Millet takes centre stage

Part of a standee at the Millet Fair

Millet was the grain of honour at the Organics and Millets 2018 International Trade Fair held at the Bangalore Palace Grounds from January 19-21. The humble millet has come a long way.
The Fair has over 300 stalls of millets, traditional grains and organics from Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu from the South; Uttarakhand, Haryana and Chhattisgarh from the North and even Meghalaya from the North East. There were about 40 farmers’ stalls. The Food Court was called “Khanavali” which is a term used to describe a restaurant or eating joint in North Karnataka.

Part of the banner at the entrance of the fair

The two dozen food stalls in the food court served millet and organic delicacies of Karnataka and other places.   Various stalls offered millet dosa, millet khichdi, millet Pongal, millet holige, millet laddu and even millet Mysore Pak. There were cooking demo sessions, panel discussions on cooking, nutrition and health.
The fair also served to educate people about different types of millets. There are eight types of millets or at least that is what one poster (see below) said:

Eight types of millet

Another poster (see below) said there are nine types of millet:

Nine types of millet

Each type of millet has different nutritional values:

Millet nutrition chart

Millets are nutritionally superior to wheat and rice due to their higher levels of protein with a more balanced amino acid profile, fibre and minerals such as Iron, Zinc, and Phosphorous. In January this year, the Karnataka department of agriculture launched a project to introduce millets in the midday meals scheme to enhance nutritional intake of children. Millet-based Khara and sweet Pongal, upma and Bisi Bele Baath will be served twice a week besides the existing menu.
The challenge is how to promote millet food varieties to a burger and pizza-loving (incidentally, there is millet pizza) young generation:

Millet Boy - part of a banner

Millet Girl - part of a banner

Millet ice-cream was introduced at the fair by the Thanjavur-based Indian Institute of Food Processing Technology. While the regular ice-cream is milk based, this ice-cream has millet milk or millet extract which is lactose-free. People who are lactose intolerant can now enjoy miller ice-cream.
Start-up also had a presence with products such as millet cookies, breakfast mixes, snacks, food mixes and cakes.
Bengaluru which is known for its pubs and craft beer also had a stake in the millet fair with their millet-based brew.  Incidentally, the Karnataka agricultural department has tied up with Craft Beer Association, a collective of microbreweries in Bengaluru, to promote millet beer.
There were international delegates and buyers from China, USA, Germany, Switzerland, UAE, South Korea, Uganda and Malaysia.
According to the department of agriculture the three-day millet fair which saw a turnout of  2.10 lakh generated a total business of Rs 107 crore and established tie-ups of Rs 340 crore for three years.
Union Minister D V Sadananda Gowda, who was at the fair, said that the Union Government has approved the proposal to declare 2018 as the National Year of  Millet.  Last year India sent a proposal to the United Nations for declaring the year 2018 as the International year of Millets.

A Standee at the Millet Fair