I am amazed
by the maddening diversity of food Karnataka has to offer. North Karnataka,
Dakshina Karnataka, Kodagu, Mangaluru, Udupi, Saraswat and Navayath Muslim being
some of the cuisines in the sate. I have tasted, cooked and delved into recipes
from almost all these regions and there is probably just one dish that has eluded
my love.
It is ragi
mudde.
The 1st
time I had it, I almost choked. The mudde was probably too dense, or as newbie,
I greedily took off too a large bite, or I didn’t soak it in enough curry to
soften it. I still stay away from this very popular millet-based dish from
Karnataka.
On the
other hand, there are a couple of ragi dishes from Karnataka that I can’t have
enough of- one being ragi ambali, which is a savoury beverage or porridge. The other
is ragi roti. Unlike the thicker millet bhakris made in Maharashtra, these
rotis from north Karnataka have aromatics like chilies, onion, coriander, dill
leaves and other spices. These can also be made plain but as soft rotis that
puff up on the tawa and remain soft for 1-2 days when kept wrapped in a muslin
cloth.
The Dietary
Guidelines for Indians by the ICMR along with the National Institute of
Nutrition (NIN) released on 8th May gives a strong nudge to include
millets as a part of one’s daily diet.” My Plate for the Day” which was
published in the guidelines is a visual guide to what a balanced diet looks
like.
It recommends
that half of the cereal component in a day should be from whole grains like
millets because they provide vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, phytonutrients,
fiber and bioactive compounds that improve gut health.
It also
emphasies that all cereal or millet-based diets should be had with adequate
pulses or beans for good quality protein and fiber.i’m glad they’ve clearly
mentioned the addition of a protein source. A common myth circulated on social
media is that millets are a great source of protein.
While they
do have higher protein content than rice, as per the Indian Institute of Millets
Research website, the protein in millets ranges from 7.5-13 gm per 100 gm of
most raw or uncooked millets. One ears roughly 25-30 gm of raw millets per
serving which becomes 75-90 gm of cooked millet ( most cereals triple in weight
when cooked). It has around 2-3 gm of protein. Look at millets as a whole grain
or complex carbohydrate and a source of dietary fiber and micronutrients, with
some added protein and not as a protein source.
The Dietary
Guidelines for Indians also advises eating a variety of millets as each has
different nutrient profile. For e.g. among millets, ragi has the highest amount
of calcium, pearl millet is rich in iron and brown top millet has the highest
dietary fiber.
A practical
tip is to buy 1-2 kinds of millet in a month in small quantities and use them
by rotation along with rice or any other grains, as they tend to go rancid quickly.
Soak before cooking for at least an hour for varieties like kodo and foxtail
and do an overnight soak for pearl millet. Grinding soaked millets along with
pulses and fermenting them to make idlis and dosas is a a good idea. Use the
ratio of 1:2 with water for fluffy millets that go into salads and upma )
foxtail, little and kodo millet work well for both) and 1:3 for a mashed soft
consistency.
There’s a
barely a dish I’ve not use millets in- salads made using a combination of
millet (usually foxtail), beans, veggies and greens along with a flavourful
citrus dressing being my favorite. It speaks of the versatility of this grain
and how it can be used in both traditional and modern dishes. Check out the
beautifully produced Millets Recipe Book by United Nation’s Food and
Agriculture Organisation on their website, which has a bunch of recipes from
chefs around the world.
This is only for your information, kindly take the advice of your doctor for medicines, exercises and so on.
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Labels: can be used for variety of dishes, dosa, idli, millets- rich in protein and nutrients, porridge, upma