Did you know you could make jam with native keerai or whip up a yummy pasta with millets?
A millet and spinach cookery workshop will feature R. Rajamurugan, author of Nalla Soaru , a millet recipe book (English and Tamil). He will share recipes and talk about the health benefits of millets and spinach.
“We are still finalising the final menu. We are experimenting with pastas, rotis, salads and desserts like kheer and halwa using thinai, varagu, saamai, panivaragu, kaelvaragu, kambu and cholam,” says Rajamurugan, who has been researching millets for over a decade now.
He says cooking with millets requires a lot of technique. For example, pastas come out really well based on the starch content that gives it its slightly sticky texture. “We have tried using warm water while making the dough for pastas. Similarly, the roti dough is made with warm water to make soft rotis. The quantity of water to be used is important. I will share these tips at the workshop.”
All the dessert recipes are made with palm jaggery or palm sugar.
There will also be information on how to choose the right variety of millet, methods of cleaning it, and tips on how to make pre-packed millet recipes.
Along with millets, he will also teach you how to make keerai kadaisal, jam, thovaiyal, and podi with varieties of greens. “Besides palak and manathakkali, he will discuss the benefits of some native greens such as mudakkathan, thoothuvalai, karpooravalli, mookarattai, thaalikeerai, thuthikeerai and kodipasalai. These are packed with health benefits. These greens are available in our backyard. Only be careful to pick them if they are growing near open drains as the contaminated water with heavy metal content can infect the greens. The focus of the spinach workshop is on how to include greens in the diet of children everyday.”
Rajamurugan can be contacted at 98426-72439
Millet & Greens workshop
There will be two separate workshops on cooking with millets and greens respectively
Registration fee of ₹500 per person per workshop
March 19 & 20; 10.00 am to 12.00 pm and 1.00 pm to 3.00 pm (two batches)
K'sirs International School, Chinnavedampatti
0422-2935656 to register
