From Our Special Correspondent

Daijiworld Media Network

Bengaluru, Jul 26: State agriculture minister Krishna Byre Gowda inaugurated a two-day workshop on millet based foods for dieticians and chefs’ at the Ramaiah University campus in Bengaluru on Tuesday, July 25.

The workshop organised by the Karnataka State Department of Agriculture in collaboration with the Nutrition and Nutraceutical Research Centre (NNRC) of Ramaiah University of Applied Sciences (RUAS), is aimed at highlighting the need to incorporate millets in the diet and in turn promote a healthy lifestyle. The two-day workshop includes panel discussions, culinary demonstrations by chefs from RUAS and exhibitions on various dishes made from millets.

Krishna Byre Gowda, in his inaugural address said, "Over the past few months we have taken large strides in promoting the importance of millets across the country, as they are nutritional powerhouses. This event aims to reach the most important food influencers-dieticians and chefs, which in turn will help us reach the mass audience and educate them on the health benefits of this ancient forgotten crop.
The chefs at the event will also be demonstrating various new recipes to bring back yester-years ‘bakery’ and ‘sweets and savouries’ recipes with new modern flavours," he said.

Dr S R Shankapal, vice-chancellor, RUAS; G Satish, commissioner for agriculture, KSDA; M R Kodandaram, director, GEF; Dr M R Jayaram, chairman, GEF and chancellor, RUAS, and Dr Govind R Kadambi, pro-vice chancellor, research, RUAS, were among the dignitaries.

The technical sessions on ‘Millets and their Role in Preventing Lifestyle Diseases’, ‘BVoC Programmes at Ramaiah University’ and ‘Incorporating Millet Foods in Healthy Diets’ by Dr Vilas Tonapi, director, IIMR, Hyderabad; Dr Vibha Shetty, director, DTLL, RUAS and Hema Arvind, chief dietitian, MSRMH respectively were conducted.

The event ended with a panel discussion chaired by Krishna Byre Gowda and attended by Dr Bhaskarachary, NIN, Hyderabad; Geetha G H, registered dietitian, Bengaluru; Dr Vibha Shetty, professor, Prosthodontics, FDS, RUAS; Uchit Vohra, executive chef, ITC Windsor, Bengaluru and Archana Doshi, blogger and founder, Archana's Kitchen and was moderated by Priya Arjun, head, NNRC.

There will be demonstrations by various leading chefs, including Ramaswamy Selvaraju, executive chef, Vivantha Taj, Bengaluru who will be displaying recipes of Smoked Chicken Salad with Crispy Foxtail Millet, Pan Seared Chicken with Millet Stew and Sauternes Sauce and Spinach Stuffed Millet Ravioli with Primavera Sauce. Vani Anamdas, manager, Housing and Food Services, ICRISAT, Hyderabad, will demonstrate dishes on Millet Waffles, Finger Millet Cake with Hot Garlic Sauce, Chicken Dish, Millet Kashmiri Kofta in Palak Gravy, Sorghum Stuffed Kulcha, Millet Manchurian, Ragi Banana Cake, Ragi Shots.

Various other dishes including Foxtail Millet Crisps with Millet Sprouts, Smoked Kodo Millet Kebab with Yoghurt Dip Finger Millet Tacos, Paella, Millet Risotto, Millet, Cottage Cheese and Spinach Tikkis, Greek Yoghurt Cake with Citrus Glaze, Toffee Choco Tart with Caramel Sauce will also be showcased by Chef Nagarekha Palli, RUAS; Chef Shyam Prasad, RUAS; Chef Shashi Sharma, RUAS and Chef Sridhar Krishnan, RUAS.

The event will conclude with a panel discussion attended by Chef Ramaswamy Selvaraju, Vani Anamdas, Chef Nagarekha Palli, Chef Shyam Prasad, Chef Shashi Sharma, Chef Sridhar Krishnan and Ruth D’Souza Prabhu, freelance journalist and blogger.