Millet Names in Kannada: Navane, Saame, Oodalu & More
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If you are looking for millet names in Kannada, this is the quick reference. Millets as a group are known in Kannada as ಸಿರಿಧಾನ್ಯ (siridhanya) — ಧಾನ್ಯ (dhanya) means grain, and siri carries the sense of wealth or prosperity. Every Kannada name below is verified against our own millet names in Indian languages glossary.
Millet names in Kannada — full chart
| English | Kannada (ಕನ್ನಡ) | Also known as |
|---|---|---|
| Foxtail millet | ನವಣೆ (Navane) | Korralu (Telugu), Thinai, Kangni |
| Little millet | ಸಾಮೆ (Saame) | Samalu, Samai, Kutki |
| Kodo millet | ಹಾರಕ (Harka) | Arikelu, Varagu, Kodra |
| Barnyard millet | ಊದಲು (Oodalu) | Udalu, Kuthiraivali, Samak |
| Browntop millet | ಕೊರಲೆ (Korale) | Andu Korralu, Pala Payaru |
| Proso millet | ಬರಗು (Baragu) | Varigalu, Pani Varagu, Cheena |
| Finger millet | ರಾಗಿ (Ragi) | Ragulu, Kezhvaragu, Nachni |
| Sorghum | ಜೋಳ (Jola) | Jonnalu, Cholam, Jowar |
| Pearl millet | ಸಜ್ಜೆ (Sajje) | Sajjalu, Kambu, Bajra |
Spelling and transliteration vary between regions; the forms above follow the Orggu glossary. For browntop specifically, see our fuller guide to browntop millet in Kannada (Korale).
Where the word "siridhanya" comes from
Kannada is the language the term siridhanya actually comes from, which is worth saying plainly because it is now used across India in English and Telugu too. It refers specifically to the smaller millets rather than to every millet: ನವಣೆ (navane), ಸಾಮೆ (saame), ಹಾರಕ (harka), ಊದಲು (oodalu) and ಕೊರಲೆ (korale) — foxtail, little, kodo, barnyard and browntop. These five are the ones grouped as siridhanya in the positive-millets framework popularised by Dr Khadar Vali.
ರಾಗಿ (ragi), ಜೋಳ (jola) and ಸಜ್ಜೆ (sajje) — finger millet, sorghum and pearl millet — are millets too, and older staples in Karnataka than any of the five above, but they are usually counted separately from the siridhanya group. If you have seen a "siridhanya list" that runs to five items and wondered where ragi went, that is why. Our guide to the Dr Khadar Vali millet diet sets out the framework in full.
These names in a Karnataka kitchen
ರಾಗಿ (ragi) needs no introduction here — ragi mudde is a daily meal across much of the state, and our ragi mudde recipe covers it. ಜೋಳ (jola) turns up as rotti in North Karnataka, and ಸಜ್ಜೆ (sajje) through the drier districts.
The siridhanya five are mostly cooked in place of rice — ನವಣೆ and ಸಾಮೆ take well to bisi bele bath, pongal and upma, and ಊದಲು cooks fastest of the lot. If you are cooking them for the first time, the soaking times and water ratios differ by millet and matter more than they do for rice: our guide to cooking millets has the chart.
Buy these millets, unpolished
Shop unpolished millets · Positive (Siridhanya) millets · new to them? how to cook millets.
ಸಿರಿಧಾನ್ಯಗಳ ಕನ್ನಡ ಹೆಸರುಗಳು: ನವಣೆ (foxtail), ಸಾಮೆ (little), ಹಾರಕ (kodo), ಊದಲು (barnyard), ಕೊರಲೆ (browntop), ಬರಗು (proso). ಜೊತೆಗೆ ರಾಗಿ (finger), ಜೋಳ (sorghum), ಸಜ್ಜೆ (pearl). ಎಲ್ಲವೂ ಪೌಷ್ಟಿಕ ಮತ್ತು ಗ್ಲುಟನ್ ರಹಿತ.
The same millets in other languages
Looking for these names in another language? We have the same chart for Telugu, Tamil, Hindi and Gujarati, and the full multi-language glossary puts all of them side by side.
Sources & References
- Orggu millet-names glossary (verified regional names across Indian languages)
- Indian Food Composition Tables (2017) — National Institute of Nutrition (NIN), Hyderabad / ICMR
