Sorghum, jowar in Hindi and cholam in Tamil, is a tall dry-land grain domesticated in north-east Africa around five thousand years ago. In Maharashtra and North Karnataka jowar bhakri is an everyday flatbread, and the rabi crop is grown on black soils on stored moisture. Tamil cholam is also used for maize, which is often called makka cholam. Young sorghum plants can poison cattle.
- Botanical name
- Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench
- Family
- Poaceae
- Tamil
- Cholam
- Hindi
- Jowar
- Sanskrit
- Yavanāla
- Parts used
- Grain after cooking, Stalk as fodder
- Habit
- Grain sorghum; Tamil cholam also names maize
- Last updated
- 2026-10-30
How to recognise Cholam
It is a tall annual grass, often taller than a person, with a solid stem and broad, maize-like leaves with a white midrib.
The stems and leaves often carry a whitish, waxy bloom.
The grain head is a panicle at the top of the stem, compact or loose depending on the variety.
The grains are round, larger than millet grains, and white, cream, red or brown.
Maize carries its grains on a cob in the leaf axils and a tassel at the top.
Traditional use of Cholam
Kitchen
Jowar bhakri and jolada rotti are patted by hand and cooked on a griddle in Maharashtra and North Karnataka.
Marathi and Kannada food practice
Kitchen
Jowar is popped like popcorn into jowar lahi, and in Tamil Nadu cholam is cooked into roti and kanji.
Indian food practice
Farming
The stalks, called kadbi, are dried and stored as a major cattle fodder in the Deccan.
Deccan farm practice
Modern notes on Cholam
Sorghum is gluten-free, rich in fibre, and some red and brown types contain tannins and other polyphenols.
Young plants and regrowth contain dhurrin, which releases hydrogen cyanide when cattle chew it.
It uses the C4 pathway of photosynthesis and tolerates heat and drought better than maize.
Sweet sorghum varieties with sugary stems are grown for syrup and ethanol.
Cholam safety
Do not graze cattle on young or drought-stressed sorghum, or on regrowth after cutting, because of cyanide poisoning. The grain is a safe food for people.
Ecology and sourcing
Wild sorghums grow in African savannas.
It is largely self-pollinating but can cross with wild and weedy sorghums.
Shoot fly and stem borer are major pests in Indian fields, and birds eat the ripening grain.
Related plants
Also in Poaceae
Questions about Cholam
Is cholam sorghum or maize?
Both are called cholam in Tamil; this plant is sorghum.
Is jowar gluten-free?
Yes.
Why can sorghum poison cattle?
Young plants release cyanide when chewed.
What is jowar bhakri?
A hand-patted sorghum flatbread of Maharashtra.
Where is jowar grown in India?
Mainly Maharashtra, Karnataka and Telangana.
Sources
- Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench — Plants of the World Online, Kew (search) (accessed 2026)
- Wikidata item Q332062 (Sorghum bicolor)
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.