Kathmandu, Aug 4: Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation, Deepak Khadka, emphasized that the government should lay its focus on millet production.
Minister Khadka called on the government for the same while observing the food exhibition organized by the Nepali Cuisine Promotion Campaign here on Monday featuring 10 different types of dishes made from millet.
“We can contribute to food security by conserving millet, promoting its commercial production and incorporating it into our dishes. Relying on locally grown grains will enable us to be self-reliant. A food system dependent on import is not a sustainable solution to food security,” argued Khadka.
It may be noted that the government officially declared Saun 16 in the Lunar Calendar as the National Millet Day from this year with the aim of promoting the importance of millet and fostering its production.
The Minister, while tasting the dishes, expressed that millet is not just as an ingredient for dishes but as a vital part of our food culture and identity. He also highlighted the tremendous nutritional value of this cereal crop.
The exhibition displayed pancake, pudding, muffin, biscuit, mo:mo, tempura and malpuwa, dhindo and sel roti made from indigenous crop-millet where visitors also relished these local delicacies.
The event, fifth edition of the Bhojan Lipi Swad under the Nepali Cuisine Promotion Campaign, was held in collaboration with the Narayani Chamena Griha in Singha Durbar, Kathmandu where international chefs Durga Khadka and Ghanashyam Kandel prepared a wide variety of Nepali cuisines made from millet.
