9 Different Types of Millets Grown in India

श्री अन्न – Millets are group of small seeded grasses grown around the different states of India for human foods. True Millets includes Sorghum millet, Finger millet, Pearl millet, Kodo millet, Foxtail millet, Little millet, Barnyard millets, Proso millet and Browntop millet.

India produces all 9 types of shree anna / श्री अन्न or true millets, Major producing states are Rajasthan, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

True millets are superfood and also an important crops in India and many parts of Africa. ShreeAnna or various varieties of millets have been mentioned in our Yajurveda text, Jowar, bajra and ragi are high quality millets and rich sources for Vitamin, Calcium, iron, phosphorus and pottasium.

Finger Millet / Ragi – रागी – नाचणी

Finger millet or ragi flour is consumed with milk, used to make cheela, dosa and world famous Ragi mudde known as Indian Fufu. A very popular food in many parts of South Indian states including Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and the Rayalaseema region in Andhra Pradesh.

Pearl Millet / Bajra / Kambu – बाजरा

Pearl Millet is the most widely grown type of millet in India, Rajasthan is the largest producer of pearl millets followed by Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh.

Porso Millet – चेना

Little Millet – कुटकी

Little millet species from the family Poaceae helps improve heart health and very rich source of Magnesium, carbohydrates and dietary fiber.

Browntop Millet –

Browntop millet is one of the lesser known type of grain native to India and is a part of the Indian millet family, also known as Chotti Kangni/Andu Korralu/Korale

Barnyard Millet / Sawa – सामा

Indian barnyard millet is also known as billion dollar grass that is a type of wild grass originating from tropical Asia. Sawa millet widely grown as a cereal in India and Nepal, eaten during religious fasting hence seeds are commonly known as Vrat ke Chawal.

Kodo Millet/ Varagu – कोदो

Kodo millet is also known as Indian cow grass that has high protein content, contain high amounts of polyphenols and a good substitute to rice or wheat. The cow grass millets have been domesticated in India 3000 years ago.

Sorghum Millet / Jowar – ज्वार

Sorghum millet or Jowar also known as great millet is one of the species of flowering plants in the grass family, grown for grain and used for food for humans, animal feed, and ethanol production. Sorghum millet is the world’s fifth-most important cereal crop after rice, wheat, maize, and barley.

Foxtail Millet – कंगनी

Sekia Millet, Teff Millet and Fonio Millet are few more different types of millets grown in India.

Positive Grains:

Barley and Rajgira are not the part of millets ground but considered as superfood and good alternative to other regular grains like wheat and rice.

Barley – जौ

Barley known as Yava in Sanskrit and Jau in Hindi, One of the principal grains in ancient India and also found mentioned in the Rigveda. Barley is the fourth largest grain crop globally, after wheat, rice, and corn.

Rajgira / Amaranth – राजगिरा

Rajgira or Amaranth is one of the most used fasting food in India and a very good source of Protein. The Rajgira grain flour is also considered as a superfood and one of the many types of grains that have been cultivated in India.