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Jowar (sorghum)

Sorghum bicolor
Teluguజొన్నలు JonnaluHindiज्वार JowarTamilசோளம் CholamKannadaಜೋಳ JolaMarathiज्वारी Jwari

Names: ICAR-Indian Institute of Millets Research

Pictures

Jowar (sorghum): The grain
The grain — from: "Sorghum rice (1).jpg" by Fumikas Sagisavas, Wikimedia Commons (commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sorghum_rice_(1).jpg) · CC0
Jowar (sorghum): The plant
The plant — from: "Red grain sorghum crop at Joe Reed's field in Edmonson, Texas. (25117104155).jpg" by USDA NRCS Texas, Wikimedia Commons (commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Red_grain_sorghum_crop_at_Joe_Reed's_field_in_Edmonson,_Texas._(25117104155).jpg) · Public domain
Jowar (sorghum): An old botanical plate
An old botanical plate — from: "Sorghum bicolor illustration (01).jpg" by Nicolaus Thomas Host (Icones et descriptiones graminum austriacorum, 1801-1809; plates by…, Wikimedia Commons (commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sorghum_bicolor_illustration_(01).jpg) · Public domain

Nutrition of the raw grain, per 100 g

Energy334 kcal
Protein9.97 g
Fat1.73 g
Carbohydrate (available)67.68 g
Dietary fibre (total)10.22 g
Calcium27.6 mg
Iron3.95 mg
Magnesium133 mg
Phosphorus274 mg
Zinc1.96 mg

Source: Indian Food Composition Tables 2017, ICMR-National Institute of Nutrition, food code A005. Energy converted from kilojoules (1 kcal = 4.184 kJ).

Every nutrient in the raw grain — 93 values, per 100 g

Energy, protein, fat, carbohydrate, fibre9
Water (moisture)9.01 g
Protein9.97 g
Ash (total minerals)1.39 g
Fat1.73 g
Dietary fibre (total)10.22 g
Insoluble fibre8.49 g
Soluble fibre1.73 g
Carbohydrate (available)67.68 g
Energy1398 kJ
Starch and sugars6
Available carbohydrate (starch + sugars)60.96 g
Starch59.7 g
Fructose0.57 g
Glucose0.1 g
Sucrose0.6 g
Free sugars (total)1.27 g

Not detected in this grain (the table leaves it blank or zero): Maltose.

Minerals5
Calcium27.6 mg
Magnesium133 mg
Phosphorus274 mg
Potassium328 mg
Sodium5.42 mg
Trace elements8
Chromium0.01 mg
Cobalt0.012 mg
Copper0.45 mg
Iron3.95 mg
Manganese1.19 mg
Molybdenum0.042 mg
Selenium26.29 µg
Zinc1.96 mg
Vitamins12
Thiamine (B1)0.35 mg
Riboflavin (B2)0.14 mg
Niacin (B3)2.1 mg
Pantothenic acid (B5)0.27 mg
Vitamin B60.28 mg
Biotin (B7)0.7 µg
Folate (B9)39.42 µg
Vitamin D2 (ergocalciferol)3.96 µg
Vitamin E: alpha-tocopherol0.04 mg
Vitamin E: gamma-tocopherol0.27 mg
Vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol equivalents)0.06 mg
Vitamin K143.82 µg

Not detected in this grain (the table leaves it blank or zero): Vitamin E: alpha-tocotrienol, Vitamin E: beta-tocopherol, Vitamin E: delta-tocopherol, Vitamin E: gamma-tocotrienol.

Carotenoids4
Lutein9.08 µg
Zeaxanthin7.48 µg
Beta-carotene8.29 µg
Carotenoids (total)212 µg
Amino acids18 · g per 100 g of protein
Histidine2.07 g
Isoleucine3.45 g
Leucine12.03 g
Lysine2.31 g
Methionine1.52 g
Cystine1.06 g
Phenylalanine5.1 g
Threonine2.96 g
Tryptophan1.03 g
Valine4.51 g
Alanine9.19 g
Arginine3.96 g
Aspartic acid7.09 g
Glutamic acid21.54 g
Glycine3.08 g
Proline6.99 g
Serine4.02 g
Tyrosine3.61 g
Fatty acids8
Palmitic acid (C16:0)149 mg
Stearic acid (C18:0)14.22 mg
Oleic acid (C18:1)314 mg
Linoleic acid (C18:2, omega-6)508 mg
Alpha-linolenic acid (C18:3, omega-3)16.54 mg
Saturated fat (total)163 mg
Monounsaturated fat (total)314 mg
Polyunsaturated fat (total)524 mg

Not detected in this grain (the table leaves it blank or zero): Arachidic acid (C20:0), Behenic acid (C22:0), Capric acid (C10:0), Eicosenoic acid (C20:1), Erucic acid (C22:1), Lauric acid (C12:0), Lignoceric acid (C24:0), Myristic acid (C14:0), Myristoleic acid (C14:1), Palmitoleic acid (C16:1).

Organic acids6
Oxalate (total)28.38 mg
Oxalate (soluble)24.62 mg
Oxalate (insoluble)1.72 mg
Fumaric acid1.84 mg
Malic acid0.51 mg
Succinic acid3.88 mg

Not detected in this grain (the table leaves it blank or zero): Citric acid, Quinic acid, Tartaric acid, cis-Aconitic acid.

Polyphenols11
3,4-Dihydroxybenzoic acid0.02 mg
3-Hydroxybenzaldehyde0.02 mg
Protocatechuic acid0.07 mg
Vanillic acid1.76 mg
Gallic acid0.06 mg
p-Coumaric acid1.84 mg
Caffeic acid1.69 mg
Chlorogenic acid4.04 mg
Ferulic acid1.59 mg
Apigenin0.07 mg
Polyphenols (total)23.25 mg

Not detected in this grain (the table leaves it blank or zero): Apigenin-7-O-neohesperidoside, Catechin, Cinnamic acid, Isorhamnetin, Kaempferol, Luteolin, Quercetin, Quercetin-3-galactoside, Quercetin-3-glucoside, Quercetin-3-rutinoside (rutin), Sinapic acid, o-Coumaric acid.

Phytosterols3
Campesterol21.59 mg
Stigmasterol5.31 mg
Beta-sitosterol38.27 mg
Other compounds3
Raffinose0.02 g
Stachyose0.01 g
Phytate549 mg

Not detected in this grain (the table leaves it blank or zero): Saponins (total).

Source, one for the whole list: Indian Food Composition Tables 2017, ICMR-NIN. Values exactly as the table prints them; published values for the grain, not a laboratory test of our packs. Tap a name for what it is and does.

In the Vedas and Sanskrit texts

  • Rājanighaṇṭu, Śālyādivarga 59-65 — Gives yāvanāla with synonyms (jūrṇāhvaya, devadhānya) and its white, red, tuvara and autumn kinds. (the Sanskrit text)
  • Rājanighaṇṭu, Śālyādivarga 140-141 — Parched grains (dhānā) made from wheat and yāvanāla are described as a class. (the Sanskrit text)
  • Rājanighaṇṭu, Śālyādivarga 145-146 — Flattened grains (cipiṭa) made from heated yāvanāla and śāli grain are named as a class. (the Sanskrit text)
  • Rājanighaṇṭu, Śālyādivarga 149-150 — Heated half-ripe grains of mung, wheat, chickpea and yāvanāla are named as a class. (the Sanskrit text)
  • Rājanighaṇṭu, Pānīyādivarga 98-106 — Juice of the yāvanāla stalk, a jaggery boiled from it, and a sugar called yāvanālī; stalk products, not grain. (the Sanskrit text)

Each line is our summary of the passage, with its reference. Health and medicinal statements in these texts are left out.

Where it comes from

  • Sorghum cultivation originated in the eastern Sudanese savannah; Nigeria, the USA and Sudan are the largest producers today. (FAO, International Year of Millets 2023 - About)
  • The earliest domesticated sorghum finds known are from India, e.g. Rojdi (Gujarat), and from Kawa in the Nubian Nile valley (first millennium BC). (Weber SA & Fuller DQ, 'Millets and their role in early agriculture')

In India’s old books

  • Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary: 'yava-nala m. Andropogon Bicolor or Sorghum, Susr.; barley-straw (?), W.' (Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries)
  • Rajanighantu: 16.59 'yavanalo yavanalah sikhari vrttatandulah ...'; 16.61 'jurnahvayo devadhanyam jurnalo bijapuspakah ...' (synonym list of yavanala) (GRETIL)
  • Civakacintamani: 'karuvi tenenat tungung kathirani yirungkodu thinaisuuz ...'; commentary glosses irungku as cholam (sorghum) (Project Madurai)
  • Tamil Lexicon, p.1677: 'cōḷam, n. 1. [T. tjonna, K. Tu. jōḷa, M. cōḷam.] Maize, great millet, Sorghum vulgare' (Tamil Lexicon (University of Madras, 1924-36), Digital Dictionaries of South Asi)

Where it grows

  • Major rabi (post-rainy) sorghum states: Maharashtra, Karnataka, Telangana; rabi area 5.25 m ha vs kharif 1.99 m ha. (ICAR-IIMR 'Millets Chalisa' farmer leaflet)
  • Why dry land: survives water-limiting conditions; called a 'water sipping crop'; roots draw moisture from up to 2 m depth. (ICAR-IIMR 'Millets Chalisa' farmer leaflet)

In the kitchen

  • ICAR-IIMR recipes: sorghum annam (cooked whole grain), ambali (thin, optionally fermented drink), roti, dosa, idli. (Dayakar Rao B, Vishala AD, Arlene Christina GD, Tonapi VA)

Recipes