How often do millets feature in your meals? At the Millet Revival Project, we savour recipes that celebrate the versatility and heritage of different regions, communities, and millet varieties across the Indian subcontinent. Oh, and recipes that are paired with delicious stories — those are our favourite kinds!
A quintessential Indo-Chinese appetiser, chilli chicken is a spicy, tangy dish where cornflour is used to coat chicken that is then fried with vegetables and soy sauce. This version, comprising ragi flour, is just as delicious.
Traditionally prepared during winters in Punjab, the Meethi Roti is—unlike what its name suggests—more firm and rustic, baked like a tava bread. Toasted with spices such as fennel, green cardamom, black cardamom, nutmeg, and black pepper, these rotis fill the heart and hearth with warmth.
Created in the royal kitchens of Lucknow—known for its Awadhi cuisine—Galawati kebabs were traditionally made with finely minced mutton and raw papaya paste. The vegetarian version, however, uses rajma, which lends a creamy texture that the minced meat otherwise offers. In this recipe, a similar creaminess is achieved by using cooked proso millet, while mashed elephant foot yam gives the kebabs a rich, meaty flavour.
A savoury rice flour pancake from the mountainous region of Sikkim, the ‘chatamari’ embodies the rich culinary heritage of the Himalayas. Here, the batter, traditionally comprising rice flour, is replaced with proso millet flour.
The Lonavla fudge is a gooey chocolate treat that commuters along the Pune-Mumbai route love deeply. Ankita’s version features browntop millet flour, condensed milk, cocoa powder, and walnuts, making for a decadent dessert.