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Browntop millet

Brachiaria ramosa
Teluguఅండు కొర్రలు Andu korraluHindiछोटी कंगनी Chhoti kangniTamilகுலசாமை KulasamaiKannadaಕೊರಲೆ KoraleMarathiमुरत Murat

Names: ICAR-Indian Institute of Millets Research

Pictures

Browntop millet: The grain
The grain — from: "Urochloa ramosa 252758711.jpg" by Kevin Faccenda, Wikimedia Commons (commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Urochloa_ramosa_252758711.jpg), cropped · CC BY 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0)
Browntop millet: The plant
The plant — from: "Urochloa ramosa 252758711.jpg" by Kevin Faccenda, Wikimedia Commons (commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Urochloa_ramosa_252758711.jpg) · CC BY 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0)

Nutrition of the raw grain, per 100 g

Energy338 kcal
Protein8.98 g
Fat1.89 g
Carbohydrate (available)71.32 g

Source: ICAR-IIMR 'Millets Chalisa' farmer leaflet (2025, English).

Every nutrient in the raw grain — 5 values, per 100 g

Energy, protein, fat, carbohydrate, fibre5
Energy338 kcal
Carbohydrate71.32 g
Protein8.98 g
Fat1.89 g
Water (moisture)10.8 g

Source, one for the whole list: ICAR-IIMR Millets Chalisa leaflet No. 12 (browntop millet). Values exactly as the table prints them; published values for the grain, not a laboratory test of our packs. Tap a name for what it is and does.

Where it comes from

  • Neolithic south India (2800-1200 cal BC): likely staples included two millet-grasses indigenous to the peninsula, Brachiaria ramosa (browntop) and Setaria verticillata. (Fuller D, Korisettar R, Venkatasubbaiah PC, Jones MK)
  • In South India browntop appears to have been the first staple millet, and it also occurs as an early crop in the Neolithic Ganges. (Weber SA & Fuller DQ, 'Millets and their role in early agriculture')
  • ICAR-IIMR: browntop appears to have been a major staple in the late pre-history of the Deccan; it was introduced from India to the USA around 1915. (ICAR-IIMR 'Millets Chalisa' farmer leaflet)

Where it grows

  • Limited cultivation, largely confined to Telangana, remote parts of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka; variety HBr-2 for Karnataka. (ICAR-IIMR 'Millets Chalisa' farmer leaflet)
  • Grows in rocky, shallow and medium soils; IIMR calls it hardy and suited to dryland - but the same leaflet says it does not do well under drought. (ICAR-IIMR 'Millets Chalisa' farmer leaflet)

In the kitchen

  • Dehulled browntop is used as 'rice'; dehulling is hard (40-50 kg 'rice' per 100 kg seed). (ICAR-IIMR 'Millets Chalisa' farmer leaflet)
  • Ritual breads are made from browntop in restricted districts of South India. (Weber SA & Fuller DQ, 'Millets and their role in early agriculture')

Recipes