Mumbai Food: Learn to make risotto, laddoos with lesser known millets

Millet Salad

Millets are fast becoming fashionable, with several gourmet restaurants making space for the humble grain on their menus. And, why not? Not only are millets gluten-free, they're also incredibly healthy for you.

If you are keen to learn how to substitute grains like rice and wheat in your diet with millets, sign up for the Millet Muscle workshop organised by food and consultancy services company Down 2 Hearth. Here, founder and chef Vinita Contractor will give participants a demo on making everything from crepes, risotto and upma, to desserts like laddoo and payasam.

Millet Laddoos

"Jowar, bajra and ragi are the more commonly known millets, but there are so many different types to be found in India. And the question everyone has is: how do you cook with them? At this workshop, I'll be using varieties such as proso, kodo, barnyard, and little millet. All of them have different names in regional languages," says Contractor, who is conducting this workshop for the third time.

She adds that although it's a demo session, she will encourage participants to join her while trying out the recipes. "The space can accommodate up to 15 people, and everyone will get to touch, smell and taste what we're making. It will be a hands-on experience," she shares.

Vinita Contractor

Contractor reveals that although cooking millets is not difficult after you try it once, it's often challenging to create a flavoursome dish. "Millets taste bland, and have no flavour of their own. So, it's important to use produce that packs in a lot of flavour. For instance, you could use mushroom stock while making a risotto using millets," she suggests.