The humble millet, a chef's favourite

There was a time when many didn't care about millets, but now it seems like that's  the only thing everyone wants to talk about.

When the  International Millet & Organic Trade Fair 2018 was held recently, where Minister of Agriculture, Krishna Byre Gowda, expressed his interest in millets.

In the F&B industry,  the grain is resurfacing again as chefs across the city are making use of these versatile grains. Sous chef Chirag Makwana from Toast and Tonic says that it's a great substitute for many other ingredients in the kitchen. The restaurant has been making exotic dishes with  this local ingredient.  

He says, "It's been over a year since we started experimenting with millets. We have dishes made with foxtail, kodo, finger, pearl and sorghum millets."  

Apart from using the millets as they are, chefs here use variations of it like flour, rava and seeds for its texture.  

Chef Chirag's favourite dishes include 'Bajra and ricotta gnudi' which is made with pearl millet flour and 'Jackfruit tacos' which are made with ragi and jowar. Making breakfast items like 'Sourdough ragi waffle' and even desserts like 'Raagi rava and jaggery brownie' is a trend now.  

Executive Sous Chef Bhuvan Ravishankar from The Oberoi has been using millets to prepare a lavish breakfast menu that includes breads, upma and idli.  He says, "Most of the millets we use in our breads are pre-soaked with a calculated amount of water and then used. It's better to buy these grains, roast them and
grind them to a powder before using them or use them in a whole form."  It's not just the food industry that  is taking advantage of the forgotten grains. CEO of Geist Beer Narayan Manepally is in the process of making using millets to brew beer.  

He explains, "As we are a State that has millets in abundance, it made perfect sense to make a chilled beverage with it. It requires very less water to grow and is much cheaper when compared to barley and wheat."

He also adds that  many Bengalureans love craft beer, so using millets is just perfect. "Brewing millet beers is a win-win situation for everyone. The farmers are happy, it helps the government, and crafters like me are happy to make the people happy. It's also gluten-free."

So which millet dish are you planning to have today?