Millets simplified: Ways to add the ancient grains to your diet

Millets, which are known to be consumed by humans even 7,000 years ago, are steadily making a comeback in Indian and global diets. With the rising lifestyle-related diseases and due to the health risks from consumption of excessive refined sugars and flours, millets have been offering healthier alternatives for a nutrient-rich meal. With their ability to grow under dry and high temperatures, millets have been an important indigenous crop in India and parts of Africa. Millets are basically crops that grow despite all odds, and come with great nutritious values. The term millet includes the nutri-cereals like pearl millet, foxtail millet, banyard millet, kodo millet, sorghum, ragi, bajra among others. To highlight the importance of including these rich grains in everyday diet, our country also marked 2018 as the national year of millets.

While the benefits of these superfoods include high protein, fibre, vitamin B and several other dietary minerals, there are also several myths surrounding them. Misconceptions say millets should not be consumed on a daily basis as it could cause thyroid, or that they are difficult to be cooked and are only a ‘poor man’s food’. City-based NS Krishnamoorthy, who discovered the benefits of millets, decided to popularise them through commonly-made dishes like idli, dosa and pongal at his Prems Graama Bhojanam restaurant. “Human beings have been living on millets for more than thousands of years in south India. They have been in India for more than 6,000 years, and were part of our staples. The white rice and refined wheat flour that we are consuming in the current day were purely man-made. People, overtime, developed misplaced ideas that their food must appear white. Hence, over the years, traditional rice crops, like black rice, red rice, and the millet varieties have diminished,” he notes.

Unless one has any food allergies, or pre-existing thyroid issues, millets do not cause any harm, asserts Krishnamoorthy. “Each millet variety has different properties, and fibre content — some are said to be good for the nervous system, while a few others are good for blood circulation. One can simply replace white rice with a variety of millets. All it takes is a little bit of extra soaking time and attention while cooking millets,” he adds.

Home baker Jumana Huzefa has been baking using millets for the past three years. Ever since her family became part of a running group, decided to replace the conventional flours and grains with millets like ragi, bajra, jowar and amaranth. She bakes multi-millet bread, millet cookies, finger millet brownies and much more. “Many varieties of millets are grown locally within south India, and can provide numerous benefits. People hold misconceptions that millets cannot be consumed twice a day, but as long as they’re consumed in moderation, they can be eaten for both lunch and dinner. When used in baking, millet flours make slightly dense cakes, brownies, which one can get used to over time,” she asserts.

We bring to you some flavourful fritters and soup recipes that will tempt you to get started with millets, if you haven’t yet.