The Indian government officially rebranded this family of crops this February, when Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman called it “shri anna,” meaning “the best of all grains”.
In March this year, at the 75th session of the United Nations General Assembly, 2023 was declared as the International Year of Millets, marking a cultural shift in the conversation on what was once infamously labelled as the “poor man’s grain”. Millets, a tough, dryland crop growing in arid patches of land across Asia and Africa, had been gradually replaced in kitchens by wheat in its various forms—both raw and processed—over the past several decades. However, with rising health awareness and an uptick in gut inflammation caused by gluten intolerance, the humble millet has slowly, but surely, made its way back on our dinner plates.
The Indian government officially rebranded this family of crops, when in this year’s Union Budget in February, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman called it “shri anna,” meaning “the best of all grains”. The government promised funding for advanced research on millets to the Indian Institute of Millet Research (IIMR) in Hyderabad, which was founded in 1958, and to further its celebrations, the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Government of India and the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, Government of Kenya will be co-hosting the India-Africa International Millet Conference in Kenya, with support from International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), on 30-31 August. According to a government statement released in July 2022, “over 500 Startups are working in millet value chain while the Indian Institute on Millet Research, has incubated 250 Startups under RKVY-RAFTAAR [Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana - Remunerative Approaches for Agriculture and Allied Sectors Rejuvenation]. More than ₹6.2 crores has been disbursed to over 66 Startups while about 25 Startups have been approved for further funding.”
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Pictured here is a plate of ragi cafreal tacos by Radhika Khandelwal of Fig & Maple. Image: Radhika Khandelwal
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A plate of millet risotto with smoke eggplant by Radhika Khandelwal. Image: Radhika Khandelwal
Besides being high on the nutrition quotient and dietary fibre, cereals such as the finger millet (ragi), foxtail millet (kakum/kangni), sorghum (jowar), pearl millet (bajra), buckwheat millet (kuttu), amaranth (rajgira), little millet (kutki), and some others grown commonly in India, are packed with proteins, micronutrients and phytochemicals. Their amino acid profile is better than grains like maize, which makes them easier to digest while lending a feeling of fullness even if consumed in small quantities. “Millets offer a diverse range of flavours and textures, making them a valuable ingredient that allows for creativity and innovation in our menu,” says Radhika Khandelwal, chef-owner at Radish Hospitality, which owns the Fig & Maple restaurants in Delhi and Goa.
Khandelwal started experimenting with millets in 2016, and has now successfully integrated them into her restaurants’ menus, which is an exciting prospect for the entrepreneur who thoroughly enjoys the nutty flavours of these grains that add a certain depth and richness to the dishes made with them. “By incorporating millet-based dishes into our menu, we not only offer our clients a delicious and nutritious alternative but also inspire them to explore and appreciate the diversity of flavours and textures that millets provide,” she says, adding that promoting this group of crops is also taking a giant leap towards more sustainable farming and living.
The sustainable superfood
With rising global temperatures at the behest of climate change, millets are at the forefront of this culinary revolution for an important reason—they are low-investment crops that can withstand severely adverse weather conditions. They traditionally require much less fertilisation than the staple wheat and rice on account of being rainfed, and are also naturally more resilient to pests, thereby reducing dependence on pesticides as well.
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A field of pearl millets grown commonly in northern and southern belts of India. Image: Pexels
Millets easily adapt to fluctuating weather conditions too, besides taking much less time to grow—only 70 to 90 days after planting—as compared to wheat and rice, which take anywhere between 100 to 250 days, and 105 to 150 days, respectively. “Our family has been growing various kinds of millets on our farmland for decades now. So, for us, it’s honestly nothing new. But it’s heartening to see that others outside our home state are also catching on to the wonders of these grains,” says Bhupesh Tiwari, a native of Dehradun, whose parents are wheat and millet farmers. Tiwari loves his nachni (red millet) rotis and ragi chips made at home, and found it difficult to adjust to a wheat- and -rice-based diet when he moved to Delhi for work in 2018. “My PG accommodation back then would not even have an option of millet-based dishes, which is what I grew up on at home, so I would often suffer from indigestion. Some particular types of millets weren’t easily available in the local markets, so I had eventually given up on looking for them. But now, I can see they are available all over Delhi, so I ask my cook to only make nachni rotis for me,” he laughs, saying that after crunching data at a computer for 10 hours every day, returning to his apartment in Delhi to the taste of millets brings him closer to his home in the mountains.
The wonders of millets
Unsurprisingly, corporations in the F&B industry are also riding high on the millet wave, with giants like ITC launching their ‘Mighty Millets Program’ in January this year. As a part of the initiative, ITC Maratha has introduced the superfood in their breakfast, lunch and dinner spreads at their all-day-dining restaurant Peshwa Pavillion in Mumbai, with items like millet pancakes, ragi dosa, millet idli, kodo millet risotto, fox millet with citrus-poached catch of the day, kangani methi khichdi, kangani subz tehri and kangani makai tiki, featured in different iterations in their lunch and dinner buffet spreads. “Millets are very versatile and can be used in a variety of ways. They can be cooked whole, ground into flour, or used to make porridge, soups, and stews,” says Yogen Datta, Area Chef West Region, ITC Hotels India, and Executive Chef, ITC Maratha. According to Datta, the trick to cooking millets lies in “understanding the form in which the person makes use of them.” In fact, “it is not difficult to cook millets” at all, he adds.
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A plate of kangani methi khichdi by ITC Maratha. Image: ITC
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Pictured here is a plate of fox millet and raisin muffins served at ITC Maratha. Image: ITC
Delhi-based Slurrp Farm—a food brand founded by two “concerned mothers” Meghana Narayan and Shauravi Malik—was started in 2016 to innovate on packaged food for children to provide healthier alternatives for processed wheat-based products. “As mothers ourselves, Shauravi and I felt a deep frustration when we surveyed the grocery-store shelves. All we found were unhealthy options packed with refined flour, excessive sugar, and additives. It left us wondering why nobody had stepped up to address this pressing issue. And that’s when the lightbulb moment struck: Why not be the ones to make a change?” said Narayan in a recent interview to The Established. While they started with a line-up of only 16 products when they launched, Slurrp Farm now boasts a stellar list of 50 items, with quite a few of them comprising millets as their key ingredient. Moreover, between 2018 and 2022, the company managed to raise an impressive funding of US$10 million, and also roped in actor Anushka Sharma as an investor and brand ambassador.
Similarly, kindlife, an Indian online marketplace for beauty and wellness products, has actively pivoted towards platforming millet-based edibles by partnering with brands that sell their wares on their website. “At kindlife, we’ve curated an extensive collection of millet-based goods for both sweet and savoury preferences. The remarkable versatility of millet permits the inclusion of these grains in most dietary regimes,” says co-founder Manasa Garemella. With Gen Z seemingly gravitating more and more towards plant-based diets, the duo believes that the moment is ripe for this trend to become a culinary and dietary mainstay. Not only does this allow consumers to reap its myriad health benefits, but also permits them to significantly reduce their carbon footprint on account of the grains being minimally processed. “You can shop for leading brands such as Conscious Food, Praakritik, Wise Mama, Mighty Millets, Early Foods, Foodstrukk, Murginns, Slurrpfarm, and Keeros on kindlife. Our 300,000-plus community loves millet-based flour, porridge, cookies, noodles, and granola,” says Garemella, emphasising how this foodgrain has received a new lease of life.
Millets for holistic living
According to this statement published by the Government of India in February 2022, the production of millets increased from 14.52 million tonnes in 2015-16 to 17.96 million tonnes in 2020-21, which clearly points to a concerted institutional effort to reverse the trend of decreased per capita consumption of the grains—from 32.9 kg to 4.2 kg—from 1962-to 2010.
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kindlife is an Indian online marketplace for beauty and wellness products, which has actively pivoted towards platforming millet-based edibles by partnering with brands that sell their wares on their website. Image: Kikibix
For Mumbai-based yoga educator Samiksha Shetty, millets have been a part of her traditional diet at home, as she hails from a south-Indian family where grain-based dishes are a regular affair. “I love ragi—I am obsessed with it, even though I probably shouldn’t be, because it is very cooling on the stomach, and I tend to catch a cold very often,” she laughs, adding that her grandmother makes ragi laddoos, which she prefers over other desserts every time her sweet tooth comes calling.
Shetty has also incorporated millets into the menu of her Mumbai-based Moon Village Cafe, an eatery with a sugar- , gluten- and dairy-free menu, that follows her principles of holistically healthy living from the inside-out. “We have a lot of ragi podi idlis at the Moon Village Cafe; today, I think we can make any of our favourite dishes with millets. Recently, I went to a restaurant where I ordered a pizza, only to realise its base is made of ragi. That was quite strange but also nice, as it was a healthier alternative and tasted good too,” says Shetty, underscoring the fact that perhaps millets aren’t merely a fad, but the harbinger of a larger lifestyle reformation this time round.
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