Introducing millets: the grains before history

Before there were endless fields of rice, and before the golden waves of wheat, there were millets - tiny, unassuming seeds that quietly fed our ancestors, built empires, and traveled continents long before anyone wrote a recipe down.

Today, they’re often called “ancient grains,” but that’s selling them short. Millets aren’t just old - they’re deeply old. We’re talking 7,000 to 10,000 years of human history, from the Indus Valley to the Yellow River, from African savannahs to Deccan plateaus. They’ve been breakfast porridge, festival sweets, and the grain you could count on when nothing else would grow.

The First Domesticated Grains

If you picture early farmers, you might imagine them bent over rice paddies or wheat fields. But the archaeological record tells a different story.

Northern China, ~7000 BCE – Foxtail and proso millet were cultivated before rice had its big moment.
African Sahel, ~3000 BCE – Pearl millet was thriving in sandy, drought-prone soils.
India, ~3000 BCE – Little millet and kodo millet were being grown by farmers who knew exactly how to coax food from dry land.

By the Bronze Age, India’s farmlands were a crossroads - local small millets met African pearl millet and sorghum via ancient trade routes. A true grain exchange program, centuries before globalization was a thing.

Why We Don’t Find More Millet in Excavations

You’d think that after thousands of years, we’d be swimming in millet evidence. Not so. Millet grains are tiny, fragile, and don’t always survive the millennia. Often, archaeologists find them indirectly: as impressions in ancient pottery or as carbonized traces stuck in hearths. They’re the quiet, shy guests of the archaeological party.

And yet, enough has survived to prove their starring role in early diets.

Millets in the Indus Valley

The farmers of the Indus Valley Civilization (3300–1700 BCE) weren’t just growing barley and wheat. They had finger millet in their fields and pearl millet arriving from Africa. Harappan granaries stored them; kitchen fires cooked them. In Gujarat, a site called Rojdi shows millet farming in action, proof that these grains could thrive in semi-arid landscapes where rice would sulk.

Millets in Early Indian Life

By the time the Vedas were composed (~1200 BCE), millets were already part of the cultural fabric. The Yajurveda name-checks foxtail, barnyard, and black finger millet. Poets scattered millet seeds in blessings. Economists like Kautilya praised them for swelling up when cooked (three times their size — the original budget-friendly pantry item).

Millets weren’t just food; they were symbolism, sustenance, and social glue. They showed up in:

Folk Tales – In the 1500s, poet Kanakadasa wrote Ramadhanya Charitre, where rice and ragi (finger millet) have a showdown - and millet wins for feeding the masses!
Harvest Festivals – Makar Sankranti in some regions features millet sweets and breads. Indigenous tribes have always featured millets in harvest festivities. There is often a practice of setting some millet crop aside for birds on the farms.
Rituals – Millet porridge for new mothers; millet grain as part of wedding gifts.
Fasts – “allowed” grains during Navratri, keeping devotees nourished while honoring tradition.

The Decline

So what happened?

Colonial trade, British rule in India and farming policies tilted fields toward cash crops that could scale. Then came the Green Revolution in the 1960s: high-yield rice and wheat got center stage, while millets were rebranded as “coarse grains” — the food of the poor.

In just a few decades, they slid from everyday staple to a footnote in most Indian kitchens.

The (Very Welcome) Comeback

The story doesn’t end there. With climate change, water scarcity, and a renewed interest in nutrient-dense foods, millets are making a dramatic return. In 2023 - declared the International Year of Millets by United Nations - India stepped up as the world’s largest producer.

Thanks to indigenous tribes and conservation efforts from millet farmers, we still have access to several kinds of millets all across India.

Today, chefs, farmers, and home cooks are rediscovering millets’ nutty flavor, versatility, and adaptability. They’re not just part of the past - they may be the grain of the future.

Why This Matters to Us at PODI life

We see millets the way our ancestors did: as little powerhouses of resilience and flavor. They remind us that food history is full of quiet heroes - ingredients that shaped cultures long before they had Instagrammable moments.

Next time you stir millet into a dosa batter or make a warm millet salad, remember: you’re part of a 9,000-year-old story.

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