Varagu in English and 11 more names of kodo millet in India

One line per language. English: kodo millet, the grain IFCT 2017 names 'Varagu'. Hindi: koden, spelled kodon in both ICAR-IIMR lists. Marathi: karik in IFCT 2017, kodra in both ICAR-IIMR lists. Gujarati and Punjabi: kodra. Bengali: kodoadhan in IFCT 2017, kodo in the ICAR-IIMR lists. Odia: kodus, spelled kodua on the ICAR-IIMR page. Assamese: konidhan. Kannada: harka. Telugu: arikelu, with arika on the ICAR-IIMR page. Tamil: varagu. Malayalam: koovaragu, with varagu in the ICAR-IIMR booklet. Sanskrit: kodara in the ICAR-IIMR booklet. Urdu: no name on record.

The table below is the IFCT 2017 local-names entry for kodo millet, food code A017. Notes under it add the names and spellings the ICAR-Indian Institute of Millets Research (ICAR-IIMR) uses where they differ, and each footnote says where its name comes from. IFCT 2017 prints twelve names in all — English, Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Punjabi, Bengali, Odia, Assamese, Kannada, Telugu, Tamil and Malayalam — and leaves Urdu and Sanskrit blank in its list.

Source: IFCT 2017 (ICMR-NIN) local-names list. — means no name recorded in the source.

English: IFCT 2017 prints ‘Varagu’; ‘Kodo millet’ per ICAR-Indian Institute of Millets Research, millets information page (vernacular names). Hindi ‘Kodon’: spelling variant of the IFCT 2017 name ‘Koden’. Marathi ‘Kodra’: ICAR-Indian Institute of Millets Research, millets information page (vernacular names). Bengali ‘Kodo’: ICAR-Indian Institute of Millets Research, millets information page (vernacular names). Odia ‘Kodua’: spelling variant of the IFCT 2017 name ‘Kodus’. Telugu ‘Arika’: ICAR-Indian Institute of Millets Research, millets information page (vernacular names). Malayalam ‘Varagu’: ICAR-Indian Institute of Millets Research, Nutritional and health benefits of millets (PDF), vernacular names table. Sanskrit ‘Kodara’: ICAR-Indian Institute of Millets Research, Nutritional and health benefits of millets (PDF), vernacular names table.

Kodo millet in English is kodo millet, and varagu millet in English is the same grain. IFCT 2017 enters the grain under food code A017 as 'Varagu', with the botanical name Paspalum scrobiculatum, so a search for the kodo millet scientific name ends at one plant. The ICAR-IIMR booklet prints the species as Paspalum scrobiculatum (L.) and records that the cereal is also known as varagu, haraka and arakalu — the same words IFCT 2017 prints as harka and arikelu, with its own spelling.

That is why arikelu in English, kodra in English and kodo in English all answer the same way: kodo millet. The name on a pack depends on the language of the seller, not on the grain — kodo millet atta, varagu flour, kodra atta and harka flour are the same milled grain under different labels.

North India: koden in Hindi, kodra in Punjabi

In Hindi the grain is koden, the name IFCT 2017 prints; the ICAR-IIMR page and booklet both spell it kodon. Punjabi shares kodra with Gujarati, and in Assamese the grain is konidhan. Urdu has no recorded name, while Sanskrit has kodara in the ICAR-IIMR booklet.

West India: kodra in Gujarati, karik or kodra in Marathi

Gujarati kodra is the name IFCT 2017 and both ICAR-IIMR lists print, and it is the word behind searches for kodra in English. For Marathi, IFCT 2017 prints karik while both ICAR-IIMR lists give kodra; the table shows both.

East India: kodoadhan in Bengali, kodus in Odia

IFCT 2017 prints kodoadhan for Bengali, and the ICAR-IIMR page and booklet both record kodo. Odia kodus in IFCT 2017 is spelled kodua on the ICAR-IIMR page.

South India: varagu in Tamil, arikelu in Telugu, harka in Kannada

In Tamil the grain is varagu, the name all three lists share and the word behind the phrase varagu in English. Kannada harka appears in IFCT 2017 and in both ICAR-IIMR lists. Telugu arikelu is the IFCT 2017 name, with arika added on the ICAR-IIMR page. Malayalam koovaragu in IFCT 2017 is joined by varagu in the ICAR-IIMR booklet.

Four names get mixed up with kodo millet in shops and in searches.

• Kodo millet vs little millet: little millet is the grain called kutki in Hindi, samai in Tamil and samalu in Telugu on the ICAR-IIMR page — a different small millet. Kodo millet is varagu in Tamil and koden in Hindi.
• Kodo millet vs foxtail millet: foxtail millet is kangni in Punjabi, kakum in Hindi, navane in Kannada and korra in Telugu on the ICAR-IIMR page. It is another small millet, a different plant from kodo millet.
• Kodra vs ragi: kodra is kodo millet; ragi is finger millet, the grain called nachni in Marathi and kelvaragu in Tamil on the ICAR-IIMR lists. They are different plants that share the small-millet shelf.
• Kodra vs quinoa: quinoa is not a millet. The ICAR-IIMR booklet lists eight millet species that India commonly grows on rain-fed land — finger millet, sorghum, kodo millet, barnyard millet, proso millet, little millet, foxtail millet and pearl millet — and quinoa is not one of them.

Every one of these grains, with its names, is compared on the types of millets page.

Kodo millet is a crop of warm, damp country. In the ICAR-IIMR account, Paspalum scrobiculatum is widely distributed in damp habitats across the tropics and subtropics of the world, and it is an indigenous cereal of India, grown today in Uttar Pradesh in the North and Kerala and Tamil Nadu in the South. The same booklet records that kodo millets contain no gluten.

The grain itself — nutrition, benefits, cooking and storage — is on the kodo millet hub; the per-100 g numbers are on kodo millet calories, and one everyday way to cook it is kodo millet khichdi.

What is kodo millet in Gujarati?

Kodra. IFCT 2017 and both ICAR-IIMR lists print kodra as the Gujarati name of kodo millet, and Punjabi shares the same word. Kodra in English is kodo millet, the grain the table above lists as varagu in Tamil and arikelu in Telugu.

What does kodra mean?

Kodra is the Gujarati and Punjabi name for kodo millet, and the Marathi name in both ICAR-IIMR lists (IFCT 2017 prints karik for Marathi). Kodra in English is kodo millet, the small grain Paspalum scrobiculatum, so kodra atta in English is kodo millet flour.

Difference between kodo millet and little millet?

They are two different small millets. Little millet is kutki in Hindi, samai in Tamil and same in Kannada, while kodo millet is koden in Hindi, varagu in Tamil and harka in Kannada — all names printed in IFCT 2017 or the ICAR-IIMR lists. In Tamil the pair is samai for little millet and varagu for kodo millet.

What is kodo millet?

Kodo millet is a small millet, the grain IFCT 2017 enters as 'Varagu' under food code A017 with the botanical name Paspalum scrobiculatum. IFCT 2017 gives it 8.9 g protein per 100 g, and the ICAR-IIMR booklet records that it contains no gluten. Its benefits are covered under kodra benefits.

Does kodo millet have protein?

Yes. IFCT 2017 prints 8.92 g protein per 100 g for kodo millet, along with 66.19 g carbohydrates, 6.39 g fibre and 332 kcal energy. These are values for the raw grain; the full table is on the kodo millet calories page.

Is kodra and ragi same?

No. Kodra is kodo millet, varagu in Tamil and arikelu in Telugu; ragi is finger millet, the grain called nachni in Marathi and kelvaragu in Tamil on the ICAR-IIMR lists. They are different plants with different names in every language, even though both are millets.

Can kodo millet be cooked like rice?

Yes. Kodo millet cooks like any small whole grain: rinse it, boil it in water and cook until the water is absorbed or the grains are tender, then serve it the way you would rice, with dal or curry. One ready recipe is the kodo millet khichdi.