Competitive Pricing | Excellent Service | FREE delivery from £19 (LS/BD/HX/WF Postcodes(Exclusions Apply)) and £49 (rest of the UK)
01274317178[email protected]
Millets are a diverse group of small-seeded grains used in many traditional cuisines, including Indian cooking. This millets guide explores some of the varieties available to UK shoppers, including foxtail millet, barnyard millet and proso millet, as well as millet flours and horse gram. If you are exploring ancient grains in the UK, knowing the differences between these ingredients can make them much easier to choose and cook.
MyLocalMart offers a range of Asali products suited to different everyday cooking styles, from whole grains that can be cooked similarly to rice to millet flours for rotis and other recipes.
Millets are cereal grains belonging to the grass family. Rather than referring to a single grain, the word “millet” covers several different species.
That distinction matters when shopping. Foxtail millet, barnyard millet and proso millet are not simply different names for the same ingredient. They have their own characteristics and may suit different dishes.
Millets have been grown and eaten for centuries in parts of Asia and Africa. Today, they are sold in Indian grocery shops in the UK as whole grains, flour or ingredients in traditional foods.
If you are new to millets, you do not need to learn every variety at once. Start by deciding what you want to cook, then choose a whole millet or millet flour accordingly.
The MyLocalMart millet range covered in this guide includes foxtail millet flour, whole barnyard millet, barnyard millet flour and proso millet.
Horse gram is also part of this wider group of ingredients. However, horse gram is a legume, not a millet. It is covered separately because shoppers looking for traditional grains and pulses may also be interested in horse gram.
Let’s look more closely at each one.
Foxtail millet is one of the millet varieties used in Indian cooking. It is available in flour form within the Asali range at MyLocalMart.
Using flour removes the need to grind the grain yourself. It can therefore be a practical option when your recipe specifically calls for foxtail millet flour.
One common use is preparing flatbreads. If this is what you want to make, see our full guide to How to Make Foxtail Millet Flour Roti and Chapati for the recipe and method.
Foxtail millet is also frequently compared with other grains and millets. Rather than assuming all alternatives behave in the same way, consider the recipe and form of the ingredient before substituting one for another.
Barnyard millet is available as a whole grain and is useful when you want a millet that can be cooked rather than used as flour.
It can be added to dishes such as millet rice-style preparations and khichdi. Cooking methods can differ depending on the recipe, including soaking and pressure-cooking methods.
Read How to Cook Whole Barnyard Millet — Rice, Khichdi & More for detailed cooking instructions.
Barnyard millet also appears frequently in searches comparing different millet varieties. When choosing between barnyard, foxtail, proso and other millets, the selection should be guided by the dish you plan to cook rather than assuming all millets are the same.
Barnyard millet is also available in flour form.
Whole barnyard millet and barnyard millet flour are two different kitchen ingredients even though they come from the same type of millet. Whole grain is suited to recipes that require cooked millet, while flour is intended for recipes where a ground ingredient is required.
Barnyard millet flour can be used when making millet-based rotis and other flour preparations.
See How to Make Barnyard Millet Flour Roti at Home for a dedicated guide to using it.
Proso millet is another distinct millet variety.
It can be cooked as a whole grain and incorporated into a range of meals. Depending on the dish, preparation may involve soaking and cooking on the hob or using a pressure cooker.
If you have bought proso millet but are unsure where to begin, our guide How to Cook Prosso Millet — Pressure Cooker & Indian-Style covers the ingredient in more detail.
Proso millet is sometimes confused with other millet varieties. Checking the exact product name before following a recipe can help ensure that you are using the millet the recipe actually calls for.
No. Horse gram is not a millet.
Horse gram is a legume, whereas millets are cereal grains. The distinction is useful because the two ingredients require different approaches in the kitchen.
Horse gram can be soaked and cooked for preparations such as dal, and it can also be sprouted. Someone looking for millet should therefore not substitute horse gram simply because the ingredients appear alongside one another in a traditional-grains range.
For preparation guidance, see How to Cook and Soak Horse Gram — Dal, Sprouts & More.
If you are specifically shopping for it in Britain, our separate Where to Buy Horse Gram in the UK guide covers that search in more detail.
The easiest way to choose is to start with the recipe.
Choose whole millet when you want the individual grains to be cooked. Whole barnyard millet and proso millet fall into this category within the range covered here.
They can be useful for dishes where cooked millet forms part of the meal, including rice-style preparations and khichdi.
Choose millet flour when the recipe requires a ground ingredient. Foxtail millet flour and barnyard millet flour are examples.
These are more relevant when preparing dishes such as millet rotis or other recipes built around flour.
Buying the correct form saves an extra preparation step and makes it easier to follow a recipe accurately.
Foxtail, barnyard and proso are different types of millet.
The most important starting point for a shopper is the product name and intended recipe. Do not assume that a recipe written for one millet will automatically produce the same result with another.
For example, the MyLocalMart range covered by this guide includes foxtail millet in flour form, while barnyard millet is represented as both a whole grain and flour. Proso millet is included as a whole grain.
The right choice therefore depends partly on whether you are making a flour-based dish or cooking whole grains.
For a more detailed breakdown, visit Which Millet Should You Choose? Foxtail vs Barnyard vs Proso vs Kodo vs Little Millet Compared.
Millets can fit into several styles of everyday cooking depending on the variety and whether you buy the grain whole or as flour.
Some practical ideas include:
Cook whole barnyard millet for rice-style dishes.
Use barnyard millet in khichdi.
Make rotis with barnyard millet flour.
Make chapati or roti with foxtail millet flour.
Cook proso millet as a whole grain.
Use cooked millet as the base for suitable savoury dishes.
Experiment with different millet varieties rather than relying on only one grain.
Following a recipe written for the specific millet you have purchased is particularly useful when you are trying the ingredient for the first time.
There is no single cooking method that applies perfectly to every millet.
Preparation depends on the variety, whether it is whole or ground, and the dish you are making. Whole grains may need rinsing, soaking or cooking in water, while millet flour is handled completely differently.
For that reason, check the exact millet before deciding on a cooking method.
MyLocalMart's topic guides cover individual preparation methods separately, including:
How to Cook Whole Barnyard Millet — Rice, Khichdi & More
How to Cook Prosso Millet — Pressure Cooker & Indian-Style
How to Make Foxtail Millet Flour Roti and Chapati
How to Make Barnyard Millet Flour Roti at Home
These individual guides provide more useful cooking instructions than applying one generic method to every millet.
Millets are often researched by people looking to diversify the grains they eat, but nutritional characteristics can differ between varieties and products.
It is therefore better to look at verified nutritional information for the particular millet rather than assume that every millet has an identical nutritional profile.
The same caution applies to questions about eating millet every day, gluten, blood sugar and suitability for particular diets. These questions need more detail than a general overview can provide.
For the dedicated nutrition discussion, see Is Millet Healthy? Full Nutrition & Health Benefits Guide.
People managing a medical condition should also avoid treating a food article as personalised medical advice. Dietary requirements can vary considerably between individuals.
This question needs more context than a simple statement that millet is either “good” or “bad” for diabetes.
How a food fits into someone's diet can depend on the millet product, portion size and overall meal. Individual medical circumstances also matter.
MyLocalMart covers the question separately in Can Diabetics Eat Millet? Barnyard Millet and Blood Sugar, where the subject can be discussed in more detail.
If you have diabetes or another condition that affects your diet, follow personalised guidance from an appropriate healthcare professional.
“Ancient grains” is a broad term rather than the name of one grain.
Millets are grains with a long history of cultivation, so they are commonly discussed alongside other traditional or ancient grains. However, shoppers should still look at the specific grain rather than use “ancient grains” as though it identifies one ingredient.
For anyone searching for ancient grains in the UK, product names are especially useful. Knowing whether you need foxtail millet flour, barnyard millet or proso millet makes it much easier to find the correct ingredient.
Start with what you want to cook.
If the recipe requires flour for flatbreads, look at a millet flour such as foxtail millet flour or barnyard millet flour.
If you want a whole grain for a rice-style dish or khichdi, whole barnyard millet may be more relevant. If your recipe specifically calls for proso millet, choose proso rather than assuming another millet is identical.
When you are still deciding between varieties, use the MyLocalMart millet comparison guide to understand the options before buying.
The key questions are:
Does the recipe require whole grain or flour?
Which millet variety does the recipe specify?
How will the millet be cooked?
Are you buying millet, or are you actually looking for another ingredient such as horse gram?
Answering these questions narrows the choice considerably.
MyLocalMart's range includes Asali millets for shoppers looking for traditional ingredients in the UK.
Available options covered by this guide include foxtail millet flour, barnyard millet, barnyard millet flour and proso millet, alongside horse gram within the wider ingredient range.
Rather than choosing only by the word “millet”, check the exact product and format before ordering. This is particularly important if you already have a recipe in mind.
For more buying information, visit Where to Buy Millets in the UK — Foxtail, Barnyard, Proso & More.
You can also explore the relevant Asali products on MyLocalMart and select the grain or flour that matches the dish you plan to prepare.
This page is the starting point for the MyLocalMart millet and traditional-grains collection. If you want to explore a particular question in more depth, continue with our dedicated guides covering:
Which Millet Should You Choose? Foxtail vs Barnyard vs Proso vs Kodo vs Little Millet Compared
What Is the King of Millets? Ranking the Best Millets to Eat
Foxtail Millet vs Quinoa — Which Is Healthier?
Foxtail Millet vs Ragi — Which Is Better?
Foxtail Millet vs Jowar — Which Is Better?
Barnyard Millet vs Rice — Which Is Healthier?
Millet vs Quinoa vs Oats — Which Grain Should You Eat?
Where to Buy Millets in the UK — Foxtail, Barnyard, Proso & More
Millet Price Guide — How Much Does 1kg of Millet Cost in the UK?
Is Millet Healthy? Full Nutrition & Health Benefits Guide
These supporting guides let you move from a broad introduction to the exact millet, cooking method, comparison or buying question you need.
Millet is a group of grains rather than one single grain. Varieties covered in the MyLocalMart topic collection include foxtail millet, barnyard millet and proso millet, with both whole-grain and flour products available depending on the variety.
Choose according to your recipe and the form you need. Whole barnyard millet and proso millet suit recipes requiring cooked grain, while foxtail millet flour and barnyard millet flour are intended for flour-based preparations. For a detailed comparison, see the MyLocalMart millet comparison guide.
No. Horse gram is a legume, not a millet. It is included within the wider MyLocalMart traditional-ingredient topic collection, but it should not be treated as another millet variety.
Some whole millet varieties can be prepared for dishes where you might otherwise use a cooked grain, but millet and rice are different ingredients. Cooking methods and results can vary, so follow instructions for the particular millet you are using.
MyLocalMart stocks Asali millet products, including varieties covered in this guide. For more information about choosing and ordering them, see Where to Buy Millets in the UK — Foxtail, Barnyard, Proso & More.
Whether you are trying millet for the first time or looking for a specific ingredient used in familiar recipes, start with the exact grain and format your dish requires.
Explore Asali millets at MyLocalMart, including foxtail millet flour, barnyard millet, barnyard millet flour and proso millet, and use the individual cooking, comparison and nutrition guides when you need more detailed information.