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The modern world might be in awe of millets and celebrate them as superfoods now. There are the remotest parts of India that have been cultivators and consumers of millets for times immemorial. One such outlying area is the Koraput district of Odisha state, tucked in the eastern part of the country. This hilly terrain has been the home of several tribal populations and, thus, retains many primitive cultural nuances. Foods are no exception. The tribals of Koraput have an assortment of rustic finger millet or ragi recipes which form their daily diet.
Recently, a team of researchers found a few variants of finger millet or ragi in this region, fortified with higher nutritional values and yield capacities. It is evident how the time-tested cultivation practice has kept millet's best quality and consequently retained it as a staple diet for the native population. The locals, especially tribals eat ragi or mandia (as called locally) in their everyday meal. One popular dish is cooking ragi flour with salt, jaggery, and chilli and wrapping it in a jackfruit leaf. Similar foods are roasted in maize husks or banana leaves. Let's know five such traditional millet dishes of the tribes of Koraput.
Mandia anda or finger millet rice balls, Image Source: TCR Connecting Agriculture@Facebook
Mandia Sijha Pitha
Mandia sijha pitha is a healthy mainstay of Koraput's tribal cuisine. It can be best described as finger millet steamed dumplings. The recipe calls for finger millet or ragi flour. It often has a slightly sweet and savoury taste. It is encased in a banana leaf and roasted in flame to get cooked. In this cooking process, the leaf lends a nice aroma to it.
Mandia Kandul Raav
It is a recipe using finger millet or ragi flour. Other ingredients include whole pigeon peas or arhar dal and some local spices. It is often eaten as is. The locals prefer to consume it before going to work as it keeps them full for a long.
Mandia Roti
Tribal mandia ruti, Image Source: TCR Connecting Agriculture@Facebook
While the urban population are raving about finger millet Indian flatbreads now, the tribals of Koraput have been eating mandia roti for centuries. Of course, the latter variant has a rustic element to it.
Mandia Tampa
Another native recipe from the tribals of Koraput, mandia tampa, has its signature character. In this recipe, ragi or finger millet, which is called mandia in the local dialect, is used in the grounded form. It is cooked in warm water along with broken rice. It can be described as finger millet porridge.
Mandia Sukua Raav
Sukua, or dry fish, is an integral part of Odisha cuisine. Different types of dried fish are cooked in myriad ways. One of the unique recipes is this tribal take on sukua by blending it with mandia or finger millet. This recipe uses ragi flour and local spices and herbs to season the dish.
So, which tribal millet-based dish from this spread of Koraput will you try?
