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Kodo millet

Paspalum scrobiculatum
Teluguఅరికలు ArikaluHindiकोदो KodoTamilவரகு VaraguKannadaಹಾರಕ HarakaMarathiकोडो Kodo

Names: ICAR-Indian Institute of Millets Research; Telugu as on our pack

Ishva packs kodo millet — on the shelf at DMart.See the product →

Pictures

Kodo millet: The grain
The grain — from: "Kodo Millet.jpg" by Tonynirappathu, Wikimedia Commons (commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kodo_Millet.jpg), cropped · CC BY 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0)
Kodo millet: The plant
The plant — from: "Paspalum scrobiculatum 224164066.jpg" by Kevin Faccenda, Wikimedia Commons (commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Paspalum_scrobiculatum_224164066.jpg) · CC BY 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0)
Kodo millet: An old botanical plate
An old botanical plate — from: "Oriental memoirs (Plate 25) (6860239076).jpg" by Forbes, James; Hooker, William Jackson, Wikimedia Commons (commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Oriental_memoirs_(Plate_25)_(6860239076).jpg) · Public domain

Hear it pour

Our own pack of kodo millet, opened and poured into a steel bowl — filmed on a phone, nothing added.

Turn the sound on: the grain has its own sound as it falls.

Nutrition of the raw grain, per 100 g

Energy332 kcal
Protein8.92 g
Fat2.55 g
Carbohydrate (available)66.19 g
Dietary fibre (total)6.39 g
Calcium15.27 mg
Iron2.34 mg
Magnesium122 mg
Phosphorus101 mg
Zinc1.65 mg

Source: Indian Food Composition Tables 2017, ICMR-National Institute of Nutrition, food code A017 (Varagu). Energy converted from kilojoules (1 kcal = 4.184 kJ).

Every nutrient in the raw grain — 88 values, per 100 g

Energy, protein, fat, carbohydrate, fibre9
Water (moisture)14.23 g
Protein8.92 g
Ash (total minerals)1.72 g
Fat2.55 g
Dietary fibre (total)6.39 g
Insoluble fibre4.29 g
Soluble fibre2.11 g
Carbohydrate (available)66.19 g
Energy1388 kJ
Starch and sugars5
Available carbohydrate (starch + sugars)66.25 g
Starch64.96 g
Glucose0.89 g
Sucrose0.4 g
Free sugars (total)1.29 g

Not detected in this grain (the table leaves it blank or zero): Fructose, Maltose.

Minerals5
Calcium15.27 mg
Magnesium122 mg
Phosphorus101 mg
Potassium94 mg
Sodium3.35 mg
Trace elements8
Chromium0.021 mg
Cobalt0.005 mg
Copper0.26 mg
Iron2.34 mg
Manganese0.33 mg
Molybdenum0.02 mg
Selenium14.12 µg
Zinc1.65 mg
Vitamins12
Thiamine (B1)0.29 mg
Riboflavin (B2)0.2 mg
Niacin (B3)1.49 mg
Pantothenic acid (B5)0.63 mg
Vitamin B60.07 mg
Biotin (B7)1.49 µg
Folate (B9)39.49 µg
Vitamin E: alpha-tocopherol0.03 mg
Vitamin E: gamma-tocopherol0.43 mg
Vitamin E: gamma-tocotrienol0.19 mg
Vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol equivalents)0.07 mg
Vitamin K13.75 µg

Not detected in this grain (the table leaves it blank or zero): Vitamin D2 (ergocalciferol), Vitamin E: alpha-tocotrienol, Vitamin E: beta-tocopherol, Vitamin E: delta-tocopherol.

Carotenoids4
Lutein59.4 µg
Zeaxanthin3.91 µg
Beta-carotene1.41 µg
Carotenoids (total)272 µg
Amino acids18 · g per 100 g of protein
Histidine2.14 g
Isoleucine4.55 g
Leucine11.96 g
Lysine1.42 g
Methionine2.69 g
Cystine1.92 g
Phenylalanine6.27 g
Threonine3.89 g
Tryptophan1.32 g
Valine5.49 g
Alanine11 g
Arginine3.18 g
Aspartic acid5.61 g
Glutamic acid18.25 g
Glycine3.12 g
Proline7.33 g
Serine5.5 g
Tyrosine3.87 g
Fatty acids12
Palmitic acid (C16:0)211 mg
Stearic acid (C18:0)28.4 mg
Arachidic acid (C20:0)3.84 mg
Behenic acid (C22:0)2.22 mg
Palmitoleic acid (C16:1)3.21 mg
Oleic acid (C18:1)291 mg
Eicosenoic acid (C20:1)2.75 mg
Linoleic acid (C18:2, omega-6)576 mg
Alpha-linolenic acid (C18:3, omega-3)21.02 mg
Saturated fat (total)246 mg
Monounsaturated fat (total)297 mg
Polyunsaturated fat (total)597 mg

Not detected in this grain (the table leaves it blank or zero): Capric acid (C10:0), Erucic acid (C22:1), Lauric acid (C12:0), Lignoceric acid (C24:0), Myristic acid (C14:0), Myristoleic acid (C14:1).

Organic acids7
Oxalate (total)3.48 mg
Oxalate (soluble)2.57 mg
Oxalate (insoluble)0.65 mg
cis-Aconitic acid0.21 mg
Fumaric acid0.26 mg
Malic acid0.45 mg
Succinic acid1.87 mg

Not detected in this grain (the table leaves it blank or zero): Citric acid, Quinic acid, Tartaric acid.

Polyphenols3
Vanillic acid0.02 mg
Kaempferol0.07 mg
Polyphenols (total)0.53 mg

Not detected in this grain (the table leaves it blank or zero): 3,4-Dihydroxybenzoic acid, 3-Hydroxybenzaldehyde, Apigenin, Apigenin-7-O-neohesperidoside, Caffeic acid, Catechin, Chlorogenic acid, Cinnamic acid, Ferulic acid, Gallic acid, Isorhamnetin, Luteolin, Protocatechuic acid, Quercetin, Quercetin-3-galactoside, Quercetin-3-glucoside, Quercetin-3-rutinoside (rutin), Sinapic acid, o-Coumaric acid, p-Coumaric acid.

Phytosterols3
Campesterol3.08 mg
Stigmasterol4.4 mg
Beta-sitosterol37.03 mg
Other compounds2
Raffinose0.02 g
Phytate452 mg

Not detected in this grain (the table leaves it blank or zero): Saponins (total), Stachyose.

Source, one for the whole list: Indian Food Composition Tables 2017, ICMR-NIN. 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.

In the Vedas and Sanskrit texts

  • Apastamba Grihya Sutra, Haradatta's commentary, ApGS 8.3, Anakula commentary — The only kodrava found in this search: a medieval commentary lists dark grains such as chickpea and kodrava among foods the learned do not offer in household rites. It is a commentary, not a Vedic text. (the Sanskrit text)
  • Kṣemakutūhala, 10th utsava, verses 31-32 — Laḍḍus made from ghee-fried papads of urad, mung, kodrava or rice, crushed with sugar and coated with sugar syrup. (the Sanskrit text)
  • Bhojanakutūhala, Part 1, printed p. 125 — Dhānyāmla, a fermented sour gruel, is said to be made from rice flour or from kodrava and other grains. (the Sanskrit text)

Each line is our summary of the passage, with its reference. Health and medicinal statements in these texts are left out.

Millets in Rituals: what, why, how, when and who →

Where it comes from

  • Kodo millet originated in India; it was domesticated here some 3,000 years ago. (FAO — International Year of Millets 2023) (de Wet et al. 1983, Economic Botany)

In India’s old books

  • Kauṭilya's Arthaśāstra (2.24.12) lists kodrava — kodo millet — among the crops sown first in the season. (Arthaśāstra, GRETIL text) (Monier-Williams)
  • The Amarakośa, the classical Sanskrit thesaurus, gives koradūṣa as another name for kodrava. (Amarakośa, GRETIL text)
  • The Sangam-era Tamil anthology Puṟanāṉūṟu (poem 34) mentions varaku — kodo millet in the Tamil Lexicon. (Puṟanāṉūṟu, Project Madurai) (Tamil Lexicon)

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