Subject: Creativity and Food Innovation – IA Millets Cooking Competition
Millet Cooking Competition was organized by Indian Association on 10th Sep 2022 in partnership with Consulate General of India, Shanghai. The event was inspired by the announcement of UN declaring 2023 as the International Year of Millets.
His Excellency Ambassador Shri Pradeep Kumar Rawat also encouraged the Indian community in China to organize events to promote the awareness of Millets in his first address. Consulate General of India, Shanghai, Dr. N. Nandakumar offered support to Indian Association to launch the Celebration of Millets Festival.
The launch event “Millet Mantra – Eating Healthy with Rujuta Diwekar” was organized on 6th August 2022 in partnership with Consulate General of India, Shanghai. PM Modi ji’s message on international year of Millets was shared with the Audience.
We are incredibly happy with the sheer number of participants engaged in recreating the aroma and taste of traditional millet dishes and creating some innovative new dishes. The Food Innovation was at best during the Millets Cooking Competition. The participants were well supported by their family members.
We had the best Judges in the town. The event was judged by
Mrs. Sreedevi Nandakumar, the spouse of Consul General of India, Shanghai .
Shrimati Chhaya Chaudhari – Celebrity Indian Chef & Food Expert and
Shrimati Zainab Noorain – Teacher by profession with deep understanding of Indian cuisine
They evaluated the presentation, taste, texture, flavour, relevance of ingredients, creativity, and Nutritional value of each dish. The judges also asked some intriguing questions to participants and offered some intelligent suggestions.
The 1st Winner was Shrimati. Sariga Krishnan for her Ragi Pakoda, Barnyard Millet Dosa with Veg stew, Sorghum idiyappam/ String hoppers with Kadala Curry and Sweet Almond Coconut Milk, Foxtail Millet Mysorepak and Pearl millet kheer.
The 2nd Winner was Shrimati. Richa Sharma for her Papdi chaat, Kachori & Cake.
TThe 3rd Winner was Mr. Vaibhav Gupta for his Dal Bati and Churma.
The special Outstanding Creation (OC) prize was given to Shrimati. Priyanka Chaturvedi for her Kids’ Power Lunch box comprising of Non-Gluten Millet Brownie, Nachos with Salad & Roasted Veggie Pesto Millet Wrap.
Congratulations to all the Winners and Participants!!
Mrs. Sreedevi Nandakumar, the wife of Consul General of India, Shanghai.
I personally feel like cooking competitions are exciting event for the judges also for the participants because of the suspense & wonders of what might the food taste like. In that way I had an amazing experience in tasting different types of food from different states of India.
“Health is Wealth, Millet gives us a Health”
Thank you so much & Congratulations for all the participants & winners for all your effort & passion in making a traditional & innovative way of cooking using Millets as a base ingredient.
Shrimati Chhaya Chaudhari
“Cooking is therapeutic – I second this statement, and many others will. Sitting idle has awakened the inner chef in all of us. And we are the witness of such a Interesting event – Millets Cooking Competition by Indian Association. What a drool-worthy end to the weekend! The delicacies made by all participants deserves every bit of love. Looking forward to see more events.”
Shrimati Zainab Noorain
“It was a privilege to be on the judge’s chair at Millet Masti competition organized by Indian Association, Shanghai. Amazing delicacies, some traditional, some fusion and some very innovative out of the box recipes.
Participants creativity and expertise astounded me. They created boondi, brownie, cake, papad, baati, Mysurupak all from millets. Without second thought the taste and texture was far better than our regular besan maida version.
It was a phenomenal experience, rekindling our taste buds and motivating us to get back to our roots and appreciate the food our ancestors ate and to bring them back in our diet.”