Millets were once the backbone of Indian agriculture – hardy, drought-resistant super grains that thrived in diverse climates. But when the British East India Company pushed for cash crops and wheat cultivation, these ancient superfoods nearly vanished from our plates. Now, as climate change threatens food security, these forgotten grains are making a powerful comeback.
Did you know that millets played an important role in one of the darkest chapters of Indian history?
Did you know that millets contain a natural biochemical defense system that makes them incredibly resilient and could be one of our best weapons against climate change?
Read on to find out more.
What are millets?
Millets are essentially grasses that produce small edible seeds. They are distant cousins of wheat and rice, but possess superpowers that help them survive harsh conditions.
There are several different types of millets – ragi or finger millet, bajra or pearl millet, jowar or sorghum, and many more. For instance, jowar is the sixth most widely grown crop in the world after rice, wheat, sugarcane, corn, and potato.
However, the sheer variety of millets does not make them so popular or valuable. It is their incredible ability to survive extreme conditions that makes them very important. While other plants needed lots of water and fertile soil, millets developed some fascinating adaptations.
How do millets survive harsh environments?
Highly efficient C4 photosynthesis pathway.
There are two kinds of photosynthesis pathways in plants – the C3 pathway and the C4 pathway. We know that animals breathe in oxygen and breathe out carbon dioxide throughout the day and night. In contrast, plants take in carbon dioxide and give out oxygen in the presence of Sunlight to carry out a process called photosynthesis.
The C3 and the C4 pathways of photosynthesis differ in how the plants capture carbon dioxide and convert it to glucose, and thus, energy, in different environmental conditions.
The C3 pathway is the most common pathway for photosynthesis in plants. It is commonly used by plants like rice, wheat, and barley. The C3 pathway works efficiently in wet climates with high levels of carbon dioxide. However, plants that use the C3 pathway suffer from a process called photorespiration in hot and dry conditions where oxygen competes with carbon dioxide, reducing the efficiency of photosynthesis.
This is where the millets benefit since they use the C4 pathway for photosynthesis. Millets like bajra, jowar, ragi, etc. have evolved to minimize photorespiration. It incorporates a specialized mechanism to concentrate carbon dioxide in cells allowing photosynthesis to continue efficiently even in hot and dry climates.
Simply put, the C3 pathway is like an old Ambassador car, while the C4 pathway is like the Ambassador car with a hybrid engine.
In the C4 plants, photosynthesis will generally be slow but will also be more efficient.
Grow Deep and Wide Roots
Millet roots can grow very, very deep and spread very, very wide enabling them to survive with minimal water.
Shorter Lifecycles
Millets can complete their lifecycles in as little as 60 days. Compare this to rice and wheat that take about 4 to 6 months. The shorter lifecycle makes millets perfect for regions with short rainy seasons.
Nutrition in Millets
Apart from this, millets have also evolved three remarkable biochemical mechanisms that make them nutritional powerhouses.
Fiber
Imagine molecular sponges in your digestive system. Millets function exactly like that. Different millets have evolved different fiber structures. For example, sorghum and ragi fiber forms a gel-like matrix that physically slows down food transit in your gut. So, it not just helps you feel full for longer but also reduces the risk of inflammatory bowel disease.
Cholesterol
Millets like bajra, sorghum, and ragi have fiber molecules that can bind to bile acids and steroids in your digestive system. When these fiber molecules bind to bile acids, they prevent them from being reabsorbed into the blood stream, forcing your body to use up the cholesterol to make new bile acids. This makes millets a natural cholesterol-lowering mechanism.
Sugar
Unlike rice or wheat that break down quickly, millet starches have a unique molecular structure that make them digest more slowly. These starch molecules exhibit a polygonal rhombic shape and contain 15 to 20% amylose & 80 to 85% amylopectin. This ratio is crucial because amylose digests more slowly than amylopectin, helping maintain steady blood sugar levels.
Protein
Proteins produced by millets help it resist drought. Common cereals like rice or wheat usually have only one major protein fraction, while millets contain multiple fractions, such as albumins, globulins, prolamins, and glutelins. This is better for you, but it is still important to remember that millets are not the primary protein sources in your diet since millets are still grains/cereals. To get enough protein in your diet, you still need to include a variety of sources like soy if you are vegan, dairy or eggs if you are a vegetarian, seafood and meat if you are a non-vegetarian.
Beyond starches and protein, plants also produce some secondary metabolites. These compounds are not essential for the plant’s basic growth but play a role in helping them survive stress. In millets, these secondary metabolites include polyphenols that act as antioxidants and minerals that enhance cell wall strength.
When we eat millets, we benefit from these compounds. It is like getting a chemical defense system in every bite of food.
Health Benefits of Millets
Millets are often hyped as superfoods but one needs to look at a broader context before hailing them as superheroes in our diet. Our current diet and food systems are very rice and wheat heavy. Those crops require a lot of water and fertilizers. Millets are also cereals like rice and wheat, so instead of looking at millets in isolation, we need to look at them in comparison to the other commonly-consumed grains. Even when we do that, we see that every millet is unique.
For example, if we look at the total amount of protein, millets are roughly in the same range as wheat and rice. The protein structure in millets is slightly different from that in wheat and rice, though.
When it comes to fiber, millets are roughly in the same range as whole wheat atta but fare better than rice.
In terms of iron, bajra has almost double the amount of iron compared to wheat.
All millets really shine when it comes to the amount of vitamins they contain. All millets are rich in folates. Kutki or sama is rich in biotin while ragi is a good source of ergocalciferol.
In essence, if you truly want to benefit from millets, eat all of them instead of just one.
While millets are roughly comparable in most of their macronutrient and micronutrient content, millet’s unique features that help it adapt to harsh conditions translate into a few specific health benefits.
Weight Management
The water absorbing and bulking properties of millets help you consume fewer calories than when you eat rice or wheat in a meal. The fiber content also helps create a feeling of fullness much earlier.
Cardiovascular Health
The bile-binding properties of bajra, sorghum, and ragi do more than just reduce cholesterol. Studies have shown that they reduce overall cardiovascular risk by affecting lipid metabolism.
Diabetes Management
The combination of slower carbohydrate absorption and improved glucose tolerance makes certain millets particularly beneficial for blood sugar control. Studies have shown that regular consumption can help reduce glycemic response.
Millets: The Dark Chapter in Indian History
Before the British Raj, millets were widely consumed in many regions of India. Every region had its own millets, which explains the huge variety that we have today.
During the 18th century, the British realized they were spending a lot of gold and silver for buying tea from China. At this time, China was the only source of tea and the Chinese did not want to barter. They only wanted gold and silver for the tea they sold. So, the British came up with a diabolical plan to get the Chinese population addicted to opium.
Opium and Tea
The Bihar and Bengal regions in India grew some of the finest opium in the world and the British wanted to grow more of it here in India. They would then smuggle it into China because the Chinese emperor would never allow it to be imported legally. As the Chinese population began getting addicted to opium, they would pay hard cash – silver or gold to buy the opium that was smuggled in by the British. The British would then use this silver and gold to legally buy tea from the Chinese.
While the plan was brilliant for the British, the Indians paid a heavy price. Indian farmers, at least until then, preferred growing useful things like millets because during bad monsoon years, millets were a lifesaver. The British found a solution to this too. They began paying large sums of money to convince the farmers to switch to opium cultivation. Large tracts of land that were traditionally used for millet cultivation were converted to opium fields. This was not just an agricultural change but it was a catastrophic disruption of food security systems that had evolved in India over thousands of years.
Millets: Perfect for Indian conditions
Millets were perfectly adapted to the Indian monsoon-dependent agriculture. They could survive even if the rains failed in any particular year, providing farmers with food security during droughts. When this system was disrupted, it contributed to several devastating famines during the British Raj. To tide over these famines, the British encouraged people to consume more rice and wheat. Rice and wheat could be sourced from other regions of India and provided as part of a ration system. This ration system is the same one that is still in place. The ration available in the ration shops is bought by the government from the farmers at a minimum support price.
Do you know what has never been provided through the ration shops?
Millets.
Imagine the impact on our long-term health if we had not switched to rice and wheat back in the day! Imagine its impact on the scary levels of diabetes that currently exist in India!
How to incorporate millets in our diet?
Millets are highyl dense grains that have evolved to survive droughts. They are not easy to cook, generally.
Whole Millets
Roasting millets over dry heat adds a nutty flavor, courtesy the maillard reaction. It also deactivates the phytic acid that tends to interfere with the nutrition absorption.
Rinse millets thoroughly to remove debris, then soak for 30 minutes to 2 hours, to reduce cooking time. Use a 1:2.5 millets-to-water ratio for fluffy grains. Take a higher ratio if you want porridge or khichdi-like consistency.
Use a higher temperature at the start of the cooking process to gelatinize the starch and then lower the temperature so that it does not turn mushy. You can also use a pressure cooker.
Don’t believe in the rampant social media scaremongering about pressure cookers. Pressure cooked millets are actually easier to digest.
Making Millet Rotis
Unlike wheat, millets do not contain gluten which is essential for elasticity in dough. This makes millet flours harder to make rotis with. We all have at some point, struggled with this. But here is a brilliant food science hack to get around this.
Adding a tiny amount of xanthan gum – about 1 teaspoon per cup of flour could make a huge difference. Instead of xanthan gum, adding a little psyllium husk that is commonly used for providing relief in constipation will also work. This would greatly improve the water-binding in the dough, making it easier to make good soft rotis.
Millet flour tends to absorb more water, so allowing the dough to rest for 15 to 20 minutes after kneading helps hydrate the flour evenly, making it easier to work with.
Often, people may not like the taste of 100% millet flour. So, for better texture and taste, combine millet flours with small amounts of other flours like rice, wheat, tapioca, etc. which will make the resulting rotis much tastier.
Pearl millet has a slightly higher fat content than other millets, making bajra flour an excellent choice for making rotis. You can also use bajra flour + whole wheat atta in 1:1 ratio or replace all the wheat flour with bajra flour. Don’t forget that pinch of xanthan gum.
Anything that you make using rice or wheat, can be made using millets too. You can still continue consuming rice and wheat, but add millets to your diet – mix it in with rice and wheat to make a healthier choice.
The Khichdi Template
India consumes a variety of khichdi-like dishes, such as pongal, bisi bele bath, khichuri, etc. One can make these using millets as well by replacing all the rice with millets in the recipe or replacing half the rice content with millets.
Fermented Foods
Millets can be fermented by themselves or with legumes to make idli and dosai batters. During fermentation, the bacteria would break down the phytic acid present in millets, making the minerals present in the grains more bioavailable, while also producing more B-vitamins. The fermentation process would create flavor compounds that would make the final food product – idli, dosai, uttapam, etc. a lot more delicious.
Why millets are crucial for the future?
Climate change is making weather patterns more unpredictable. Water is becoming increasingly scarce.
Consider these numbers:
Rice needs about 2,500 liters of water per kilogram.
Wheat needs about 1,500 liters of water per kilogram.
Millets need about 500 liters of water per kilogram or lesser.
Additionally, millets can grow in poor soil conditions. They require little to no pesticides, thus having a much smaller carbon footprint. They can survive in temperatures up to 46 degrees Celsius.
Masala Lab tips for adding millets to your daily diet
So, should we write off rice and wheat and completely switch to millets for everything?
It is not that simple.
A lot of people cannot digest millets well. The high amount of fiber and resistant starch in millets can cause digestive discomfort in many people.
Here is the Masala Lab tip to start incorporating millets into your existing diet without making wholesale changes.
- Replace rice with ragi for breakfast, particularly in the form of idlis or dosais.
- Use bajra for rotis or mix bajra and atta for rotis
- Try millet-based snacks to understand their cooking properties
- Experiment with different varieties of millets as each type has a unique flavor & texture as well as different nutritional properties
Note: Many millets cook faster than rice although you will have to soakahead of time. They are more filling because of the higher fiber content. They also have a lower glycemic index than other cereal grains. Keep this in mind when incorporating millets in your diet.
There is something fundamentally off about the idea of an incredibly diverse country like India with the large number of states and languages, but a diet principally comprised of wheat and rice across the board. History tells us that the fact that we only eat rice and wheat is an aberration, one that we must fix. The tiny millet grains are not just nutritious but they are also a testament to nature’s incredible ability to adapt and survive, much like the people of India. Millets are a part of our agricultural heritage and they might just be crucial for our future food security.
