Kuthiraivali (Echinochloa colona)

Kuthiraivali is Indian barnyard millet, a quick-growing small grain cooked like rice in Tamil Nadu and eaten as sama or samak rice during North Indian fasts. In the Uttarakhand hills it is called jhangora and cooked into kheer. The crop was domesticated from jungle rice, a common weed of Indian paddy fields. Older books call the cultivated form Echinochloa frumentacea, a name Kew now treats as part of Echinochloa colona.

Botanical name: Echinochloa colona (L.) Link
Family: Poaceae
Tamil: Kuthiraivali
Hindi: Sawa
Parts used: Grain after cooking
Habit: Barnyard millet; English millet is a shop word
Last updated: 2026-10-27

How to recognise Kuthiraivali

It is an annual grass, usually knee- to waist-high, with flat, smooth leaf blades.

There is no ligule, the small collar of tissue where the leaf meets the stem in most grasses, which is a key sign of Echinochloa.

The weedy form often has purple bands across the leaves; the crop form is greener and stouter.

The flower head is a stiff, upright panicle of short, dense, one-sided branches packed with small, plump, awnless spikelets.

Little millet, samai, has a looser, drooping head of tiny round grains.

Traditional use of Kuthiraivali

Kitchen

In Tamil Nadu kuthiraivali is cooked into pongal, upma, kichadi and sweet payasam, often in place of rice.

Tamil food practice

Kitchen

Across North India sama ke chawal is a permitted grain on Navratri and Ekadashi fasts, cooked as khichdi or kheer.

North Indian fasting practice

Farming

Hill farmers in Uttarakhand grow jhangora on rain-fed terraces, where it matures quickly with little care.

Garhwal and Kumaon farm practice

Modern notes on Kuthiraivali

The grain is gluten-free and comparatively high in fibre and iron among cereals.

Some varieties ripen in about two to three months, which lets farmers fit it into short rainy seasons.

India proposed the United Nations International Year of Millets for 2023, which renewed interest in barnyard millet.

As jungle rice the wild form competes hard with transplanted rice and has evolved herbicide resistance in some regions.

Kuthiraivali safety

Wash and cook the grain like rice; it is a safe food. People new to millets may want to start with small portions because of the fibre.

Ecology and sourcing

Jungle rice grows across tropical and warm-temperate regions on wet, disturbed ground.

Its young seedlings look so like rice that hand-weeding is difficult.

The crop tolerates both drought and short periods of waterlogging.

Related plants

Also in Poaceae

Questions about Kuthiraivali

Is kuthiraivali the same as sama rice?

Yes. Both names refer to Indian barnyard millet.

Why is Kuthiraivali eaten during fasts?

It is not counted as a regular cereal grain in many fasting traditions.

Is Kuthiraivali gluten-free?

Yes, if it has not been mixed with wheat during processing.

How is Kuthiraivali cooked?

Like rice, usually with about two and a half to three cups of water per cup.

Is Kuthiraivali the same as little millet?

No. Little millet, samai, is Panicum sumatrense.

Sources

Educational page about a plant. It is not medical advice, not a diagnosis, and not an offer to sell. Traditional use is historical. If you need care, ask a licensed clinician. Questions: hello@meevamed.com.