How about sweets made with millets this Diwali?

Tellapur: How can we make millets popular once again? This is the question that Disha Consumer Movement and Deccan Development Society posed to about 200 persons who gathered at an exhibition-cum-cookery event held at Tellapur on Sunday. Tejasvi Dantuluri, coordinator of Deccan Development Society said, “This organisation has been running for 35 years and has always kept women first. This organisation feels if the farmers are in crisis then the consumers are equally in crisis. It is no more a farmer’s alone movement. It is also the battle of consumers after which they have named it as ‘Beyond Organic.’

The organisers feel that millets that were an integral part of Telangana cuisine somehow lost its popularity among people and now due to several health problems people are again looking towards millets. In an effort to bring back millets, the event of ‘Smart millets for a Smart Diwali’ showcased a few sweet dishes made with millets such as Foxtail Paisam, Korra Laddu, and Ragi Halwa. A cooking competition was also held and 40 farmers came from Zaheerabad and distributed the organic millets to the consumers.

Every farmer was given 10,000 and in return they gave organic millets to the consumers. Farmers also performed Lambada dance. The registration fee was 300 for elders and 150 for kids. The highlight of the workshop was live cooking demo of traditional millet recipes. Nutritional information of each recipe along with a recipe booklet detailing how to cook the home was also provided. Sravanthi, a participant at the event, said, “Such festivals are great opportunities for people to step out of their online spaces because there is much more happening than that.

The unique aspect of this festival is bringing people out of their home and celebrating their culture and food. Celebrating festival with farmers is very strong and nice fusion of celebrating. This is more of celebrating the festivals with both urban and rural areas.” ‘I always enjoyed assisting my mom in kitchen and slowly developed interest in cooking. I really enjoyed taking part in the contest and for being judged for my skills. The event brought me very close to nature,” said the excited a 15-year-old Niyudh who is one of the winners of the contest.