Villagers in Ludhiana hinterland go to PAU to study

Residents of Boparai Kala, Jandiali, Mangali and Jargari villages around Ludhiana are going back to the eating practices that the older generation used to follow. It all started after the Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) conducted millet cooking classes in these villages that they came to know about the 'miracle millets', which they have forgotten long ago.

Such classes are being regularly organised by PAU not only on the campus but also in the villages and this is how rural population has got to know about the forgotten glory of millets that have now made way to their plates.

Know the ‘super grain’

• Known as ‘nutri-cereals/wonder grain/super grain’, millets are highly nutritious, gluten-free, rich in dietary fibre and have many health promoting properties.
• These are rich in mineral and are a good source of micronutrients.
• The mineral content ranges from 1.7 to 4.3 grams per 100 grams, which is manifolds higher than what it is in staple cereals like wheat (1.5%) and rice (0.6%).
• Millets are classified on the basis of their seed size.
• Major millets include sorghum (jowar) and pearl millet (bajra).
• Finger millet (ragi), foxtail (kangni), little millet (swank), kodo millet (kodon/kodra), barnyard millet (samvatke chawal), proso millet (chena) and browntop millet (hari kangni) are minor millets.

From ragi rice, roasted millet mix, ragi pinni, jawar, bajra, ragi roti to cakes and breads and many other recipes are taught to the villagers during the classes.

Recently, a team of All India Coordinated Research Project on Women in Agriculture (AICRP-WIA) at Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) organised a two-day entrepreneurial training programme focused on millet-based recipes to promote women entrepreneurship in rural areas.

The training was also conducted for members of the Savera Ajeewika Self-Help Group (SHG) from Jandiali village. Dr Renuka Aggarwal, Scientist (Food & Nutrition), and Dr Aditi Sewak conducted live demonstrations on preparing nutritious and marketable millet-based recipes, equipping participants with the skills to adopt these recipes for entrepreneurial ventures. PAU literature was also distributed during the session to provide further guidance.

Shinder Kaur, who attended one of the cooking classes organised by PAU, said she had seen her grandmother cooking dishes from kangni and making rotis from jawar, bajra and ragi, but this came to stop gradually and now they only make wheat chapattis and makki ki roti in winters.

"After attending one of the cooking classes at PAU, I got a packet of foxtail millet from the market and when I bought it home, my mother surprisingly looked at the packet and tole me that I have bought kangni. She taught me many other recipes that we can make from foxtail millet. I am excited to adopt this in my daily meal," she said Inderbir Kaur from Boparai Kalan village.

Dr Shivani Rana, Scientist in the Department of Resource Management and Consumer Science, PAU, who recently organised one such class said apart from teaching the women recipes, they were also made aware on how this flour could enhance the quality of nutrients in diet, potentially improving the health and Intelligence Quotient (IQ) of school going children. During the class two millet-based recipes namely 'Roasted Millet Mix' and 'Ragi Pinni' was demonstrated by Dr Rana along with distribution of literature on millets.

Dr Ruchika Bhardwaj, Millets Breeder from Department of Plant Breeding and Genetics, who regularly conducts special workshops on millets said apart from highlighting the importance of millets as nutri cereals they also made women aware of different kinds of millets, their multifaceted aspects be it sustainable health or sustainable agriculture or climate resilience.

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