“TOUCH these grains with both hands before you leave home,” my mum tells me. “What will happen then?” I ask, heavily pregnant. “You’ll have a safe delivery in the hospital,” she says. In my home, pearl millet — bajra — is not only worshipped, it is a way of life.
Back in the 1960s, in the desert village my mother grew up in, pearl millet was the main grain that kept families fed. “The soil was perfect for it. Wheat was Rs 5 per kg, and we couldn't afford it. Bajra was Re 1 per kg. Plus, wheat was something that had to be bought in cities. Who could possibly do that? My father had only a few camels as means of transport,” says Ghanshyam Suda, my maternal uncle. Old habits die hard, and my mother’s family continues to consume the millet even after they have left the village and settled miles away in cities like Chennai and Surat.
My grandmother Ram Pyari became a widow at a young age. She had to manage a desert life, five children, and a tiny kirana ki dukaan (dry goods/grocery store). Early in the morning, she would take freshly ground pearl millet flour in a large brass platter. In went some warm water and a dash of salt to form a dough that she would keep kneading until it was tight yet soft. She would break off portions of the dough to shape into balls with the tips of her fingers. Then, she’d wet her palms with water, fix the cracks in the dough ball and flatten it until it formed a roti. A pile of bajra rotis would soon appear, enough for her family to subsist on until the next morning’s batch.
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PEARL MILLET is found across states such as Gujarat, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana. “Bajra is one of the most popular millets (in India), which cuts across state barriers. It is relished during mealtimes in Rajasthan; it is used in Gujarat, and in the Indian heartland,” notes food historian Pushpesh Pant. “The major bajra belt is Gujarat and Rajasthan, where it is prepared as delicacies like khichdi, kheer — nowhere else it is made like that. You have a dish made with chaas (buttermilk) which is called raabdi (not to be confused with rabdi), a savoury soup kind of a thing," he adds. In my Jaisalmeri community, this raabdi is called bisnaan or bish-non. “People who consume it are robust and sturdy, and the grain has made a comeback in recent times,” says Pant.
Bisnaan became a healing food for my mum and me in the year 2018. My mother was going through chemotherapy at the time, while I was pregnant with my second child. Food prep became tougher, due to our changing tastes and preferences. But, this traditional (and rare) dish — made with pearl millet, ghee, salt and buttermilk — came in handy. My aunt made this heirloom dish for us and we savoured every spoonful, eyes closed, souls rejoicing.
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“PEARL MILLET can grow in areas that receive less than 50 cm of rainfall. Since the climate of Rajasthan is dry and arid, bajra, with its high nutritional value, has always been a part of the daily diet for the desert villages,” says chef Saurabh Sharma, an associate professor at Amity School of Hospitality.
One of the myths surrounding pearl millet is that it is only a winter food. Pant disagrees. “It is an old wives’ tale when someone says that bajra is only supposed to be consumed in winters. It depends on how you treat it. Most city-dwellers are ignorant about this fact. If that was the case, why did people in desert lands eat it even in the scorching heat?” he queries.
“Pearl millet is a powerhouse of iron; its glycemic index is amazing,” adds Pant, while chef Saurabh notes: “Having a bajra roti keeps you satiated for the entire day as its fibre content is greater than that of rice and wheat. It’s ideal for people who want to lose weight or eat food that is good for the heart.”
My uncle tells me that pearl millet flour stays fresh for up to seven days. “Then, it goes bitter (unless you store it in the freezer and mind the expiry date). But a cooked bajra roti can last you 3-4 days. It won't give you any gastric issues. And the taste will remain intact. Even in the scorching heat of the desert, you don’t need to worry about bajra rotis going stale,” he says.
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WHILE I have my roots in Jaisalmer, I grew up in Surat, southern Gujarat. I remember having pearl millet rotis at least twice a week, as a child. We ate it with piping hot kadhi (made with gram flour and buttermilk), or a radish sabzi that included the leaves (with a hint of white sesame seeds — pounded by hand — and kachri powder) and was watery in consistency. A hot bajra roti would invariably have a few teaspoons of ghee on it, and mum often made a lip-smacking garlic chutney to go with it. There were also, always, glasses of buttermilk.
On some days, we eat fresh makhan spread on a leftover bajra roti, with a sprinkling of sugar, as a quick, desi dessert. In Gurugram, where I currently live, restaurants like Comorin serve a Cheeni Malai Toast that reminds of this delicacy. Still, little beats the original. Bajra truly is a pearl of a millet.