Abstract

Sorghum (Cholam, Jola or Jonna) is the second important grain crop in the Madras Presidency. It is grown annually on an area of about five million acres in this Province and on about 36 million acres in India.. The sorghum grain is the main article of food of the rural population in the dry areas. It is used extensively as human food in Africa, Asia Minor and China also. It is the chief diet of the natives in Africa. It is reported that sorghum grain is the most important source of flour in Egypt and is used in bread-making mixed with wheat, barley and fenugreek or beans. Now that there is scarcity of rice in many parts of the Province and the people have to manage with available substitutes an attempt is made in this brief note to indicate the common methods of utilizing sorghum. There may be slight variations or modifications in the different processes involved in preparing the same or similar product in different localities. The object of this note is only to present an idea of how sorghum can be prepared for food.

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