About Millets

Millets are a diverse group of small-seeded cereal grains belonging to the family Poaceae. Most cultivated millets belong to the tribe Paniceae, though Finger Millet (Eleusine coracana) belongs to the subfamily Chloridoideae and Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) belongs to the tribe Andropogoneae.

Millets are among the earliest domesticated crops. Archaeological evidence from sites like Cishan in northern China dates foxtail millet cultivation to approximately 8,000 years ago. In the Indian subcontinent, finger millet has been cultivated since at least 3000 BCE, with evidence found at sites like Hallur in Karnataka.

What makes millets remarkable is their ability to grow in marginal environments with poor soils and low rainfall, where crops like rice and wheat would fail. They are C4 plants (most millets), meaning they have a highly efficient photosynthetic pathway that allows them to thrive in hot, dry conditions.

The United Nations General Assembly declared 2023 as the International Year of Millets (IYM 2023). This resolution was proposed by India and supported by 72 nations, reflecting a growing global recognition of millets as a solution for food security, nutrition, and climate-resilient agriculture.

The initiative aimed to raise awareness about the health benefits of millets, promote their sustainable production, and inspire research and development investments. IYM 2023 saw governments, international organizations, farmers, chefs, and consumers come together to put millets back on the plate.

India is the world's largest producer of millets, accounting for approximately 20% of global production and about 80% of Asia's millet output. The Government of India officially renamed millets as "Nutri-Cereals" in April 2018, through a gazette notification by the Ministry of Agriculture, recognizing their superior nutritional value compared to staple cereals like rice and wheat.

Major millet-producing states include Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, and Uttarakhand. Each region has its own traditional millet varieties and culinary heritage.

Millets are broadly classified into two groups based on their grain size and commercial importance:

Millets can also be classified by their grain structure:

• Naked grains (e.g., Sorghum, Pearl Millet, Finger Millet, Proso Millet): The husk is loosely attached to the grain and separates easily during threshing. These millets can be consumed with minimal processing.
• Husked grains (e.g., Foxtail Millet, Little Millet, Kodo Millet, Barnyard Millet, Browntop Millet): The husk is tightly bound to the grain and requires mechanical dehulling before consumption. The lack of affordable small-scale dehulling machines was historically a barrier to their wider use.

This website exists to provide accurate, comprehensive, and accessible information about millets. In an era of health trends and superfood marketing, there is a real need for a single, well-organized resource that presents millet information based on evidence rather than hype.

We cover nutrition (sourced from ICMR-NIN and USDA databases), traditional recipes, Ayurvedic properties (referenced from classical texts like Charaka Samhita and Bhavaprakasha Nighantu), cultivation practices, and historical context. We believe that understanding millets fully — not just as a health food, but as a cultural, ecological, and agricultural treasure — is key to their revival.

We are committed to transparency. Each millet page includes a detailed sources section. Nutritional data follows the ICMR-NIN Indian Food Composition Tables (2017) as the primary reference. Ayurvedic information is attributed to specific classical texts. We distinguish between well-established science and preliminary evidence.