From laddus, cookies to chaklis, G20 guests get a taste of Bastar's millet

The G20 leaders and their spouses were served Baster’s millet-based delicacies at the summit in New Delhi, with the spotlight being on the laddus made from ragi.

As many as 15 spouses visited an agricultural exhibition held at the PUSA-Indian Agricultural Research Institute campus in New Delhi on Saturday. Women from Bastar in Chhattisgarh had prepared dishes made from millet for the dignitaries.

Sangeeta Kashyap, from Bastanar in the Bastar district, had prepared dishes like millet laddu, ragi cookies, ragi chakli, kodo, and kutki, etc., and gifted a basket full of it to the First Lady of Australia. 

Rukmani Kottam, nodal officer of the Chhattisgarh Agriculture Department, said that the agriculture department had set up a stall on the campus, which displayed bamboo products like Supa, Tukni, Tokri, Tuma, and Chhatri. Chhattisgarh's Dhokra art and Kosa made from natural dye were also the center of attraction for the visitors, Kottam added. 

A group in the state’s Balod district has started producing Chikki made from millet. It is a part of the Chhattisgarh government’s Mahatma Gandhi Rural Industrial Park scheme launched to promote manufacturing units in the villages and strengthen the rural economy.

According to government officials, around 13 women from Armurkasa Industrial Park in the Balod district had taken the initiative and started the production of millet chikki. The group had produced 23.89 tonnes of chikki, worth Rs 41 lakh, and sold chikki worth Rs 30 lakh, registering a net profit of Rs 53,000, the officials added.