Why millet remains a cereal winner

Gujarat is slowly but surely ingraining its lostand-found millet way of life. With the United Nations declaring 2023 the International Year of the Millet, primarily to provide affordable and nutritious superfood to billions, pearl millet (bajri), sorghum (jowar), finger millet (nagli, ragi) etc. , are returning in their GenNextfriendly avatars.
At environmental activist Mahesh Pandya’s Ahmedabad residence, chapatis made of ragi, or flour mixed with bajri and little millet (bavto) are most preferred.“We are diet conscious people and have been using an entire range of millet grains at home for the past 12-odd years. We even fry bhajiyas in batter made of different millets. However, for wider acceptance of the grains, they have to be supplied through the public distribution system,” he says.

While millet lovers like Pandya were in the minority till a few years ago, the humble grain, once considered the staple of the lower strata of society, is making a comeback, riding on increased awareness after Covid. A slew of reimagined millet food products, ranging from khakhra and flakes on one end of the spectrum to brownies and gulab jamuns on the other, are gaining popularity.
Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority, a central government body, has declared Gujarat as a major producer of millet varieties , especially bajra, in India. Different regions of the state grow different varieties which include kodo millet (gajro), proso millet (cheno), little millet (kuri), foxtail millet (kang) and barnyard millet (sama).
Dieticians and nutritionists say while millet grains have been around for a long time, the urban population caught on to the quinoaragi trend around the Covid period. Those with hypertension and diabetes were advised to include millet in their diet and nouveau recipes found their way from the internet to the kitchens.
Jinal Parmar, a dietician with Apollo Hospitals, said, “Earlier, particular varieties of millet were associated with specific regions or communities, but with wider availability, they are becoming part of the urban platter. Millet is good for all age groups, primarily to prevent non-communicable diseases (NCDs). ”
Himanshu Banker, a resident of Vejalpur, said his family has reduced rice and wheat consumption by about 70%. “We make porridge, khichdi and vadas out of kodri, jowar and bajri. We also mix wheat and millet flour to make chapatis,” said Banker.
But all is not well with millet. The People’s Biodiversity Register (PBR), maintained by the villages, indicates a drop in the cultivation area and crop diversity in several areas of the state. In Rajkot’s Jasdan, foxtail, barnyard and proso millet disappeared between 2017 and 2022. Several farmershave taken to cash crops or switched to hybrid varieties that need less water and are resilient to climate change.
Shruti Bhrdwaj, a clinical dietician with a hospital in Ahmedabad, said, “While multigrain flour is better, its composition should factor in a person’s health condition,” she said.
In the end though, it’s about what appeals to every palate. Tushar Pancholi, a resident of Rajkot, said while a ragi chapati may not entice many, Gujarati snacks out of millet varieties that are lapped up by all in the family.
—Inputs by Paul John