The Millet Library

Nine cultivated millets are commonly recognised in India: three major (sorghum, pearl millet, finger millet) and six small millets (foxtail, barnyard, little, kodo, proso, browntop). They are different species with different agronomy, taste and nutrition.

One grain, many names: foxtail millet is kangni, thinai, korralu, navane and thina depending on where you stand. The Library cross-references every verified name so a recipe from any region can be decoded.

Compare like with like: raw grain, per 100 g, from the same source (IFCT 2017). On that basis, ragi leads the common grains on calcium; bajra and little millet are iron-rich; foxtail and proso sit higher on protein; proso is notably lower in fibre than the rest. No single millet wins everything, which is exactly why ranking them is a fool's errand.

Match the millet to the dish first, flatbread, rice-substitute or porridge, then to the nutrition you care about, then to what your household will actually eat twice. The best millet is the one that survives contact with your kitchen.

Three grammars cover most of millet cooking. As flour: bhakri, rotla, mudde, dosa, ambali, the Deccan and western traditions. As whole grain: pongal, khichdi, upma, pulao, anywhere rice goes, a small millet can follow. As porridge or malt: raab, koozh, ambali, breakfast and convalescence foods across several regions.

Once you see the three grammars, 'what do I do with this millet?' stops being a research project. Match the grain to the grammar and cook.