Maize in Hindi (makki): names in English and other Indian languages

One line per language: Hindi makka, in everyday speech makki; English maize; Marathi maka; Gujarati makai; Punjabi chhali; Bengali bhutta; Odia maka; Assamese makoi; Kannada mekke jola; Telugu mokkajonna; Tamil makka cholam; Malayalam maize; Urdu makai; Sanskrit yaavanaala. The botanical name is Zea mays, and IFCT 2017 lists the grain under food code A006.

Every row of the table below comes from IFCT 2017's local-names list for maize. IFCT's Hindi entry prints makka, while everyday speech says makki; COWBERRY's product page calls the grain Organic Maize (Makki).

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

Makki in English is maize. The same grain is also called corn, and both words name Zea mays, one plant, not two. IFCT 2017's English entry prints 'Maize, dry', the dried whole grain that Indian kitchens store, mill and cook.

The botanical name Zea mays is the one scientists use across languages, which is why a 2024 research review on pigmented corn, a grain with more than 250 breeds on the American continent, still names it Zea mays. For the full word story, see the maize vs corn page.

Hindi prints makka in IFCT's list, and the same grain turns into makki in everyday use, the form in makki ki roti; COWBERRY's maize product page says the grain is locally known as makki. In IFCT's list the Punjabi name is chhali and the Urdu name is makai.

The atta made from the grain keeps the Hindi name: makki ka atta, the flour of maize. 'Makki atta' names the same flour, which the makki atta vs corn flour page untangles from Western corn flour.

West India: Gujarati makai and Marathi maka. South India: Tamil makka cholam, Telugu mokkajonna, Kannada mekke jola and Malayalam maize. East India: Bengali bhutta, Odia maka and Assamese makoi, and the Sanskrit name is yaavanaala.

The table above holds all of them with IFCT 2017 as the source, so a shopper or a recipe reader can match the packet to the language. One practical note: COWBERRY's product page names the grain Organic Maize (Makki), the English and Hindi words side by side.

Three words get swapped with makki in shops and searches. Corn is the same grain under its other English name, sorted out on the maize vs corn page. Wheat is a different cereal: makki atta is naturally gluten-free, while wheat atta is not, since gluten is found in wheat, barley and rye. Bajra is pearl millet and jowar is sorghum, two millets with their own names and pages.

The test is quick: if the ingredient list says maize, corn or makki, it is this grain, Zea mays; if it says wheat, bajra or jowar, it is a different cereal.

COWBERRY's maize comes from Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, and its maize flour is stone-ground from maize grown in Punjab. In the world rankings, the ICAR millets review places maize among the top cereals: it calls sorghum the fifth major cereal of the world after maize, paddy, wheat and barley, per FAO production data of 2014.

The makki (maize) hub page carries the rest of the story, nutrition to recipes.

What is makki?

Makki is maize: the everyday Hindi name of the grain whose formal Hindi entry in IFCT 2017 is makka, with English maize and the botanical name Zea mays. The same grain is also called corn, and in Indian kitchens it becomes makki ki roti and makki ka atta.

What is makki ka atta?

The Hindi name of maize flour. Makki ka atta is milled from dried maize (corn) kernels, and it is the flour behind makki ki roti; COWBERRY sells it stone-ground from Punjab-grown maize, raised with cow-based natural farming.

What is makki called in English?

Maize. IFCT 2017's English entry prints 'Maize, dry' for the dried grain, and the same grain is also called corn; both English words name Zea mays. So makki in English is maize or corn, one grain under two words.

Is maize and corn same?

Yes. Maize and corn are two names for one grain, Zea mays: IFCT 2017 prints 'Maize, dry' as the English name, and research reviews call the same grain corn. The two words describe the same kernels, flour and rotis.

Why maize is called queen of cereals?

The phrase turns up often in searches, but neither IFCT 2017 nor the ICAR millets review gives an origin or author for 'queen of cereals'. What the ICAR review does record is more modest: maize is among the world's major cereals by FAO production data, ahead of sorghum. So read the title as a popular saying rather than a confirmed fact.

Does makki atta have gluten?

No. Makki atta is maize flour, and maize is naturally gluten-free; COWBERRY's maize product page states the same. Wheat atta is different, since gluten is found in wheat, barley and rye, which is what sets the two flours apart in a gluten-free kitchen.