Department of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare is organizing an immersive two-day training programme inviting more than 200 chefs/cooks serving at various paramilitary and other government canteens, focusing on millet-based recipes. The training programme commencing today, aims at encouraging the participant chefs to include simple yet nutritious millet-based items in their respective menus and promote the consumption of millets across wider population. It will familiarize the participants to a variety of millet-based recipes, ranging from simple snacks to wholesome meals, and will encourage them to include it in respective canteens that they work with.

Additional Secretary, Shri Faiz Ahmed Kidwai, Additional Secretary, Smt. Maninder Kaur Dwivedi, and JS (Crops) DA&FW, Smt. Shubha Thakur, along with the other officials attended the event and encouraged the participants to adopt millets in their daily diet and join the ‘millet movement’ of the nation for the benefit of consumer, cultivator and climate.

A culinary training session for more than 200 chefs and cooks working with the paramilitary forces, namely, Assam Rifles, Border Security Force (BSF), Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Indo-Tibetan Border Police, National Security Guard, Sashastra Seema Bal, and various government canteens is being organized at the Institute of Hotel Management (IHM), PUSA, by the Department of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare (DA&FW), Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare.

Shri K.K. Pant, Principal, IHM welcomed dignitaries and participants in the auditorium and emphasized millets’ role in meeting holistic nutritional demands of the paramilitary forces. This training has been designed to cater to more than 100 participants each day. After the momentous decision taken by the Ministry of Home Affairs’ (MHA) to introduce Millets (Shree Anna) in the meals of all the forces, the training session will further amplify the overall ‘millet movement’ of India. The decision by MHA to introduce 30% Millets in the meals was taken to champion Millets as an energy-dense food option for paramilitary personnel and aid their physically strenuous routine. Millets are collectively considered to be a ‘superfood’, packed with fibre, minerals, antioxidants, and other essential nutrients critical to human health. The participation of chefs/cooks from the paramilitary forces will ensure that millets become a regular, healthy and delicious component of their diet.

The participants learnt many interesting recipes, including Bajra Bisi belle Bhaat, Foxtail Millet Poori, Proso Millet Kofta Curry, Brown top Millet Pulao and Ragi Halwa. The training is also being attended by FPOs that displayed the samples of their various millet-based ready-to-cook and ready-to-eat items. It will further expose those present to the versatility of millets as a kitchen ingredient and the ways in which they can be put to culinary use.

The training is a part of the ongoing series of events that align with the celebration of 2023 as the International Year of Millets (IYM), undertaken by DA&FW. Millets thrive with minimal intervention, even in water scarce regions, making them a reliable ‘climate-friendly’ alternative to conventional crops. India is trying to encourage the consumption of millets in the country, integrating it with the regular diet of people.

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SS/SM