If you are planning to switch over from cereals to millets, head to Pathayam – Millets Café, the first millets café in the Thiruvananthapuram district, which will open on April 26.
The initiative comes in the wake of 2023 being declared the International Year of Millets. The cafe is being launched by Millet Mission-Kerala, a ‘people’s campaign for promoting millets and wellness’, started by a group of voluntary organisations and institutions with the support of the National Bank For Agriculture And Rural Development (NABARD). The Mission was launched at a the state-level declaration of the International Year of Millets held at Mitraniketan in the city on December 31, 2022.
2023 is the International Year of Millets | Photo Credit: GP SAMPATH KUMAR
“There is an unprecedented focus on millets now. However, most people are still ignorant about the varieties of millets and their benefits. So we took it as a challenge to create that awareness,” says Sreelatha S, chairperson, Millet Mission-Kerala.
Kodo millet pulao | Photo Credit: K R Deepak
According to Pankajakshan, director of Santhigram, one of the promoters of Millet Mission, the Mission has conducted several programmes to take millets to more people and the millets café is a new step in that direction. “Many people don’t know about the range of dishes that can be made with millets; this café will get them to experience that,” he says.
Sreelatha mentions that at the launch of Millet Mission, a millet lunch had been arranged. “We had ragi (finger millet) soup, chama kanji (little millet gruel), varagu (kodo millet) pulao, payasam made with thina (foxtail millet) and pineapple, and a curry using manicholam (sorghum) and jackfruit,” she explains.
Dosas made using millet varieties | Photo Credit: M PERIASAMY
The millet café will be managed by Gangadharan, who used to run Pathayam Naturopathic Organic Restaurant near the Secretariat. “There will be dosa, idli, puttu or chapathi made with millets. We have a special millet lunch, which will have Pathayam’s usual spread of fruit payasam, sprouts, salad, and curries like aviyal and thoran with millet soup, millet chapathi, millet rice and millet payasam. Then there would be steamed snacks ada and kozhukatta made with millet flour. Millet puttu and kanji will be served for dinner,” says Gangadharan.
Millet dosa | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
The cafe has the space to conduct events and training programmes. The 48-seater café, open from 8am to 9pm will also have books, raw millets and millet-based products.
On April 24 and 25, the cafe will host a training session on cooking with millets from 10am to 5pm. Seats are limited to 20 and the fee is ₹500. Contact: 9072302707.
Pathayam-Millets Café in the Housing Board Building, Government Press Road will be inaugurated on April 26 at 9am. Contact: 9387391082
