Mingle with Millets, An Immersive Cooking Workshop, New Delhi

Pairing chefs with storytellers, this workshop delved into the millet ecosystem, its sustainability, innovation, even a ragi pudding loved by elephants.
Photo by Team Locavore.

On a cold February evening, we experienced the magic that unfolds when cooking and storytelling combine, which are, of course, our two favourite things! The Mingle with Millets cooking workshop was a first for us in so many ways—our first time hosting an event in New Delhi, and experimenting with this new format. 

 

The workshop was a collaboration between The Locavore, Rainmatter Foundation, and the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW), and took place at the beautiful CEEW campus in Vasant Kunj, New Delhi.

 

Our mission here was not just to learn new recipes, but to inspire lasting change by engaging with food and its stories in a deep and meaningful way.

ChefTZac kicked off the event with his great millet standoff—where only the people in the audience who knew the answers to his questions could remain standing! 

 

Then, Saahil Parekh and Karan Shinghal from CEEW’s Sustainable Food Systems programme took us through some of the work they do, and why millets are important within it. Both Sahil and Karan have co-authored a beautiful book called Millet Mantra, which showcases lives and livelihoods around millets.

 

The book features local and global stories about millets and champions efforts from across the country to create a sustainable food system around these nutritious, climate-resilient grains.

We love when like-minded people and organisations come together, and this time, it was centred all around millets. Photo by Team Locavore.

The first immersive session of the evening was with Chef Surabhi Bhandari and storyteller Usha Chhabra. The theme of their session was ‘Reviving Ancient Grains’, and the recipe we showcased for it was baajre ki raab. Chef Surabhi Bhandari’s journey began from never stepping into the kitchen to becoming a celebrated culinary personality, and it is so inspiring! And Usha Chhabra is a seasoned Hindi teacher from Delhi Public School, Rohini, who has always believed in the power of storytelling as an engaging and effective educational tool. 

 

Baajre ki raab is a simple, warming dish that is made with pearl millet flour and yoghurt. Chef Surabhi served it with chapati crackers, which are a crowd pleaser in her house. As she cooked, Usha took the audience through the festivities, rituals, poetry, and the rich history surrounding baajra.

 

Being immersed in the cultural history of a food, and watching it being cooked is such a beautiful way to connect with what we eat and understand where it comes from.

Chef Surabhi and Usha Chhabra unveiling the wonders of bajra for the participants. Photos by Team Locavore.

In the next session, ‘Thinking Outside the Box’ we wanted to focus on how millets as a business could be sustainable, and what it could offer consumers who were trying to incorporate more millets in their diet. 

 

For this session we were joined by Chef Jyoti Vishnani who created a modern millet dish, that we paired with a conversation with Pallavi Upadhyaya and Rajeev Pandey, founders of Millets for Health. The foxtail gnocchi with a pesto sauce highlighted how these ancient grains can be consumed in modern ways, and how entrepreneurs like Pallavi and Rajeev are helping to make this happen. 

(L) Chef Jyoti Vishnani left her corporate career behind to pursue her passion in the culinary industry (R) Pallavi Upadhyaya, co-founder of Millets for Health. A passion for social good and love for sustainable food systems guides the organisation as they bring millets to our pantries. Photos by Team Locavore.

(L) Products from Millets For Health, which include jowar instant noodles, little millet pasta, popped millet corn, millet crisps, and cookies. (R) Foxtail gnocchi with pesto sauce. Photos by Team Locavore.

In ‘Millet Interspecies Potluck’,  the last session of the night, we wanted to spotlight ingredients that we share with our non-human neighbours. Millets are especially loved by birds and wild animals like elephants. To talk more about this, we had Chef Jyoti cooking a mahua toffee pudding with ragi, which is an elephant favourite! 

 

Complementing the cooking, Usha took us through various interconnections between humans, animals, and food, and how everything is a shared resource. She shared how deeply connected the Gond community is with the mahua tree, and also novel ways in which farmers in Tamil Nadu are sharing space and ragi with elephants.

 

Participants cracked up at elephants drunk on mahua, and clapped away as Usha sang and tapped to folk songs.

For something that we tried for the first time, the event was a huge success, and ended on a very sweet note. Photos by Team Locavore.

We hope this workshop encouraged people to become part of a collective movement towards a sustainable way of living and eating. Read about how farmers are growing ragi in harmony with local wildlife in Tamil Nadu here, and find out how cultural memories have kept millets alive in our communities here.

At The Locavore, we love planning and executing events that highlight India’s diverse local foods, celebrating community, sustainability, and cultural heritage. Our events feature engaging workshops, discussions, immersive experiences and other formats that connect you to India’s rich food culture. Interested in collaborating or having us organise an event? Reach out at connect@thelocavore.in.