Millet-Based Traditional Indian Foods

Millets, the small grains of nutritional and commercial importance, are being used as a staple food in most parts of the world. They are a rich source of nutrients like carbohydrates, protein, dietary fibres, and several phytochemicals. The bioactive compounds present in millets exhibit beneficial properties such as antidiabetic, antitumor, antioxidant, antihypertensive, and anticancerous property along with reducing the risk of occurrence of cardiovascular diseases and also serves as a vehicle for fortification of micronutrients, especially minerals. Due to their beneficial properties, millets are extensively used for consumption in traditional food as the conventional methods of processing are time-consuming, lead to non-uniform products, are energy-consuming, and are less efficient. For the production of a uniform product with efficient utilisation of energy and less wastage, advancements in technological interventions like HTST, extrusion, puffing, flaking, etc., have paved the way for increased efficiency.