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Various kinds of millet are raised as grain
crops in drier regions of India and Sri Lanka. Millet is called bajra
in northern India and ragi in southern India and follows rice and wheat
in importance as a food crop. The main types are bulrush or pearl millet
(Pennisetum typhoideum) and finger millet (Eleusine coracana).
Bulrush millet has a cylindrical ear
resembling a bulrush. It is an important crop in the driest areas of
India and Pakistan. In northern India millet flour is mixed with atta
for breads or hulled whole grains are cooked as a pilau. It provides
vitamin B, iron, phosphorus and lecithin and is higher in protein than
rice, oats and corn.
Finger millet, called kurakkan in the
Sinhalese language, is carried on an erect sedge about 1 meter in
height. It bears its seeds on 5 spikes which radiate from a central
point. It produces round, reddish grains, Commonly cultivated in Sri
Lanka, India (especially in Mysore) and Malaysia, where it is called
ragi.
The grain is considered a healthy addition
to local diets and is purchased in the form of a reddish-brown flour
which is mixed with rice flour to make Pittu. When storing with grains
and flours which are not in everyday use, it is a good idea to store
them in the refrigerator, especially during summer to prevent weevil
infestations. Indian grocers usually have a choice of hulled millet
grains, millet meal, or a mixture of millet and atta flour. The Western
health food store version of millet meal is usually a much coarser grain
than that offered at Indian shops and will make a rougher and drier
chapati.
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