Pearl millet

Pearl millet is one of the most commonly raised cereal grains in the arid regions of Idiri and Jalanjhur. It is tolerant of a wide range of generally poor growing conditions, from heat and drought to mineral-poor or alkaline soils. As a result it may be successfully raised in places where less hardy grains like wheat would fail.

Its kernels are quite small but abundant, growing on long stalk-like seed heads packed with the little ovoid grains. These kernels come in a variety of colors, from cream or yellow to brown, grey, or even purplish. The type of pearl millet most commonly grown around Omrazir is a deep bluish-purple that is thought to very nearly match the black pearls obtained from the Strait of Sorrows by the divers of al-Sakhna. Whatever its color, pearl millet is used to make many foods essential to the cultures that grow it, from flatbread to porridge and pudding. It can also be fermented to make a mildly intoxicating beverage called ontaku, most commonly drunk in southern Idiri and by Xhalantu more generally.