South Indian Millets: How Ancient Grains Are Becoming Trendy Again

I've always viewed health food and super food trends with a smidgen of doubt. Many of these trends go around in circles just like fashion trends and I've always veered away from drastically altering my diet based on the flavour of the season. My curiosity around millets was sparked by Michael Pollan's ‘In Defense of Food'. Pollan speaks at length about how traditional food habits have been eclipsed by processed food and the one thing all our diets ultimately succumb to – convenience.

It's probably the same reason why millets that have been intrinsic to South Indian diets were pushed out of the spotlight. My maternal grandmother always looked around for healthy alternatives and I still remember her obsession with finger millet (Ragi). It's one of the few millets that has remained a mainstream food in many parts of interior Karnataka. From Ragi Rotis to Ragi Mudde, ragi is a mainstay in many homes in Karnataka and not a new health food obsession. Most modern dieticians concur that millets are a healthy substitute to rice and wheat largely due to their nutritional values and low glycaemic index that makes them more suitable for diabetics.

200 gms boneless chicken
150 gms cooked millet (You could use foxtail millet)
1 1/2 Tbsp masala gravy
1 onion chopped
1 tomato chopped
2 Tbsp chopped fresh mint leaves
2 cardamom buds
2 sticks of cinnamon
2 cloves
2 bay leaves
1/4 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1/4 tsp cumin powder
1/4 tsp coriander powder
 A pinch of garam masala powder
 50 ml curd
 1/2 tsp ginger-garlic paste
 Salt (to taste)

Method:

1. Heat the bay leaves, cloves, cinnamon & cardamom in a pan.

2. Add the cooked onion and stir for a minute.

3. Add ginger-garlic paste, chopped tomato, mint leaves and all the powders.

4. Add the chicken, masala gravy and curd cook for 5 minutes.

5. Add the millet stir and cook for 5 minutes.


Recipe: Millet Bisi Bele Bath Recipe
Recipe Courtesy: Chef Saroja B.B., Rasa Dhatu Restaurant, Mysuru

There's probably no better place to sample a Bisi Bele Bath than Mysuru. I was truly enamoured by   this restaurant's healthy spin on the conventional Bisi Bele Bath
 

For the Bisi Bele Bath Masala Powder(You could also buy a ‘ready to use' powder):

Ingredients:

1/4 kg coriander seeds (dhania)
50 gm dry red chilli (guntur – for the pungent flavour)
50 gm dry red chilli (byadagi – for colour)
10 gm cinnamon
10 gm clove
4 piece star anise
4 piece cardamom
50 gm poppy seeds
100 gm black gram dal (urad dal)
100 gm bengal gram dal (chana dal)
4 piece kapok buds (marathi moggu)

Method: Dry roast the above ingredients and powder it using a mixer. This can be stored for several days.


Bisi Bele Bath Recipe

Ingredients:

1 cup toor dal
1 cup proso millet or foxtail millet
1 cup finely chopped vegetables (beans, carrot, kohlrabi, peas, tomato)
20 gm jaggery powder
Few sambar onions (shallots)
To taste dry coconut grated
To taste salt
1 tsp turmeric powder
6 cups water
3 Tbsp oil


Method:

1. Add all the above ingredients into a pressure cooker and cook for three whistles. 


2. Allow the cooker to cool until it can be opened. 


3. Open the cooker, add 5 tablespoons of the masala powder. 

4. Mix and cook for 10 minutes. 


5. Remove the Bisi Bele Bath into a serving bowl. 


Seasoning Ingredients (to taste): 


Oil 

Curry Leaves 

Mustard 

Hing 

Dry Red Chillies 

Peanuts 

Chopped Onions 

Chopped Capsicum

Seasoning Instructions: Heat oil in a seasoning pan, add the seasoning ingredients, roast until the mustard begins to sputter, pour the seasoning mixture onto the Bisi bele bath. It is now ready to be served hot. 


About the Author : 

Ashwin Rajagopalan is a cross cultural training expert and lifestyle writer. When he's not writing about food, he thinks about gadgets, trends and travel experiences. He enjoys communicating across cultures and borders in his weekday work avatar as a content and editorial consultant for a global major and one of India's only cross cultural trainers.

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