Rich source of calcium

Finger millet contains thrice the amount of calcium as milk¹ and almost 8 times the amount found in other cereals³. Bioavailability of calcium from meals prepared from finger millet is higher than from other wheat- and sorghum-based meals².

Suitable weaning food for children

The high levels of nutrients such as carbohydrates, proteins and calcium makes finger millet-based complementary foods appropriate weaning foods for babies.

References

Shobana et al. (2013) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23522794
Bhavyashree SH, Jamuna Prakash, Kalpana Platel, Srinivasan K. Bioaccessibility of minerals from cereal-based composite meals and ready-to-eat foods. J Food Sci Technol, 46(5), 431-435.
Pradhan A, Nag SK and Patil SK. 2010. Dietary management of finger millet (Eleusine coracana Gaerth) controls diabetes. Current Science. 25:62-65.

Uses of Finger millet

Weaning Food

Finger millet is a popular weaning food. Porridge made from sprouted and malted finger millet flour has been traditionally used as a weaning food from 6 months of age. It is ideal as baby food because of its high-level of calcium and protein. In India, organic finger millet flour and ready-to-eat finger millet blends are commonly available in the market for preparing baby food.

Related publications

Fructus Terra : Going back to Traditional Smart Food for Infants

Brewing

Finger millet grains are used primarily in the production of traditional alcoholic beverages in India and Africa. Some of the local brews which uses finger millet as the raw material are listed below:

Chikokivana	Finger-millet based alcoholic beverage made in Zimbabwe
Doro	A colloidal, thick, alcoholic drink made from finger millet in Zimbabwe
Merissa	A popular finger millet based alcoholic drink in Sudan
Chaang	A traditional alcoholic-beverage prepared from finger millet and consumed widely in Nepal and North Eastern India.
Pombe	Traditional beer produced from finger millet in Tanzania
Jand	A traditional alcoholic beverage in Nepal prepared by fermenting Finger Millet
Mbege	Produced with banana juice and finger millet in northern Tanzania
Cipumu	An alcoholic beverage produced from finger millet by members of the Bemba ethnic group in northeastern Zambia
Kimpumu	An alcoholic beverage produced from finger millet in southern Tanzania