Calories in Besan, Rice Flour, Cornflour and Kuttu

By NYUS Inc. · Published 27 October 2026

Besan, rice flour, cornflour, kuttu atta and arrowroot are cooking flours with no row in IFCT 2017, the Indian Food Composition Tables from ICMR-NIN, so this guide takes them from the SR Legacy table of USDA FoodData Central, where each record prints the weight of one cup. Per 100 g, eight of the nine records here lie between 335 and 387 kcal (soy flour is 434), but a cup of each weighs a different amount, so a cup does not give the same calories. The page also shows three IFCT 2017 rows (maida, atta and dry maize) for comparison, each with its region count. IFCT prints energy in kilojoules, so the kcal for those rows are our conversion. Our existing raw rice, atta and dal guide already gives atta, maida and sooji per katori and per tablespoon.

The short answer

By the SR Legacy records, one cup of besan (92 g) is about 356 kcal, one cup of buckwheat flour (120 g, our name match for kuttu atta) about 402, one cup of white rice flour (158 g) about 578, one cup of cornstarch (128 g) about 488 and one cup of arrowroot flour (128 g) about 457. The record for besan prints 387 kcal per 100 g, higher than the 366 kcal of white rice flour, yet its cup is lighter, so a cup of besan comes to fewer kcal than a cup of white rice flour. Our reading: the cup weights differ by up to 66 g (92 g against 158 g), so compare flours by weight, not by cup.

SR Legacy: per cup

Each figure is our arithmetic: kcal per 100 g times the grams in the cup, divided by 100, rounded to the nearest kcal with half rounding up. The cup weight is printed on each SR Legacy record page, none is ours. The record names are the dataset's own.

The sums: besan 387 × 92 / 100 = 356.04, so 356 kcal; buckwheat flour 335 × 120 / 100 = 402, so 402 kcal; white rice flour 366 × 158 / 100 = 578.28, so 578 kcal; brown rice flour 363 × 158 / 100 = 573.54, so 574 kcal; cornstarch 381 × 128 / 100 = 487.68, so 488 kcal; corn flour 361 × 117 / 100 = 422.37, so 422 kcal; arrowroot 357 × 128 / 100 = 456.96, so 457 kcal; wheat flour all-purpose 364 × 125 / 100 = 455, so 455 kcal; soy flour 434 × 84 / 100 = 364.56, so 365 kcal. Protein, fat and carbohydrate are the same arithmetic on the per 100 g figures, rounded to 0.1 g with half rounding up.

A tablespoon: a weight that is ours

Only the soy flour record prints a tablespoon (1 tbsp, 5.2 g). For the other eight records we take one sixteenth of the printed cup weight as one tablespoon. That is our own assumption, not a printed weight and not a measurement of your spoon; for the soy flour record it gives 84 / 16 = 5.25 g against the printed 5.2 g. Weigh your own spoon and scale from the per 100 g column.

The sums (kcal per 100 g times the grams, divided by 100, to 0.1 kcal): besan 387 × 5.75 / 100 = 22.2525, so 22.3 kcal; buckwheat flour 335 × 7.5 / 100 = 25.125, so 25.1 kcal; white rice flour 366 × 9.875 / 100 = 36.1425, so 36.1 kcal; brown rice flour 363 × 9.875 / 100 = 35.846, so 35.8 kcal; cornstarch 381 × 8 / 100 = 30.48, so 30.5 kcal; corn flour 361 × 7.3125 / 100 = 26.398125, so 26.4 kcal; arrowroot 357 × 8 / 100 = 28.56, so 28.6 kcal; wheat flour all-purpose 364 × 7.8125 / 100 = 28.4375, so 28.4 kcal; soy flour 434 × 5.2 / 100 = 22.568, so 22.6 kcal.

IFCT 2017: three rows for comparison

IFCT 2017, Table 1 (Proximate Principles), per 100 g edible portion. IFCT 2017 says all its data except poultry and egg pertains to raw food (PDF p. 27). A018 and A019 are flours; A006 is dry maize grain, not maize flour, and IFCT has no besan, rice flour, cornflour, cornstarch, arrowroot or buckwheat row (we searched all 585 PDF pages for besan, gram flour, rice flour, cornflour, corn flour, cornstarch, arrowroot, kuttu and buckwheat: 0 food rows). Each row below averages 6 regions. IFCT prints energy in kilojoules; kcal is our conversion at 1 kcal = 4.184 kJ, rounded to the nearest kcal with half rounding up.

The conversions: A018 1472 / 4.184 = 351.82, so 352 kcal; A019 1340 / 4.184 = 320.27, so 320 kcal; A006 1398 / 4.184 = 334.13, so 334 kcal.

What stands out in the numbers

• Per 100 g, SR Legacy: 174273 (soy flour) 434 kcal, 174288 (besan) 387, 169698 (cornstarch) 381, 169714 (white rice flour) 366, 168894 (wheat flour, all-purpose) 364, 168898 (brown rice flour) 363, 170290 (corn flour, whole-grain) 361, 170684 (arrowroot) 357 and 170687 (buckwheat flour) 335.
• Protein per 100 g: SR Legacy 174273 (soy flour) 37.8 g and 174288 (besan) 22.4 g, against 0.26 g for 169698 (cornstarch) and 0.3 g for 170684 (arrowroot).
• Cup weights differ: 92 g for SR Legacy 174288 (besan), 120 g for 170687 (buckwheat), 128 g for 169698 (cornstarch) and 170684 (arrowroot), and 158 g for 169714 and 168898 (rice flours).
• SR Legacy 168894 (wheat flour, all-purpose) prints 364 kcal per 100 g and IFCT A018 (wheat flour, refined) prints 352 kcal, two different datasets and records, both shown without calling them the same flour.

Why these are reference rows, not your packet

• Name matching is ours. We match besan to SR Legacy 174288 because that record is named "(besan)". Kuttu atta is matched to buckwheat flour by name only, the record does not say it is kuttu atta; and cornflour on a pack may match cornstarch (169698) or corn flour (170290), which we do not decide.
• The records' own notes. The record pages mark the energy and carbohydrate of all nine SR Legacy records "Calculated", the protein and fat of 174288 "Analytical", and carry no note on the protein and fat of the other eight.
• Flour is a raw ingredient. No row here is a roti, pakora, chilla, dhokla, halwa or any cooked food, so this page gives no number for those.
• Cup weights are the record's. A cup you scoop may be packed or loose; weigh when you can.
• For a packaged product, the pack wins. This page uses no pack labels.

How to log it so the numbers hold

• Log by weight. A 60 g portion of besan (our example weight, not a dataset value) on SR Legacy 174288 is 387 × 60 / 100 = 232.2, so 232 kcal by our arithmetic.
• Log the oil and water separately. Our spoon guide gives a level teaspoon of oil or ghee.
• Compare finished dishes. Our besan chilla guide compares chillas, and our dhokla and khaman guide compares steamed snacks.
• Do not mix datasets inside one day. If you log a flour from SR Legacy, keep to that record for the same dish.

Where NYUS fits (our app)

We make NYUS, so read this as ours. NYUS is an AI fitness and nutrition coach in early access on Android, with no ads and no data selling. You log foods yourself by searching 8,900+ Indian and global foods or by barcode, and a weekly check-in adjusts your calories, macros and step goal once enough is logged. Barcode coverage of Indian packaged foods is not complete, so search by name when a scan finds nothing.

What this page leaves out

• A calorie, protein or fat target, and any claim about what these foods do to your weight or health: we have not looked up one for any person, so we give none. If you have a medical condition, ask your doctor or dietitian.
• Any named brand, pack label or FSSAI figure: not used, so the page does not mix label numbers with the records above.
• Roti, paratha, pakora, chilla, dhokla, halwa and other dishes made from these flours: none is among the IFCT rows or SR Legacy records used, so no number here.
• Ragi, bajra and jowar flours, sattu, sooji and other flours: not covered here; see our grains protein guide.
• Nutrients beyond energy, protein, fat and carbohydrate, including fibre and sodium: not covered here.

Sources

• USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy 174288 (Chickpea flour (besan)): Energy 387 kcal, protein 22.4 g, total fat 6.69 g, carbohydrate 57.8 g per 100 g; portion: 1 cup 92 g (read 27 Oct 2026).
• USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy 170687 (Buckwheat flour, whole-groat): Energy 335 kcal, protein 12.6 g, total fat 3.1 g, carbohydrate 70.6 g per 100 g; portion: 1 cup 120 g (read 27 Oct 2026).
• USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy 169714 (Rice flour, white, unenriched): Energy 366 kcal, protein 5.95 g, total fat 1.42 g, carbohydrate 80.1 g per 100 g; portion: 1 cup 158 g (read 27 Oct 2026).
• USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy 168898 (Rice flour, brown): Energy 363 kcal, protein 7.23 g, total fat 2.78 g, carbohydrate 76.5 g per 100 g; portion: 1 cup 158 g (read 27 Oct 2026).
• USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy 169698 (Cornstarch): Energy 381 kcal, protein 0.26 g, total fat 0.05 g, carbohydrate 91.3 g per 100 g; portion: 1 cup 128 g (read 27 Oct 2026).
• USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy 170290 (Corn flour, whole-grain, yellow): Energy 361 kcal, protein 6.93 g, total fat 3.86 g, carbohydrate 76.8 g per 100 g; portion: 1 cup 117 g (read 27 Oct 2026).
• USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy 170684 (Arrowroot flour): Energy 357 kcal, protein 0.3 g, total fat 0.1 g, carbohydrate 88.2 g per 100 g; portion: 1 cup 128 g (read 27 Oct 2026).
• USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy 168894 (Wheat flour, white, all-purpose, enriched, bleached): Energy 364 kcal, protein 10.3 g, total fat 0.98 g, carbohydrate 76.3 g per 100 g; portion: 1 cup 125 g (read 27 Oct 2026).
• USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy 174273 (Soy flour, full-fat, raw): Energy 434 kcal, protein 37.8 g, total fat 20.6 g, carbohydrate 31.9 g per 100 g; portions: 1 cup stirred 84 g, 1 tbsp 5.2 g (read 27 Oct 2026).
• ICMR-NIN, Indian Food Composition Tables 2017 (IFCT 2017), Table 1 (Proximate Principles and Dietary Fibre), PDF p. 41 (A006 Maize, dry; A018 Wheat flour, refined) and p. 42 (A019 Wheat flour, atta), read 27 Oct 2026; the raw-food statement is on PDF p. 27; all 585 PDF pages searched for besan, gram flour, rice flour, cornflour, corn flour, cornstarch, arrowroot, kuttu and buckwheat: no food row.
• nyus.in, the NYUS landing page, read on 27 Oct 2026 for the app statements in the NYUS section and the CTA.

The kJ to kcal conversions, the per cup figures, the tablespoon weights (one sixteenth of the printed cup), the sums, the rounding, the 60 g example weight, the comparisons and every sentence starting "Our reading" are NYUS's own arithmetic, assumption or opinion, not from IFCT or USDA. The IFCT values and the SR Legacy cup weights are as printed in those datasets. The names in the first column are the datasets' own row and record names.

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