 minutes, which shows how much the cooking adds.

Which poha is good thick or thin?

Thick poha, for cooked plates: the flakes hold their shape through the rinse and the pan. Thin poha is for laddu and cutlets, where the flakes need to cling and bind. The full split, red poha included, is on thick poha.