Parliament Canteens Add Millet Dishes To Menu After PM's 'Mann ki Baat'

From jowar vegetable upma to ragi dosa, bajre ki tikki to bajra khichdi, these food items made of millets will now be part of the menu of Parliament House canteens.

As the government is promoting the use of millets, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla has made arrangements for serving the dishes made primarily with ragi, jowar, bajra, rajgira, and kangni to MPs, staff, and visitors during the budget session starting January 31.

Dishes from across the country have found a place on the menu of Parliament canteens after Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday highlighted the benefits of millets during his 'Mann ki Baat' programme.

Last month, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar organised a lunch made of only millets for parliamentarians during the winter session.

The United Nations declared 2023 as the International Year of Millets after the government of India brought forward a proposal in this regard and was endorsed by members of FAO Governing Bodies as well as by the 75th Session of the UN General Assembly.

In the Parliament canteens, health-conscious people can now have oats milk or soy milk, besides bajre ke raab (from Rajasthan) and ragi matar ka shorba (soup), bajra onion ki muthiya (Gujarat), ragi rava idli with sambhar, shahi bajre ki tikki (Madhya Pradesh) and jowar vegetable upma (Gujarat) as starters.

Besides, Kerala's ragi dosa with peanut chutney, Rajasthan's rajgira poori with aloo ki sabzi and bajre/ragi ki roti and Gujarat's bajre ki khichdi would be served in Parliament canteens, apart from the normal menu.

Visitors can also enjoy amaranth salad and korra millet salad, kesari kheer made of small millets and ragi walnut laddoo.

The move to serve millet foods comes as they are considered the traditional cereals of India and are known for health benefits in various ways.

The International Year of Millets stands to provide a unique opportunity to increase global production, ensure efficient processing and consumption, promote better utilization of crop rotations, and encourage better connectivity throughout food systems to promote millets as a key component of the food basket.

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