As the world becomes more health-conscious, the need for nutrient-rich food is soaring too. In this article, we will be discussing Kodo Millet, which is an ancient superfood and enriches with lots of nutrition. So, without further adieu, let’s dive into the Kodo Millet Benefits, its nutritional value, side effects, uses, and some lip-smacking recipes too.
In recent times, Kodo Millet has regained its lost glory and is in demand due to its numerous nutritional values, having several uses, and various health benefits too. Due to this reason, it is making a sort of comeback into the kitchen again.
What is Kodo Millet ?
Kodo Millet’s scientific name or botanical name is Paspalum Scrobiculatum, and it belongs to the family of Poaceae. It is also known as cow grass or rice grass. Kodo Millet grass can grow up to four feet tall.
Millets are not a fad of modern times; they have a rich history and have been cultivated in India for several thousands of years. They are always around for human consumption. Kodo millet can produce between 450 and 900 kg of grain per hectare of land.
Kodo Millet is a drought-resistant and highly resilient grain that can be cultivated in any conditions, and just like most of the staple millets, Kodo Millet too needs minimal pesticides for cultivation. So, it can be termed as pest-resistant crop.
It is a wholesome diet because it has all essential nutrients that are required for healthy functioning of the body, and like other staple millets, Kodo millet is also gluten-free and has been a dietary part in many cultures for several centuries.
There are countless benefits of Kodo millet if you consume it on a regular basis, such as that it supports kidney function, acts as an immunity booster and blood purifier, helps in figting anemia due to the presence of higher iron levels, and aids in diabetes management too.
Moreover, Kudo millet benefits are also packed with powerful antioxidants, which may prevent many chronic conditions like heart disease and bad cholesterol.
Kodo Millet Nutritional Value per 100gm
| Nutrients | Value per 100g |
| Protein | 9 |
| Fibre | 10 |
| Fat | 3.6 |
| Carbohydrate | 66.6 |
| Ash | 2.95gm |
| Iron | 0.5mg |
| Calcium | 27mg |
| Minerals | 4.4gm |
| Phosphorus | 188mg |
| Niacin | 2.0mg |
| Riboflavin | 0.09mg |
| Calorific Value | 346kcal |
| Sodium | 3.48mg |
Kodo Millet is known by different names in different languages, which are as follows:
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- Sanskrit: Kodrava
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- Hindi: Kodo
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- Gujarati: Kodro
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- Kannada: Harka
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- Telugu: Arikalu
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- Tamil: Varagu
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- Punjabi: Kodra
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- Malayalam: Varak
Kodo Millet Benefits/ Benefits of Kodo Millet
Kodo Millet There are countless Kodo Millet Benefits, which we are going to discuss here. If you consume Kodo Millet on a regular basis, it will support kidney function, act as an immunity booster and blood purifier, help in figting anemia due to the presence of higher iron levels, and aid in diabetes management too.
Moreover, there are many other Kudo Millet benefits too, which are also packed with powerful antioxidants, which may prevent many chronic conditions like heart disease and bad cholesterol. So, without waiting any further, let’s have a detailed analysis of the benefits of Kodo millets:
Keeps Kidney Healthy/ Kodo Millet Benefits kidney Health
Kodo millet keeps kidney disorders at bay because it has low potassium levels, high fiber content, and helps in reducing uric acid formation too. The antioxidants present in it help in purifying the blood and preventing the stone formation in the kidneys and gallbladder.
Kodo Millet Maintains Heart Healthy
Kodo millet is full of fibre, potassium, phytochemicals, magnesium, and antioxidants. So, consuming it on a regular basis not only maintains/keeps the heart healthy, but it also protects the heart from bad cholesterol, cardiovascular problems, blood pressure, and many other chronic diseases.
Managing/control Diabetes
If you have diabetes, Kodo millet is good for you as it will help you in maintaining diabetes because it has a low glycemic index and natural antioxidant like polyphenol content, which will help in reducing blood sugar levels.
If you take Kodo Millet in a balanced way with an appropriate quantity and not in excess, it will slowly release sugar into the blood streams, which will help in keeping blood sugar levels steady by preventing the spikes, making it a good choice or beneficial for individuals controlling type 2 diabetes.
Aids in Weight Loss
Anyone who wants to lose those extra pounds or prevent obesity must include millets in their diet. Like other millets, Kodo millets too are naturally low in calories and gluten-free. Thanks to the presence of high fiber and higher antioxidant content, they are very useful and are an ideal superfood for a weight-loss journey.
Makes Gut Healthy
Kodo millet is anti-acidic and rich in dietary fibre too, which means they support good bacteria in the gut, and including them in your meal on a day-to-day basis can result in lowering the risk of gastrointestinal issues arising in the body.
As it’s high on fibre and anti-acidic too, issues like constipation, bloating, cramping, gastric disorders, excess gas, and bowel-related issues do not have any scope to crop up as they are already eliminated.
Helps in Healing Wounds
Using Kodo millet flour paste (flour with water) on external wounds is an age old home remedy to heal the wounds.
Anti-Ageing
Kodo millet is a natural anti-aging food. It is packed with special nutrients like fiber, methionine, calcium, iron, and polyphenols, due to the presence of these components in abundance.
It helps repair your body’s cells, slow down the aging process, and protect you from age-related diseases by helping genetic repair, protein glycation, and stem-responsive pathways.
Reduces Risk of Cancer
Kodo Millet has nutraceutical health benefits, and many studies have suggested that it will reduce the risk of cancer. While more research is needed, we need to explore further and keep studying and gathering more scientific evidence regarding its usefulness and potential to reduce the risk of cancer.
But it’s clear that it does help cancer patients through dietary management, as the Kodo Millets diet can minimize the side effects of chemotherapy, making it a valuable addition to a healthy diet.
Help in chronic ailments
It is packed with powerful antioxidants, which may prevent many chronic ailments like cardiovascular problems, blood pressure, kidney disorders, heart disease, and bad cholesterol.
Improve Skin and Bone Health
It is packed with special nutrients like vitamin B6, methionine, niacin, fiber, calcium, iron, magnesium, folic acid, and polyphenols, which help in maintaining a healthy body. So, if you consume kodo millet on a regular basis, It improves bone health and acts as a blood purifier, which helps with skin diseases.
Ways to Incorporate Kodo Millet in your Diet
Kodo millet porridge: You can start your day with a healthy Kodo millet porridge. It is the most wholesome, filling, and healthy breakfast option, which contains many nutritional benefits.
You can cook kodo millet with milk and add your favorite fresh fruits, nuts, and sweeteners like honey or maple syrup. This hearty and satisfying breakfast will keep you energized all morning long.
Kodo millet flour in baking: You can use Kodo millet flour in many baked dishes. You can easily replace refined flour with it in your baked recipes like pudding, cookies, breads, and even pancakes. You can also mix it with wheat flour to make delicious and nutritious rotis too.
Rice Alternative: Kodo millet is a healthier alternative to rice. You can cook it just like rice, and it is packed with essential nutritions like high fiber, proteins, and antioxidants, which keep your heart healthy and maintain blood sugar levels.
You can easily replace rice with kodo millet in dishes like pulao, biryani, kheer, pongal, and kesari.
Gluten-free Rotis: You can grind kodo millet into flour and use this gluten-free flour to make delicious and nutritious rotis. You can also use this flour to make halwa, chila, etc.
Nutrient-rich: Kodo millet can make your idli and dosa batter even more nutrious because using kodo millet in your batter will make the idli and dosa more healthier as it is rich in fiber and contains many essential nutrients. It is easy to ferment and cook, just like regular batter.
Medicinal Uses: There are numerous uses of Kodo millet if we include it in our diet. It does support kidney function, and it also prevents many chronic conditions like diabetes, cholesterol, and heart disease. It acts as an immunity booster, a blood purifier, and helps in fighting anemia and inflammation.
Traditionally, Kodo millet flour paste is used externally on wounds to heal them.
Kodo Millet Receipes/ Best Kodo Millet Receipes/ Kodo Millet dishes
As we all know, Kodo millet is not only healthy and nutrient but tasty too. We can use it to make different varieties of dishes like Kheer, Dosa, Pongal, Idli, Payasam, and upma.
Kodo Millet Kheer
Kheer is one of the most loved Indian desserts. It is quite common in Indian households. Our Kodo millet kheer recipe is a delicious variation of traditional kheer.
Here, we will guide you to make a healthy and nutrious kodo millet kheer recipe in the most simple and easy steps.
Ingredients
- Milk (dairy/almond/cashew/coconut): 4 cups
- De-husked Kodo Millet (use fresh and de-husked Kodo Millet): 1/4 cups
- Sweetener (jaggery/white sugar/brown sugar/stevia/dates puree/coconut sugar)
- Sliced dry fruits (as per your choice: cashews, raisins, almonds, and pistachios)
- Cardamom pods or powder: 2-3 pods or 1/4 tsp.
- Pinch of saffron strands
- Ghee (1 tbsp)
Cooking Method :
- Firstly, rinse Kodo Millet properly, and after that, soak it for 30-40 minutes.
- Take a nonstick pan and heat one tablespoon of ghee, then add cashews and raisins and sauté until golden brown in color. set aside.
- Take a heavy bottom pan and pour milk of your choice and let it simmer on a low flame till the milk starts thickening or reducing.
- Add drained kodo millet into the boiling milk and mix well. Let it fully cook. Now add cardamom pods and roasted dryfruit nuts and mix till well combined.
- Keep stirring after regular intervals to avoid burning kheer at the bottom, and also make sure that malai does not stick at the corners of the pan and mix till all the ingredients are well combined.
- Add your choice of sweetener, mix, and cook till the sweetener is well combined with other ingredients.
- Now check whether the consistency is as per your liking; if not, adjust it by adding milk or water to make it perfect.
- Transfer the kheer to a serving bowl and garnish with blanched pistachios, sliced cashews, almonds, raisins, and saffron strands.
Kodo Millet Dosa
Dosa is one of the healthiest breakfast or meal options available, which is liked by everyone. You can make different varieties of dosas, but today we are going to share with you the Kodo Millet Dosa recipe, which is just as tasty as the regular dosa but more healthy and nutritious compared to regular rice dosa. It can easily go with chutney, sambhar.
Also, Kodo Millet dosa tastes best when we eat it hot and cook it with ghee insteaad of oil.
Ingredients
- Kodo Millet
- Urad Dal
- Methi seeds (Fenugreek seeds)
- Salt
- Ghee/ Oil
Cooking Instructions:
- Rinse well and soak Kodo millet, urad dal, and methi seeds in a separate bowl for at least 4 hours.
- Drain the water and grind the soaked urad dal and methi (along with the soaked water of methi) till it turns into a smooth batter, while adding water as required, and set it aside in a large bowl.
- Add drained kodo millet into the blender with water till it turns into a smooth paste. Now, pour it into the same bowl with the other ingredients, add salt to the batter, and mix it well till well combined.
- Keep the batter in a warm spot to ferment for good 8-10 hours.
- Once the batter is fermented, stir the batter and add water if it is too thick, but do not make the batter run.
- Take a nonstick pan and heat it on medium flame, and sprinkle oil all over to check whether the pan is heated or not.
- Once heated, just pour the ladle of dosa batter onto the pan and spread it around in circles to make a thin dosa.
- Pour a little oil or ghee on the edges of dosa and let it cook until its surface turns golden brown and crispy underneath. It will not take more than 2-3 minutes to cook it properly.
- Flip the dosa for a minute till it cooked through and properly.
- Fold the dosa as per your liking, then plate it and serve it piping hot with your choice of chutney, sambhar.
Kodo Millet Upma
One of the easiest ways to consume kodo millet is by making upma with kodo millet. Having upma in breakfast is quite common in Indian households. Kodo millet upma is a wholesome breakfast that can be made with few ingredients and in quick time too.
Ingredients Kodo Millet Upma:
- 1 Cup Kodo Millet
- 2 cups water
- 2 tbsp cooking oil
- 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
- 1 big onion
- 3 tablespoons carrot, finely chopped
- 5 beans finely chopped
- 2 green chilis, slit
- 1 teaspoon ginger, very finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon broken cashews
- 1/4 cup roasted peanuts
- 1 sprig of curry leaves
- 1/4 chopped coriander leaves
- Salt/Himalayan pink salt
- 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
Cooking Instructions:
- Wash and soak the kodo millet for 30 minutes in water, then drain the water completely and set the soaked kodo millet aside.
- Heat a kadai, or pan, and pour oil into it and let it sizzle on medium-high heat. After that, add mustard seeds and curry leaves and let it splutter.
- Now fry the onion, green chili, and ginger till the onion becomes translucent.
- Add the chopped vegetables and fry them for minutes on a low flame.
- After that, add water, salt, turmeric, and cashews. Bring the water to a boil. Now, add the soaked kodo millet to the boiling water.
- Cover the kadai or pan with a lid/plate and cook it for 10-15 minutes, or until the kodo millet becomes fluffy and the water dries up.
- Now open the lid and add the roasted peanuts and fresh coriander leaves. Mix it well.
- Serve it hot with mint and coriander chutney or any chutney/pickle as per your liking.
Kodo Millet Side Effects/ Side Effects of Kodo Millet
There are numerous health benefits of kodo millet but there are some side effects too, which we are going to discuss here:
Digestion issue: Kodo millet is high on fibre, just like any other millets, which is a good thing for proper bowel movements and slow digestion, but excessive consumption will lead to irregular bowel movements and lots of other digestive issues like gas, bloating, or cramps.
But this issue can be sorted out if you gradually increase kodo millet intake along with proper water consumption.
Thyroid issue: Kodo millet too contains a substance called goitrogen, just like any other millets, which sometimes affects the effectiveness of the thyroid gland. So, it is advisable for people who are on an anti-diabetic or thyroid treatment to consult a doctor before consuming it.
Though kodo millet is very nutritious and has many benefits, you must take it in moderate quantity because excessive consumption can lead to adverse effects.
Interrupt Nutrition Absorption: Generally all millet contains anti-nutrients that interrupt nutrition absorption in the body. Kodo millet too contains anti-nutrients like phytic acid and tannins, which interrupt the absorption of minerals like zinc, iron, calcium, magnesium, and other nutrients into the body.
To counter these deficiencies in the body, you have to incorporate vitamin C-enriched fruits and vegetables in your daily routine or Alternatively, soaking, sprouting, and fermenting kodo millet before cooking can reduce the phytic acid and tannins present in it.
Allergic reaction: In general, consuming kodo millet is safe for most individuals, but some may experience an allergic reaction to components like oxalates, gluten, and cyclopiazonic acids that are present in kodo millet.
If you are experiencing any symptoms such as skin rashes, swelling, itching, or breathing difficulties, then immediately discontinue taking it and seek medical advice.
Infested Concern: Consuming kodo millet that is cross-contaminated during processing or infested may lead you to food poisoning. So, it is very crucial to opt for good-quality, certified Kodo millet.
How to Enhance Kodo Millet Nutrition
It is very important to preserve the nutritional value of kodo millet to get the complete benefits of it. So, the best way to preserve the nutritional value of kodo millet is by using the following methods:
- Start by rinsing the kodo millet with plain, normal water so that the dust and dirt get separated.
- Then soaked the millet in drinkable water for overnight or 6–8 hours.
- Lastly, use the drained millet as per your requirement, but don’t discard soaked water; instead, utilize the millet water in cooking because it consists of many nutritious minerals and antioxidants.
Name of Kodo Millet in Different Languages
Kodo millet in Sanskrit – Kodrava
Kodo Millet in Hindi – Kodo
Kodo Millet in Bengali – Kodo
Kodo Millet in Gujarat – Kodro
Kodo Millet telugu – Arikelu
Kodo millet in tamil – Varagu
Kodo Millet in Punjabi – Kodra
Kodo Millet in Kannada – Arka
Kodo Millet in Odia – Kodua
Kodo Millet in Marathi – Kodra
Kodo millet in Malayalam – Varak
Kodo Millet Botanical Name – Paspalum Scrobiculatum
FAQ: Kodo Millet
Can we eat kodo millet in fast
Yes, we can eat kodo millet during fasting because it is a seed, not a grain, and one of the few cereals that is allowed to be eaten during navratri, shravan, or any other fast except nirajal vrat (without water).
Can we eat kodo millet during pregnancy
Yes, Kodo millet is generally safe to eat during pregnancy because it is rich in nutritional benefits such as calcium, iron, phosphorus, and other minerals that are important during pregnancy and are essential for the growth and development of the fetus. but to consume them in moderation.
Can we eat kodo millet daily
Yes, you can eat kodo millet on a daily basis, but in moderate quantity. You can eat and cook kodo millet in a similar way as rice or other grains, but it is good to consult a doctor or healthcare provider to ensure that they fit into your overall diet plan.
Is kodo millet good for babies/can we give kodo millet to baby
Yes, it is. As soon as the baby is ready to be fed with solids, which is generally around or after 6 months. We can introduce or start giving Kodo Millet to them. It is a healthy addition to children’s diet because of the essential nutrients present in it.
Is Kodo Millet better than rice
Kodo millet is considered a healthier alternative in comparison to rice because it is packed with essential nutrients and has a low glycemic index, but it is a tad hard to cook because it requires an exact amount of water to get the grainy texture of rice.
Kodo millet is considered a healthier alternative because it has a low glycemic index and, in comparison to rice, contains higher essential nutrients. But it is a tad hard to cook because it requires the exact amount of water to get the grainy texture of rice.
Is Kodo Millet good for uric acid
Kodo millet is high in fibre and contains a low potassium level, which in a way is very helpful in reducing the uric acid from the body and helping in kidney disorders.