The ‘miracle’ grains

It’s not every day that one gets to dig into ‘Bajra ki Rabri’,’Bajra Mathian’,’Makki Ke Laddoo’ and more. But then it’s not that often that one gets to sample traditional Indian delicacies made using millets such as bajra,jowar,ragi and more. It’s even more uncommon to spot a cookery class teach you the umpteen ways to bring millets in your meals on a regular basis. All this and more took place at the one-day long make-the-most-of-millet event aptly titled ‘Bebe Di Rasoi’ at the Chandigarh Press Club this Sunday. Organised by the Kheti Virasat Mission (KVM),Press Club of Chandigarh and the Millet Network of India (MINI),the millet-based traditional food festival also brought in a seminar on food sovereignty and agricultural crisis. With the Punjab chief minister,Prakash Singh Badal as the chief guest the festival highlighted the various facets of millet farming and the beneficial health properties of millets making them the ‘Miracle’ grains. Agreeing whole-heartedly was the Punjab CM who surprisingly had a breakfast comprising of Bajra rotis in the morning. “Today,children seem to love pizzas and pastas but when we were young,millets were an indispensable part of our meals. Bajra khichdi was always on the menu of a family lunch and everyone relished Channa Saag and churma along with Dela da acchar,” quipped the Chief Minister who hoped one day there would be a restaurant that offered traditional meals made from long-forgotten grandmother recipes. “I have grown up on food that brought in bajra,jowar and more…perhaps that’s the reason for my good health,” admitted Badal who got reminiscent of the time he would wolf down stale rotis paired with fresh milk cream! He then went on to release a book ‘Adbhut Anaaj’,prepared by the Millet Network of India,on the occasion. The seminar saw encouraging and informative talks on the nutritive crops. While Umendra Dutt from KVM spoke about the millet agenda for north India,Claude Alvares from the Organic Farming Association of India elaborated upon the millet-based agrobiodiverse farming in the context of farming crisis.

Elsewhere,ladies culled from various villages of Punjab who have been encouraged to cook with millets by the Kheti Virasat Mission were hard at work preparing the meals as well as discussing the various ways to cook it. “We have in the past toured villages and encouraged them to bring millets,so far considered food for fodder,into their own meals,” spoke Gagandeep Kaur,a KVM representative as she demonstrated on how to make ‘Bajra Ladoos’ for kids. Apart from traditional Punjabi millet food,representatives from the Deccan Development Society,Andhra Pradesh put forth their own millet cuisine. Also providing food for thought was an ongoing exhibition of various millets and their properties. The event was followed up with a ‘Nukkad Natak’ in the evening and a millet dinner. Plump show indeed.

MILLET NUGGETS
Need very little water for their production
Grown under traditional methods,millets attract no pests
Each of the millets are nutritionally three to five times superior to rice and wheat in terms of proteins,minerals and vitamins.
Millets are all-season crops