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Have You Tried Foxtail Millet?
December 7, 2013

Here’s a piece that I wrote on Foxtail Millet which was published in Sunday Chronicle, across India on December 01, 2013.  If you haven’t yet eaten foxtail millet, you might want to try it.

Foxtail millet (aka kangni, kand, navane) might not be on our regular shopping list but has been a part of traditional Indian cuisine.  With organic and locally grown foods becoming more popular in some countries, it’s time we look at our backyards for healthy foods. Foxtail millet as the name suggests, belongs to the millet family and is a whole grain.  Millets are supposed to be one of the oldest cultivated foods known to humans.  Millets have been popular in Africa, China and India for many centuries. Unfortunately, due to lack of awareness they are not widely consumed.

Nutritionally speaking, the calorie value of foxtail millet is similar to other millets and cereals.  The advantage with this millet is that it contains almost 3 times more fiber than rice and wheat.  This would be a great food on the meal plan of weight watchers and diabetics.  It also contains more minerals than rice and wheat. Foxtail millet does not contain gluten and therefore can be used by persons with celiac disease.

Foxtail millet is tolerant to drought and adapts to various soils and temperatures. Organically grown foxtail millet is available in India.  An organic millet mix that is available in Bangalore has 8 varieties of millets in it.  You might find foxtail millet in online stores too.

Foxtail millet can be cooked along with rice or all by itself.  Food bloggers have written about using this millet to make khichdi, idli, dosa, upma, as a salad ingredient, and so on.  Make this healthy whole grain a part of your diet.