For the past few days, JWB has been taking you through the home-like journey at Anantaya’s . When I visited Ayesha & Anugraha of Tryst With Taste at the “Marvelous Millet Adventure”, I knew I was up for some healthy recipes, but I had no clue that they would be so delicious!

Before the workshop began, Ayesha told me some of the most prominent benefits of millet.

Millet is high in calcium, low in Glycaemic Index, which is useful for diabetic patients. One meal of millet gives you more roughage than your entire day meals.

Ayesha introduced us to the types of millets around us. Surprisingly, many types of millets that are grown in Rajasthan are not available in Jaipur. Some of these types are Barnyard Millets, Little Millets.

At the workshop, they taught us how to prepare a welcome drink, a starter, a main course, and a dessert.

We began with a Summer Cooler

Throw in half a tsp of Ghee in a pan, and roast two tablespoons of Ragi for five to seven minutes. Add 350 ml of water and allow it to thicken. Remove it from the flame and add in some chilled water with ice cubes. Add your desired flavoring sweet or savory. Your guilt-free, healthy, cooler is ready.

Benefits of Ragi: Good for digestion & gives you a clear, glowing skin.

The taste, as well as the feeling, was refreshing.

Me: So is it a passion turning into a profession?

Ayesha: Absolutely. I had actually been studying law, and halfway through I realized that I wanted to begin my own venture. It is all thanks to Anugraha; he’s the one who encouraged me.

Me: Did your parents freak out when you decided that you wanted to switch?

Ayesha: Well, they’ve always been on board. Even though initially mom was worried, but she soon understood that it was something I had to do.

Me: What’s the first dish you ever tried? And how did it turn out?

Ayesha: I was in college and desperately missing ghar ka rajma chawal, so I called my grandmother and asked her the whole recipe. That night, I realized what I’d cooked was far better than the food I’d been eating in my hostel.

Anugraha started taking out the Ragi, Bajra and Jowar Powder from the packets. We were going to make Millet Crostinis.

Take equal quantities of Bajra, Ragi, and Jowar. Knead the flour into a dough with ½ tsp of clarified butter and water. Add dried herbs, salt, pepper or any seasoning of your choice. Shape it into oblong or flat circular discs. Shallow fry it and top them with tomatoes, lettuce or any desirable toppings.

Anugraha: Make sure you knead the dough as much as possible since they don’t bind together too well.

The snack was colorful, delicious and healthy at the same time. A rare combination, isn’t it? Guess what our photographer Sanchit said?

He wanted to include its contents in his next sandwich!

The duo also taught us to make Little Millet Biriyani, which included some khade masale, and the fragrance kept us drooling. Take one cup of mixed vegetables (1 carrot, 1 big potato, a handful of peas) and keep them aside. Heat a cooker base with oil and temper cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, bay leaf and marati moggu. Add fennel seeds and immediately add onions and saute them until they get transparent. Add ginger & garlic paste. Saute until the raw smell goes away. Add half of the mint leaves and mix well. Now, add the chopped veggies, red chili powder, garam masala powder, and salt. Saute for a minute. Add water, remaining mint leaves, curd and washed millet. Mix well and pressure cook it on low flame for one whistle. Remove after the steam is released. Check if it is cooked well else add 1/4th cup of water. Mix well and cook for one whistle on a high flame. Your biriyani is ready!

Think you might want to experiment with millets and a high fibre/ gluten-free diet? You can contact Ayesha & Anugraha of and learn more recipes which are also great for health.

This Earth Day, let us all thank God and feel blessed for being bestowed with infinite variety of produce for every type of climate and land.