This millet is widely grown as a cereal in India, Pakistan, and Nepal.

Its wild ancestor is the tropical grass Echinochloa colona,[3] but the exact date or region of domestication is uncertain.

The grains are cooked in water, like rice, or boiled with milk and sugar.

For this reason, these seeds are commonly also referred to as "vrat ke chawal" in Hindi (i.e., "rice for fasting", literally).

Other common names to identify these seeds include oodalu (ಊದಲು) in Kannada, Shyamak (শ্যামাক) or Shyama Chal (শ্যামা চাল) in Bangla, jhangora in the Garhwal Hills, bhagar (भगर) in Marathi-speaking areas, samo or morio (mario, moraiaya) seeds in Gujarati, bonthasaamalu (బొంతసామలు) in Telugu,[4] and kuthiraivaali (குதிரைவாளி) in Tamil.