The classic favourites biryani and cutlets will be joined by new dishes including jowar vegetable upma, bajra khichdi, ragi ladoo, and bajre ka choorma on the menu of Parliament House canteens in the near future. According to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Mann Ki Baat address on Sunday, every G20 summit event in India would feature millet cuisine as the government encourages the production and consumption of millets. 

Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana are the major millet-producing states. 

The meal was created by ITDC's Montu Saini, who served as executive chef in Rashtrapati Bhavan for five and a half years, under both Pranab Mukherjee and Ram Nath Kovind's administrations. Since 2020, ITDC has been in charge of the canteens at Parliament. 

As a result of the response to the lunch that was provided for MPs in the inner courtyard of Parliament House during the Winter Session, Saini said that the millet menu also represented public demand. Saini said that jaggery will take the role of grain sugar in the sweets. 

“It was the Honourable Speaker who advised that MPs should have a millet option in the menu. He wanted to go beyond just spreading awareness on millets, so we were asked to explore the possibilities and here we are with this menu, offering these dishes along with the other items we usually serve.” Pankaj Mittal, General Manager, ITDC 

Millets are being promoted in an effort by the government to aid small farmers all around the nation. India produced 15.92 MT of millet in 2021–2022 compared to 21.32 MT in 2003–2004. India is one of the top five nations in the world for millets exports. In 2021–2022 the nation exported millets worth $64.28 million, up from $59.75 million the year before. 

Sources: Click Here