BENGALURU: The ancient grain millet - often referred to as a poor man’s staple food - is making a comeback to save the rich from lifestyle diseases. Modern-day, indulgent diet is often blamed for causing a range of illnesses including diabetes, gout, acidity and heart ailments. Bengaluru is embarking on its journey to become the country’s millet capital and it has a small army of fitness experts and doctors to chefs and government employees to help it along.
India’s first ‘millet marathon’ was organised on April 16 by the Department of Agriculture, Government of Karnataka, at Cubbon Park and 2,000 people showed up. Krishna Byre Gowda, Minister for Agriculture, tells City Express that Karnataka is on its way to becoming “the millet and organic capital of the country”.
“We are trying our best to promote millets and organic food as a form of sustainable agriculture,” he says. “Our target is to reach out to anybody who is concerned about their health and want to even out dietary imbalances. We suggest that millet should be used as a substitute.”
Krishna Byre Gowda adds that he is a traditional “millet eater”. The Minister adds, “The food that costs higher and is associated with higher social status (like rice and sugar) can cause a range of health problems.”
Answer for Weight Loss
Wanitha Ashok, fitness expert and innovator, is a champion of millets and shares millet recipes on her social media pages.“People look for supplements to keep fit but millets are equally effective,” she says. Wanitha
says that on the days she eats millets, she has no extra food cravings and that actually helps her
keep fit.“Added to it all, millet is such a versatile food. I make raagi balls... it is delicious. When cooking millets, we have to soak it well in water and dry it before we cook it,” she says.
Dietitian Shalini Arvind from Fortis Hospital says that she has been advising her patients to get
on a millet diet from when she started in her profession in 2004. “People are taking notice now,” she says. “Millet has always been an integral part of diet in this state. And it has always worked wonders for losing weight.” Her daily meal includes millets particularly ragi and navane.
Strides into Restaurants
Chef Manu Chandra, who runs a restaurant chain Olive, says that his restaurant has been promoting millets for over a year. “Millet is a great source of protein and carbohydrates,” he says. “We serve millets in various forms such as breads, sausages, desserts and chicken stuffing.”Chef Selvaraju Ramasamy, an executive chef at Vivanta by Taj, says that his customers have been asking for millet dishes.“There is more awareness now and people have been opting for varieties of millets rather than refined flour,” he says.
Millet was introduced in his menu about six months ago and Ramasamy is delighted by the variety of dishes you can come up with.“Diners love the bajra roti and millet Kabuli salad,” he says. Selvaraju has also been conducting workshop on millets.
What Studies Say
Usha Ravindra, an associate professor of food science and nutrition at the University of Agricultural Sciences, has been giving talks on the benefits of millets. “Millets have a lot of anti-oxidants that help regulate cardiovascular diseases. They’re high in fibre, calcium, magnesium and potassium. “As Bengaluru has sedentary lifestyle, we do need a millet diet.”
Hit with the Babus Too
Nandini Kumari, additional director in the department of agriculture, had struggled with acidity. In the first week of April, she decided to include foxtail millet in her diet. “After that day, my acidity problem has gone away and I have stuck to my millet diet,” she says. Ambika N, joint director of agriculture with the state government, says that more people have been taking to millets over the last one year. “The government has organised around eight millet melas in the district,” she says.