The Millet-Fish Festival in Kochi raises awareness about the rich nutritional value of millets and helps the public explore its culinary combinations with seafood. The festival is organized by Ernakulam Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) ICAR-Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI). Experts say that millet has a bright future in Kerala as it can be a perfect harmony when mixing grains with seafood. A millet-seafood combination like cod millet with prawns and millet porridge with fish chutney has great potential as a healthy and nutritious diet, especially in Kerala, said A Gopalakrishnan, Director, CMFRI. The festival focuses a lot on promoting healthy eating habits to the entire future generation. C. Tara Satyavathi, Director, ICAR-India Millet Research Institute, Hyderabad, said the demand for a millet-based diet is increasing as the central government has been making efforts to promote the products.
Millet products have good business prospects because they are in high demand abroad. Because millet is gluten-free, it is a sought-after dish all over the world. Many start-ups, entrepreneurs, and multinationals are increasingly adopting many millet products, adding that combining them with fish would give an added advantage to promote and popularize millet. The festival offers a delightful array of millet fish dishes like cod millet prawn biryani, small millet seafood, octopus, seaweed halwa, pearl millet smoothie, millet sweets, etc., attracting diners from all walks of life. The healthy sadya contained a mixture of small millets, prawns, squid, clams, and three types of fish, creating a rare treat for diners. A buyer-seller meeting organized at the festival presents thousands of products that offer consumers, traders, and distributors an opportunity to promote business.
It provided business opportunities to farmers, manufacturing companies, self-help groups, and start-ups, which helped create direct connections with consumers and distributors. In the cooking show at the event, the audience learned how different millets can be used in everyday food. Culinary experts have introduced healthy ways to cook millets without compromising taste.
