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Home » Healthy Recipes » Millets,Quinoa & Grain Recipes » How to Introduce Millets in Your Diet

How to Introduce Millets in Your Diet

70 · Dec 17, 2018 · 14 Comments

How to Introduce Millets in our diets - Why eat millet and what's the comparison of Millets to Wheat & Rice along with winner Millet recipes!

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In this post I will help you understand what Millets are and How to Introduce Millets in Your Diet.

Millets are the SUPER WONDER GRAIN – Grass- Cereal of food world! Actually something in between all of that and that’s what makes them so awesome!

Did you know UN Food and Agriculture Organisation has decided to observe 2023 as the International Year of Millets? Well now you know!

What are Millets

If you don’t already know about them then let me introduce you to them!!

Millets are a group of small-seeded cereal grasses.The most common types of millets used are Ragi/Finger Millet, Bajra/Pearl Millet, Jowar/ Sourgham and Foxtail Millet/ Kangni.

Though it has been extensively cultivated and consumed in India since centuries, in the last few decades they ended up being tagged as the poor people’s food ,thanks to the Green revolution and mass production of Wheat and Rice.
Chances are, your grandma probably ate lots of Millets.I know that Bajra Roti and Jowar Khichadi were a staple in my grandma’s diet but somehow marketing and consumerism got in the way of the knowledge transfer.These little cereals may be called something else in your local language, and in all probability you would have heard of them.

It is only after a few decades of green revolution, that we have realised how UNBALANCED our diets have become with just wheat and rice as the cereal sources.It’s time to go back to our roots, learn from our ancestors and incorporate these nutrient packed millets back into our diets!

Why eat Millets

Millets are Environmentally Sustainable

Millets are low input crops- they need very little water, almost no pesticides and can grow extremely well in dry arid regions.
These hardy crops have a short growing season-are literally ready to harvest plants in as little as 65 days which makes them all the more sustainable unlike Rice and Wheat.

Instant Ragi Dosa recipe - Finger millet Crepe without Dairy or Wheat.
Instant Ragi Dosa recipe – Finger millet Crepe without Dairy or Wheat.

Millet are Extremely Nutritious

Millets are highly nutritious,Gluten Free,Mineral Rich, non allergic & easy to digest Cereals.Even after hulling, they stay very high in fiber and nutrients.Look at the table below to understand the nutrient composition of Millets with respect to rice and wheat.
Out of all these millets,Ragi OR FINGER MILLET is truly a wonder millet- it has 30 times more Calcium than rice!!! Sprouting the Ragi gives a boost to it’s Vitamin C which makes the Iron bio available and hence easily absorbable.

Are Millets Gluten Free?

Millets do not have any gluten which makes them an ideal substitute for people with Gluten intolerance and Celiac disease.They are easy to digest and non allergic, that’s the reason why millets life Ragi are given as first foods to children.


Nutrient composition of millets compared to fine cereals (per 100 g)


How to Introduce Millets in our diets

The practical bit of “How to Introduce Millets in our diets” lies in the recipes.Frankly you can do endless things with millets but to start with lets focus on some easy key recipes first!

Millets can be ground into a flour and used to make crepes, pancakes , dosas and even cakes!
Sprouted Ragi flour often is cooked with water ,ghee and jaggery into a highly nutritious porridge for infants.

Millets like foxtail and Little millets imitate couscous when boiled in water.They can be used instead of rice in making Pulavs, fried rice and khichadi.Millets can also be used to make the everyday dosa/Idly batter instead of rice.

For more everyday Millet recipe inspirations- follow my millet board on PINTREST 

Recipes using Millets

Here are some recipe examples for you!

Ragi or Finger Millet Recipes

Ragi Laduu

Ragi Laddu made with Finger millet flour, Jaggery, Peanuts and sesame seeds. Healthy Diwali Sweet with all the indulgence and none of the guilt.
Check out this recipe

Ragi Pancake

Fudgy Ragi Chocolate Pancake ! Made with Super Nutritious Ragi flour,Banana and Eggs.This Ragi pancake is so fudgy and Chocolatey!!It's my favourite way to eat Ragi! #ragi #pancake #healthy #millet #milletrecipe #recipe #fingermillet
Fudgy Ragi Chocolate Pancake ! Made with Super Nutritious Ragi flour,Banana and Eggs.This Ragi pancake is so fudgy and Chocolatey!!It’s my favourite way to eat Ragi! 
Check out this recipe

Healthy Ragi Banana Cake – Eggless & Gluten Free

Healthy Ragi Banana Cake with Chocolate Chips and Walnuts - Eggless and Gluten Free Cake made with un refined Sugar ,Oats and Finger Millet.
Eggless Healthy Ragi Banana Cake with No flour or refined sugar! This cake has all things GOOD in it- Ragi flour,Oats flour and Jaggery.We love it so much at our house that we make it weekly now!
Check out this recipe

Instant Ragi Dosa recipe – Finger millet Crepe

Instant Ragi Dosa recipe - Finger millet Crepe without Dairy or Wheat.
Instant Ragi Dosa recipe – Finger millet Crepe without Dairy or Wheat.
Check out this recipe

Baked Ragi Namak Pare

Baked Ragi Namak Pare - Easy to make, crunchy and tasty , healthy Baked Indian Savory Snack perfect for tea time.
Baked Ragi Namak Pare – Easy to make, crunchy and tasty , healthy Baked Indian Savory Snack perfect for tea time.
Check out this recipe

Healthy Double Chocolate Chip Ragi Cookies

Eggless, Easy & Healthy Double Chocolate Chip Ragi(Finger Millet or Nachni) Cookies.
Check out this recipe

Ragi Chocochip Cookies

Ragi -Finger Millet & Choco chip cookies-without eggs- Great for kids
Check out this recipe

Foxtail Millet recipes

Foxtail Millet Tehri

Healthy Foxtail Millet Tehri - Vegetarian Indian Turmeric Millet Pulav Recipe
Healthy Foxtail Millet Tehri – Easy to make ,Vegetarian, One Pot Indian Turmeric Millet Pulav Recipe with Instant Pot and Stove Top recipes.
Check out this recipe

Tamarind Rice with Foxtail Millet

Tamarind Rice with Foxtail Millet - A delicious and easy to make ,healthier Puliyodhrai recipe using millets instead of rice. #millets #foxtailmillet #healthy #healthyeating #southindian #puliohare #tamarind #tamarindrice #milletrecipe #indianrecipe #milletrecipe
Tamarind Rice with Foxtail Millet – A delicious and easy to make ,healthier Puliyodhrai recipe using millets instead of rice.
Check out this recipe

Where to Buy Millets

You can buy millets in most local stores.Ragi, Jowar and Bajra are very easily available online also.

Stores like Amazon,Flipkart,Natures basket also have a great collection of Millets.

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How to Introduce Millets in our diets - Why eat millet and what's the comparison of Millets to Wheat & Rice along with winner Millet recipes! #RAGI #MILLETS #HEALTHY #WHOLEGRAINS #SORGHUM #INDIAN
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