Food Grains & Cereals #3243319

One of the oldest forms of crops in the world, millets are the first cereal grains to be domesticated for human consumption. Millets can be described as a group of small seeded species of grains or cereals that are mainly grown for human food and animal feed. Millets are grown under difficult production environment and come under the category of agronomic group. During the prehistoric times, millets formed a very important part of people's diet, much before rice came into existence. Millets belong to various genera in the subfamily"Panicoideae", that are a part of the grass family 'Poaceae'.

Millets are a rich source of B vitamins like niacin, B17, B6, etc. as well as folic acid, calcium, iron, potassium, magnesium and zinc. They do not contain gluten, and are thus easily digestible. They are the only group that retain their alkaline nature and, thus, are ideal for people who are allergic to both wheat and gluten.

Chickpeas are edible legumes belonging to the family of"Fabaceae"with slightly round & irregular shape, and are slightly longer in size than the normal peas. They are also known by the names of 'garbanzo beans', and have a nut like taste with a high protein content in them. The plants of the chickpeas grow between 20-25 cm and have feathery leaves on both sides of the stem. The scientific name of chickpeas is 'Cicer arietinum', and they are also known as 'chana' in Hindi and several other names like 'Bengal Gram', 'Kadaale Kaalu', 'Sanaga Pappu', 'Shimbra', etc. Chickpeas can grow well only in sub tropical and tropical climates requiring an annual rainfall of more than 400 mm.

Chickpeas have a history that goes back to as far as 10, 000 BC and even more. These are one of the ancient crops that were used by the hunters for sustaining their lives. The area that first began to grow chickpeas was the Middle East but later they were being grown in ancient Egypt, Rome and Greece during 7500 BC, where these were consumed in various forms like raw, broth, snacks, etc. They were later brought during the 16th century by the Spanish explorers, and since then chickpeas have been used in many forms. In fact, during the First World War, Germany started cultivating chickpeas as a coffee substitute.