Surprising Delicious Revolution

The drought in the State has proved beneficial for a group of traditional grains and millets. Overlooked since the ‘Green Revolution’ of the 1960s, these forgotten food grains are making a comeback because they have proven to be drought-resistant. Tamil Nadu was reported to have produced over 29 lakh tonnes of millet last year (up from 9 lakh tonnes), marking a significant shift from ‘polished’ rice.

The low glycaemic index of millets (a measure of how fast our body converts food into sugar) compared to rice, is just one of the many nutritional advantages of these grains. The number of non-governmental organisations promoting organic farming and ethnic food grain cultivation has grown in Tamil Nadu. A recent three-day ethnic food festival, organised by the Department of Social Welfare and Nutritious Meal Programme and Integrated Child Development Services Scheme in Tiruchi, was proof of this revival.

Millets mission

“As a graduate in Agricultural Science, I wanted to do something useful for the farming community. Most agriculturists go for high-yield crops that need chemical fertilisers. We are trying to refocus their attention on traditional methods of farming,” says K Suresh Kumar, whose Sri K S Lakshmi Agri Clinic and Agri Extension Centre is the first of its kind in Tamil Nadu.

For the past two years, the company’s Mithraa Millets has been popularising alternatives to rice-based dishes with its millet flour and plant-origin ready mixes. “Ragi and kambu should come back into our diets in a big way,” says Kumar. The company operates two stalls at the Uzhavar Sandhai (Farmers’ Market) in Tiruchi. “We sell at least 10kg of steamed ragi puttu on Sundays.”

Organic groceries

Spending a week at a workshop on sustainable living conducted by organic farming pioneer Nammalvar in 2013 convinced G Sathyabhama to switch over to a more nature-aware lifestyle and set up a shop to sell organic food products. Sathyabhama found chemical-free food to be the perfect antidote for her chronic ulcer. “I feel organic food and nature cures can regulate our lifestyle over the long term.”

Her Evergreen Organic Store in Srirangam sources groceries and beauty products from nearly 15 suppliers all over the State. She rues the absence of a pricing and quality control body that could standardise the organic food business in Tamil Nadu. “All our organic produce is sent to metro cities, and the shortage causes a hike in prices, locally.” Among the heirloom grains in her store are ‘kaattu arisi’, a type of wild rice, and ‘mapillai samba’.

Healthy option

E Gopalakrishnan, a veteran of agriculture-based business, has now shifted to the next level — his Millet-In products are sold online. This has freed him up to supply bigger retailers. “It is healthier to opt for kanji rather than koozh, according to native medicine,” says Gopalakrishnan. His ready-to-cook kanji mix is among the top sellers of Millet-In. Besides this, he also has a regular clientèle for his karsilankanni hair oil and mudakattan massage oil. “Since the oils don’t have any chemical additives, they last for at least three years,” says Gopalakrishnan. 

He is currently developing flatbread flour mixes to be sold in a ready-to-eat form. “I’m planning to sell kneaded ragi flour dough that can be rolled out as rotis and cooked on the day of purchase. As our customer base changes, organic food and product manufacturers must also adapt to modern sensibilities,” he says.