After last year's successful Millet Divas, the government of Odisha has set up a two-day International Convention on Millets (ICM) starting today, to take the Odisha Millets Mission forward. The convention which is being held at the Janta Maidan in Bhubaneswar was recently inaugurated by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.
This year the theme is 'Millets – Ancient Grains for Modern Challenges' and will engage local farmers, SHGs, and entrepreneurs display emerging technologies and farm machinery and host policy roundtables, B2B meetings and cooking competitions. Vikas Khanna and three-time Grammy winner Ricky Kej are set to make appearances at the convention.
Khanna recently took to Instagram to share his appreciation for Odisha and its culture. "Once you visit Odisha, a piece of your heart stays there and makes it home. And you want to go back home every time a memory surfaces and nostalgia hits you. Over the years, Odisha has been a source of culinary brilliance for me," he wrote on Instagram.
"I learnt the art of making Chenna in Odisha and I am amazed at its various avatars it can take - Chenna Poda Chenna Jhili Chenna Gajja Chenna Kheeri (Kheera) chenna Tarkari ( Savoury Curry ) chenna Muduki Rasagola Rasabali Chenna Khai ( Cheese Cubes coated with sugar) Steamed Chenna Chenna Manda (Coconut, khoya stuffed inside Chenna Patty)," he added.
In a separate video, Khanna calls Odisha his 'spiritual home; "I'm excited about visiting my spiritual home Odisha. Odisha has been a very important inspiration in my cooking career and my personal life and it has inspired me a lot and made me a very proud India. The architecture, the food, the people, the culture, the textiles, everything has touched my heart.
Earlier this year, the Michelin-starred chef called the signature Odiya dessert Chhena Poda, the Indian answer to cheesecake. Khanna shared a video on Instagram a few months ago where local sweet makers can be seen preparing the delicacy from scratch. The cheese dessert is made of thoroughly kneaded fresh cottage cheese, sugar or jaggery and semolina and is baked in charcoal, which gives it the smokey crust.
“As you can see in the video they used hot charcoal on bottom & top. The wet leaves work like butter paper….only much better as they impart an earthy undertone to the cake. The caramelization is pure divinity,” Khanna had pointed out in the video.
The International Convention on Millets is dedicated to upholding tribal traditions and indigenous knowledge of millets and food systems at B2B roundtable conferences and the convention will reportedly have a significant effect on the policymakers who are planning initiatives to help locals earn a better living.
So far, The Chief Minister of Odisha, Naveen Patnaik has awarded Sundergarh, Koraput, Rayagada and Nuapada for the best production districts in millets. He also felicitated 5 millet farmers for achieving success in millet production.