Cooking Conversion Calculator

A cup of flour and a cup of sugar take up the same space, but they don't weigh the same. That's because every ingredient has its own density. This calculator converts between cups, tablespoons, teaspoons, fluid ounces, millilitres, litres, grams, kilograms, ounces, and pounds — and even the Indian tola — using the correct density for your ingredient. It bridges the two systems most home cooks juggle: volume measures (cups, tbsp, tsp, ml) and weight measures (grams, kilograms, ounces), so a recipe written one way can be cooked the other.

Who this calculator is for

It is built for Indian home bakers and cooks who follow recipes from US or European blogs, YouTube channels and cookbooks that list ingredients in cups and sticks, but who measure with a metric kitchen scale and the familiar 200 ml Indian cup, katori and tablespoon. It is equally handy for anyone scaling a recipe up or down, converting a grandmother's recipe written in tolas, or simply wanting to weigh ingredients for consistent results batch after batch.

How the conversion works

Volume and weight are linked by density, expressed as grams per millilitre (g/ml). The tool first converts your amount into a base unit — millilitres for a volume input or grams for a weight input — then crosses between the two using the ingredient's density: weight (g) = volume (ml) × density (g/ml), and volume (ml) = weight (g) ÷ density (g/ml). Densities are stored as grams per US cup (240 ml) and converted to g/ml internally, so all units — cups (Indian 200 ml, US 240 ml, metric 250 ml), tablespoons (15 ml), teaspoons (5 ml), millilitres, grams and the rest — stay perfectly consistent with one another.

Worked example (Indian kitchen)

Suppose a brownie recipe asks for 2 Indian cups of maida (all-purpose flour) and you want the weight. One Indian cup is 200 ml, so 2 cups = 400 ml. Flour's density is 125 g per US cup of 240 ml, which is 125 ÷ 240 ≈ 0.52 g/ml. Weight = 400 ml × 0.52 g/ml ≈ 208 g. That is why a US-cup recipe (125 g per cup) and an Indian-cup recipe do not match gram-for-gram, and why weighing removes the guesswork entirely.

Volume vs weight

Volume measurements (cups, tbsp, ml) depend on packing, humidity, and how level you scoop. Weight (grams, ounces) is the same every time, which is why bakers prefer a kitchen scale — especially for flour, where a heavy-handed scoop can pack 30%+ extra.

Why "spoon and level" matters

Dipping a measuring cup straight into a flour bag compresses it. The right method is to spoon flour into the cup, then sweep flat across the rim with a knife. A properly measured US cup of all-purpose flour is 125 g.

Brown sugar is "packed"

Recipes assume brown sugar is firmly packed (220 g/cup) — push it down with the back of a spoon until it holds the shape of the cup when turned out.

Indian cup, vati and tola

An Indian recipe cup is typically 200 ml (the standard tea-cup size used by Sanjeev Kapoor, Tarla Dalal and most Indian cookbooks). A katori / vati is roughly 100 ml. The old weight unit 1 tola = 11.66 g still appears in traditional Indian recipes, especially for spices and dry-fruit measurements.

Indian butter

Indian butter (Amul, Britannia, Mother Dairy) is sold in 100 g and 500 g blocks — not US-style sticks. Recipes usually call for weight (e.g., "50 g butter") rather than sticks.

One large egg

A "large" egg out of the shell is approximately 50 g (about 30 g white + 20 g yolk), which is useful when scaling recipes by weight.

Handy spoon and cup equivalents

For quick mental conversions: 1 tablespoon = 3 teaspoons = 15 ml, and 1 teaspoon = 5 ml. A US cup of 240 ml is 16 tablespoons; the Indian 200 ml cup is about 13.3 tablespoons. So if a recipe calls for half a US cup of oil and you only have a tablespoon, that is 8 tablespoons. These volume equivalents are the same for every ingredient because they measure space, not weight.

Tips and common mistakes

• Never assume 1 cup = 1 cup across systems. An Indian cup is 200 ml, a US cup 240 ml and a metric cup 250 ml, so always pick the right cup before converting.
• Don't convert ml to grams without the ingredient. Only water is roughly 1 ml = 1 g; flour, sugar, oil and honey each have their own density, which is why this tool asks what you are measuring.
• Spoon and level flour; pack brown sugar. Scooping straight from the bag can add 30%+ extra flour, while loose brown sugar weighs too little.
• Weigh for baking, eyeball for cooking. Cakes and breads depend on precise ratios; a curry or stir-fry tolerates a spoon more or less.
• Use a flat measure, not heaped. Unless a recipe says "heaped", level every spoon and cup across the rim with a knife.