Find below a complete list of cereals names (a.k.a names of grains) in English, Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada. This is basically a cereal list that also contains the names of millets in some Indian languages.
This exhaustive cereals list contains names of various grains or cereals in English and some more Indian languages. I have also listed the names of the cereals flour as well as the other products derived from these cereals. Smaller images of these cereals are also displayed in this glossary list.
Cereals are an integral part in Indian cuisine. Cereals are called as anaj in Hindi. Both various type of grains and millets fall in the broad category of cereals. Millets, amaranth, quinoa are generally seeds and are called as pseudo grains.
In India, we make so many dishes with a variety of cereals. While rice and wheat form the bulk of the grains that are consumed, millets are also eaten for their health benefits.
Many of the cereals and millets like wheat, rice, finger millet, pearl millet, sorghum etc are ground to flour. Many varieties of flatbreads are made from these flours. Roti or chapati is a staple made from whole wheat flour in many Indian kitchens. Other than we also make flatbreads with sorghum flour, finger millet flour, rice flour, pearl millet flour, buckwheat flour etc.
In fact, many dishes are made like puddings, fried breads, halwa, ladoo, idli, dosa, uttapam etc. Cereals are high in carbs wheres millets are a good source of proteins, carbs and fiber. Do include them in your meal for their health benefits and also to support the local farmers.
While buying grains or cereals, ensure that they are in their shelf-period and are free of any insects or fungi like moulds etc. When possible buy organic if you can.
You can also make your own homemade flours by grinding these grains in a domestic flour mill. Homemade flours are so good and much better than packaged flours.
Store the grains and their flours in dry containers. Ensure that the grains and the flours are moisture-free and dry. Placing a few leaves of tej patta (Indian bay leaf), some cinnamon sticks and a few cloves to reduce the risk of infestation by insects. This helps the grains and flour to be preserved for a longer period of time.
In the table below, the first column consists of the picture of the cereal. The remaining columns are for the names of cereals in the various languages.
I have also mentioned if the grain or seed is gluten free. The cross (X) indicates that the grain is not gluten-free. Tick mark (√) indicates that the grain is gluten-free.
The English, Hindi, Marathi, Tamil translations have been done by me. For more names in other languages, I have referred the book – Modern Cookery by Thangam Philip.
Please do read the comments section for more information. This cereal list is best viewed in a laptop browser. When browsing in a mobile, scroll the table from left to right.
Cereals Names
| Cereal | English | Hindi | Marathi | Tamil | Telugu | Kannada | Gluten free |
 | Wheat | Gehun | Gahu | Godumai | Godhumai | Godi | X |
 | Broken wheat, Cracked wheat | Dalia | Lapsi | Godumai ravai | Godhuma rava | Kuttida godi, godi rave | X |
 | Whole wheat flour | Atta | Kaneek | Godumai maavu | Godhuma pindi | Godi hittu | X |
 | All purpose flour, Refined flour | Maida | Maida | Maida maavu | Maida pindi | Maida hittu | X |
 | Cream of wheat, semolina | Sooji, suji | Rava | Ravai | Rava | Rava | X |
 | Vermicelli | Seviyan, sevai, sev | Shevaya | Semiya | Semiya | Semige | X |
 | Noodles | Noodles | – | – | – | – | X |
 | Pasta | Pasta | – | – | – | – | X |
 | Corn, maize | Makai, bhutta | Makka | Makka cholam | Mokkajona | Mekke jola | X |
 | Dried corn | Makai ka dana | – | – | – | – | X |
 | Corn meal, polenta | Makai ka dalia | Makka rava | Cholam rava | Mokkajona rava | Mekke jola rava | X |
 | Maize flour | Makai ka atta | Makyache Peeth | Makka cholam maavu | Mokkajona pindi | Mekke jola hittu | X |
 | Cornstarch | Cornflour | – | – | – | – | X |
 | Barley | Jav | Jau | Barli arisi | Yavam | Barli | X |
 | Rice | Chawal | Tandool | Pacha arisi | Biyyam | Akki | √ |
 | Parboiled rice | Ukda chawal, sela chawal, arwa chawal | Ukda tandool | Puzhungal arisi | Uppudu biyyam | Kusubalakki | √ |
 | Beaten rice, parched rice, rice flakes | Poha, chiwra, chidwa | Pohe | Aval | Atukulu | Avalakki | √ |
 | Puffed rice | Murmura, | Kurmura Murmure | Arisi pori | Borugulu, murmuralu | Mandakki, kurlari | √ |
 | Rice flour | Chawal ka atta | Tandlache peeth | Arisi maavu | Biyyappu pindi | Akki hittu | √ |
 | Tapioca, sago | Sabudana | Sabudana | – | – | – | √ |
 | Cassava or tapioca flour | Cassava | – | Maravalli kizhangu mav | Karapendalam | Marageanasu | √ |
 | Amaranth seeds | Rajgira, ramdana | – | – | – | – | √ |
 | Amaranth flour | Rajgira atta | – | – | – | – | √ |
 | Buckwheat | Kuttu, kootu | Kuttu | Kotu | – | – | √ |
 | Buckwheat groats | Sabut kuttu | – | – | – | – | √ |
 | Buckwheat flour | Kuttu ka atta | – | – | – | – | √ |
 | Quinoa | – | – | – | – | – | √ |
 | Oats | Jai, javie | – | – | – | – | √ |
 | Pearl millet | Bajra | Bajri | Kambu | Sajjalu | Sajje | √ |
 | Sorghum, milo | Jowar, juar, | Jwari | cholam | Jonnalu | Jola | √ |
 | Finger millet | Mundal, makra, mandua | Nachni | Kizhvaragu | Ragulu | Ragi | √ |
 | Foxtail millet | Kangni | Rala | thinai | Korra | Navane | √ |
 | Little millet | Kutki | Sava, halvi | Samai | Saama | Saame | √ |
 | Barnyard millet | Sama, samvat, swang, vrat ke chawal | Varai, vari, | Kuthiravaali | Odalu | Oodhalu | √ |
| Kodo millet | Kodon | Kodra | Varagu | Arikelu | Harka | √ | |
| Arrow root flour | Arra root, araruta, paniphal | – | – | – | – | √ | |
| Water chestnut flour | Singhare ka atta | – | – | – | – | √ | |
| Foxnuts | Makhana, phool makhana | – | – | – | – | √ |
Related culinary posts
This cereals names post from the blog archives (first published in September 2009) has been updated and republished on 23 June 2021.
what is tikhud or tikhur flour in India
its arrowroot.
Very helpful.
Hello, the table is no longer visible.
thanks david for pointing this out. we will fix it.
i cannot see any table here.
corrected and thanks for letting us know.
Madam
Please update your article as barley is not gluten free grain.
thanks for the info. will update.
Hello Amit Dasanna,
It has been long since I commented on your blog. However, not a single new dish I make unless I visit your blog. Do you know what do we call Rye in any Indian language.
thank you,
Sandy
welcome back sandy. hope you are doing good. rye is not native to india. so it does not have any indian name. we only get imported rye or rye flour and that too in superstores in big indian cities or metros.
My dear friend rye is not imported…mustard seed is known as rye in punjabi and hindi
sir jee this not that rai they are talking about. The one u are talking is a spice and the the one they are talking about is a flour(Rye). It is not found in India.
Isn’t Rye called Sarsoon in Hindi? That’s what I remember.
the spice ‘mustard’ is called as rai/rye/sarson in hindi. what is referred here is ‘rye’ which is cereal grain.
I read it that In india, Rabi crops are:
1. Wheat
2. Barley
3. Oats
4. Chickpea
5. Linseed
6. Mustard.
Can u tell me what is Oat and Barley called in Hindi?
oats is called as jai ((pronounced ja-ee) and barley is called as jau.
I am having a hard time finding english names for the following pulses/cereals please help:
a. Moong
b. Udad/Orid
c. Vatana (those green colored dry, hard rounded shaped cereals….I guess india imports it from canada cz on the bags its inscribed that its from canada)
moong – is mung beans or mung lentils
urad – black gram
dry vatana – dried green peas
I don’t think Bajra and Jowar are tamil words…we in Maharashtra have been using these words to refer to Pearl Millets and Sorghum respectively. I suspect these are Hindi or Marathi words
bajra is called as kambu in tamil and jowar is called as cholam in tamil. its mentioned in the post.
Good one !
verkadalai or nilakkadalai(in tamil)means ground nut(in english).
Let me know what is RYE called in Hindi.
amee, rye is a grain and not grown in india. no hindi name for it. at least i don’t know.
Rye is mustard seeds
aniiata, rai is mustard seeds. rye is different.
thanks for your such a wonderfu page..:-) I usually try dishes from your page. plz make category for gluten free dishes for main course; bcoz my husband has severe allergy from gluten and for past few years he has suffered alot. If you do so it will be very helpful for me ..ones again thank you so much god bless you.
thanks krishna ji. i already have a category of gluten free food. its displayed on all the pages. what i will do is i will add it in the top menu bar. just a reminder. i don’t know if you are aware of that asafoetida/hing has wheat particles in it. so skip it completely. a few readers had informed me about this and then checked online too. here’s the link of the gluten free category – https://www.vegrecipesofindia.com/recipe/gluten-free/
Thanks for your such a wonderfu page..:-) I usually try dishes from your page. plz make category for gluten free dishes for main course; bcoz my husband has severe allergy from gluten and for past few years he has suffered alot. If you do so it will be very helpful for me ..ones again thank you so much god bless you.
welcome shweta. there is already a category names gluten free. its displayed on right hand side of page below “quick and easy”. please check this link – https://www.vegrecipesofindia.com/recipe/gluten-free/
keep me informed