The Glycemic Index of 30 Common Indian Foods (Printable Chart)

Glycaemic Index (GI) is a measure of how quickly a food raises blood sugar after eating. It matters for diabetes management, PCOS, weight loss, and general insulin sensitivity.

Most GI charts online are built around Western foods. Here is the Indian version: 30 common Indian foods with their GI values, plus the critical caveat that makes these numbers useful in real life.

The 3 GI categories

• Low GI: below 55. Gentle blood sugar rise. Suitable for most people, most of the time.
• Medium GI: 55 to 70. Moderate rise. Fine when paired with protein and fibre.
• High GI: above 70. Sharp rise. Portion and pairing required.

These thresholds apply to individual foods eaten alone. In a typical Indian meal, foods are combined, which changes the final glycaemic response.

Grains

Food	GI	Category
Bajra roti	54	Low
Jowar roti	58	Medium
Ragi dosa (home-made)	55	Medium
Whole wheat roti	62 to 70	Medium
Brown rice	68	Medium
White basmati rice	72	High
Parboiled rice (ukda)	60	Medium
Idli (rice-urad based)	69	Medium
Dosa (fermented)	76	High

Winners: bajra, jowar, ragi. Brown rice and parboiled rice are solid middle-tier options.

Pulses and legumes

Food	GI	Category
Kala chana	28	Low
Rajma	29	Low
Moong dal	38	Low
Masoor dal	44	Low
Chana dal	36	Low
Toor dal	45	Low
Sprouts	30 to 40	Low

All Indian pulses are low GI. This is one of the biggest nutritional advantages in Indian cuisine.

Fruits

Food	GI	Category
Guava	31	Low
Apple	36	Low
Pear	33	Low
Orange	40	Low
Banana (ripe)	60	Medium
Banana (slightly unripe)	50	Low
Mango (ripe)	60	Medium
Grapes	48	Low
Watermelon	72	High
Dates	50 to 60	Medium

Eat whole fruits with protein or nuts to flatten the response. Avoid fruit juice (GI response much higher than the whole fruit).

Vegetables

Food	GI	Category
Leafy greens	15 to 20	Very low
Cucumber, tomato	15	Very low
Carrot (boiled)	41	Low
Beetroot (boiled)	61	Medium
Sweet potato	54 to 70	Medium
Potato (boiled)	78	High
Potato (fried)	85 to 95	Very high

Potatoes matter here. Mashed or fried potato spikes sharply. A small portion of boiled potato with fibre-rich vegetables is more manageable.

Dairy

Food	GI	Category
Full-fat milk	39	Low
Unsweetened curd	35	Low
Greek yoghurt	11	Very low
Paneer	Very low (almost no carbs)	Very low
Sweetened lassi	50 to 70	Medium to high

Skip sweetened dairy. Everything else is low GI.

Snacks and sweets

Food	GI	Category
Dark chocolate (70%+)	25 to 40	Low
Roasted chana	28	Low
Makhana (lotus seeds)	35	Low
Gulab jamun	86	Very high
Jalebi	80	High
Milk chocolate (commercial)	45	Low (but sugar spikes insulin)

A classic deception of GI: some sweet foods have lower GI than expected because of fat content, but they still spike insulin due to sugar. GI is one lens, not the only lens.

Beverages

Food	GI	Category
Water	0	N/A
Unsweetened chai	Negligible	N/A
Chai with 2 sugars	40 to 50	Low (but adds 8g sugar)
Fresh orange juice	50	Low (but much higher insulin response than whole orange)
Coconut water	55	Medium
Soft drinks	60 to 80	High

Note: GI alone does not fully capture insulin response. A low-GI drink with 30g sugar still spikes insulin.

Why GI alone is not enough

Three limitations:

1. Meal context changes everything. Rice at GI 72 eaten alone spikes blood sugar. The same rice eaten with dal, sabzi, and ghee can effectively behave like a medium GI meal.

2. Glycaemic load matters more than GI. A watermelon has GI 72 but low total carbs per serving, so its real impact is modest. A sweet biscuit has GI 60 but high carb and sugar, so its impact is large.

3. Individual variation. Two people can eat the same meal and get different blood glucose responses. The GI chart is a population average, not personal.

How to use GI practically

For diabetes or PCOS

• Build most meals around low and medium GI foods
• Reserve high GI foods (watermelon, potato, polished rice) for specific occasions with lots of protein and fibre paired in
• Avoid high GI sweet foods (mithai, chocolate with added sugar) as daily habits

For weight loss

• Low GI foods improve satiety and reduce cravings
• Medium GI foods are fine in balanced meals
• High GI foods are fine occasionally, problematic daily

For general health

• Aim for 70 percent of meals from low and medium GI foods
• Keep sweet foods and refined snacks for occasions
• Pair all high GI foods with protein, fibre, and fat

Common meal makeovers

Poor response: 1 cup white rice alone with a little dal (GI effective: 65 to 72) Better: 1 cup white rice + 1 bowl dal + 1 bowl sabzi + 1 tsp ghee + salad (GI effective: 40 to 50)

Poor response: 2 white bread toast with jam (GI: 75 to 85) Better: 2 multigrain toast with peanut butter and a boiled egg (GI: 40 to 50)

Poor response: Plain banana smoothie (GI: 60+) Better: Banana + Greek yoghurt + almonds smoothie (GI: 35 to 45)

The bottom line

GI is a useful lens, not the only lens. Use it to prefer low and medium GI whole foods. Understand that meal context, pairing, and total quantity matter more than any single food's GI.

For more on Indian nutrition, see our rice and weight loss piece or the roti vs rice comparison. For a personalised plan using GI-aware principles, learn how DietOwl works.