“Le lo bajari, juwar, Le lo ragi saal o saal”
The lyrics of the song Abundance in Millet,sung by Grammy Award winner Falguni Shah and penned in collaboration with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, may have won hearts in its bid to promote consumption of millet-based food. But in Amdavad, the availability of millet-based food seems to remain scarce. A quick search on food delivery apps will throw up bare minimum options – perhaps four to five at the most. List the establishments that serve millet-based food, and it’ll be tough to take the count to 20.
This is a dampener, considering 2023 has been designated as the International Year of Millets by the United Nations at the behest of the Government of India. The reason for this scarcity seems to be four main reasons – awareness, affordability, taste.
Chef Aneri Kothari who recently upgraded a café menu and made it millet-free explained, “We served millet salad as part of the tasting menu. It got good response; we sold around 10-15 per month, but we haven’t featured it in our new menu.” Elaborating on the reasons it was taken off the menu, Kothari said, “Cooking millet-based dishes is time-consuming and tricky as they are sticky and difficult to cook. Moreover, it was an appropriate dish for summer, not monsoon.” Early in July, Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel launched a millet-based pizza base for a prominent pan-India pizza franchise. More than a month later, however, the demand for these healthy pizzas remains low compared to regular ones. “Only a few people, mostly corporate individuals, know about ragi and its health benefits; they are the ones who order ragi-base pizza,” a manager at a franchise outlet revealed. “We sell 3–4 ragi-base pizzas in a day. The number increases to 8–9 on weekends. In comparison, we sell around 14-15 regular base pizzas in a day; it goes up to 20 or more on weekends.”
Ragi base pizza Rs 100 costlier than regular
A ragi-base pizza costs Rs 100 more than a regular base; for instance, if the regular Margherita Pizza costs Rs 109, the Ragi Crust Margherita Pizza costs Rs 209.”And it doesn’t really taste good either,” pointed out SEO executive Yuthika Keskar (26), who recently tried the ragi-based pizza. “I paid extra for the ragi crust and it felt like ragi roti loaded with cheese! I’d rather go for the regular pizza then, you know. At least its tasty!”
Self-professed foodie and software developer Bhavya Kanzariya (27) added: “I tried ragi dosa once. I paid a little extra for it, but I still think that normal or even rava dosa is better. Ragi dosa may be healthier, but I don’t want to compromise on taste when I am eating out.”
But despite minimal takers, there are eateries that continue to highlight millet-based foods on their menu. As Nishtha Chauhan, owner of the café located within the Centre for Environment Education premises said, “With millet-based food, we provide a healthier alternative to the aware Amdavadi. In fact, our millet-based basket chat, bhel, and ragi idli are very popular. The use of organic products forces us to hike the prices of the final products.”
Chauhan adds that the concept is taking time to gain popularity because “people are still unaware of the availability of millet-based food in eateries. Therefore, we have yet to make a profit. But our profit is people’s health.”
Kanzariya echoed the same as he said, “There is an urgent need for more millet-based food joints to spread awareness and promote healthier choices. We are celebrating the Millet Year, and yet we don’t have places for millet-based food. This is a good business opportunity for the people of Ahmedabad to explore.”
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