SHILLONG, March 16: The United Nations has designated 2023 as the International Year of Millets which is being spearheaded by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). Millet has been a food of choice of the indigenous people of Meghalaya as much as it is the world over before rice took over the palate completely. Millet is noted for being gluten free and is full of minerals such as potassium and magnesium with proteins also packed in.
For a Meghalaya known for malnutrition, wasting and stunting of children and also of anemia among women millet could be a healthy substitute for rice.
The North East Slow Food and Agrobiodiversity Society (NESFAS) which has been working with farmers across 130 villages with over 6,000 community members and over 10,000 farmers has been able to learn from them and integrate traditional wisdom with contemporary science.
To revive the use of millet as a food crop which is resilient to climate change and is highly nutritious NESFAS organised a Millet Festival on its office premises at Laitumkhrah here on Thursday. Millet is what is referred to as jingbam tynrai (indigenous food) in Khasi because it has been grown in these hills and dales from time immemorial.
To commemorate this event, NESFAS roped in Chef Thomas Zacharias known for his restaurant Bombay Canteen in Mumbai. Chef Zach as he is called studied at the famous Culinary Institute of America. In the first phase of his career Chef Zach worked on European cuisine and started out as a line cook at Le Bernardin, New York City’s famed Michelin three-star eatery in 2009.
In 2014, Zach undertook a culinary expedition across India and this made him rethink his entire approach to food. He went on to start the kitchen at The Bombay Canteen as Chef Partner and created innovative recipes using indigenous ingredients through contemporary regional Indian cuisine.
In 2022, Zach decided to invest his time in storytelling while working with local produce, and nurturing connections between people within the Indian food system. He founded The Locavore to try and spread the message of indigenous food systems. Addressing the audience at the NESFAS event, Chef Zach said, “There are many parallels among indigenous communities. It is a pity that we don’t celebrate Indigenous Peoples across the country but now there is a power shift and we are realising that we have a lot to learn on sustainability from indigenous communities and we need to show more respect to them.” Speaking about his venture The Locavore, Chef Zach said the idea is to make millet not just edible but also tasty by pairing it with other foods which was demonstrated at the event. Stating that millet chefs are an exception, Zach said, “We have to find solutions to the problem of why more and more people consume less and less millet.”
NESFAS founder, Phrang Roy narrated how as deputy commissioner of a district in Maharashtra he had introduced high yielding variety of rice grown with fertilisers et al during the drought, to counter famine. But while the results were good in the first few years, that eventually destroyed the soil quality and resulted in poor agricultural outcomes. In contrast, Thane which has a population of 14% tribals the farmers refused the high yielding variety of rice seeds. Instead they stuck to the indigenous seeds.
“Now I realise that our work with farmers is to give them the power to say ‘no’ despite pressure from government to grow high yielding variety of seeds. Scientists and IAS officers don’t know all the answers and need to listen to traditional wisdom. Also chefs cannot be left out of the consultation processes,” Roy said.
A farmer from Khat-ar Shnong, Bibliana Ranee who has been the messiah instrumental in conserving millet seeds, growing them and spreading the message of their nutritional value urged farmers to nurture this crop as it is the answer to climate change and all round health. She however lamented that farmers from Khat-ar Shnong have to climb up 3,000 steps to bring their produce to the market as the villages are not yet connected by a road. She urged the government to pay attention to this plight of the farmers.
Millet farmers were also present on the occasion and Agriculture Minister Ampareen Lyngdoh graced the event as the chief guest. She tasted the delectable cuisine of millet-based rotis, pakoras and pu-doh (a Khasi delicacy) paired with varieties of pickles and soups along with the other guests.
The minister was all praise for the event. “The event was quite interesting and especially the food. It had a good blend of what we usually see in any other plate but millet did have a distinctive taste and I thought that the taste was quite nice because this is the first time I’m exposed to millet. We have to be supportive towards such programmes in the coming future and work together,” she said.
It may be mentioned that several local chefs as well as the team from Locavore had been kept busy preparing the millet dishes ranging from different teas to the varieties of luncheon cuisine to desserts. They all said it was an experience they cherished.
