On a recent visit to Visakhapatnam, M Venkaiah Naidu enjoyed a breakfast of innovative conical idlis, wrapped in Vistaraku leaves, and made from nine varieties of organic millets grown in the tribal belt of Paderu by Chitem Sudhir .
On Wednesday morning, Chittam Sudhir was astonished. Busy serving bajra idli to a long queue of customers at the Vasena Poli stall in Waltair Uplands, Visakhapatnam, Sudhir was taken aback when a special breakfast order came in from M Venkaiah Naidu, the Vice President of India.
The Vice President, who is on a visit to Visakhapatnam this week, took to Twitter after the meal. He tweeted: ‘Had a sumptuous breakfast of Bajra Idli made today by ‘Vasena Poli’ stall run by Chittam Sudhir, a young agri-entrepreneur in Visakhapatnam. With rich taste and flavour, millet based food provides a healthy and organic alternative to our diet… Such innovative efforts by our youth to go back to their traditional diet and lifestyle are commendable.’ The tweet quickly went viral.
wrapped in vistaku – Which are dry leaves stitched together to make a plate – Sudhir’s Bajra Idli Ragi (finger millet), jowar (sorghum millet), bajra (pearl millet), korra (pearl millet), uda (barnyard millet), arika (kodo millet) ) is created with . ), sama (little millet) and variga (proso millet). The solution is poured into small expansion leaf containers and steamed over the fire. These conical idlis are served with three types of chutneys: a mixture of peanuts, ginger and vegetables.
What started as a small home-based enterprise in 2018 has grown into a popular city today. Sudhir, 28, a post graduate in agricultural economics, launched his first food stall of Vasena Poli last year and has been on his toes since then, meeting the growing demand for his bajra idli. “There is more awareness to move to millet-based food, especially after the pandemic,” he says. He gets more than 200 orders from his Bajra Idli and Dosa every day. Now, their daily sales are around Rs 15,000.
Their menu includes bajra dosa, jowar roti with curry and bajra cake (prepared with a mixture of two or more millets). Dosa and curry is prepared with cold pressed sesame oil.
Explaining that he recently used unpolished black urad dal to make his idlis and dosas more nutritious, Sudhir says he keeps tweaking the recipes to ensure balance. “The right combination of millet provides holistic nutrition. Millet is rich in anti-oxidants, vitamins, minerals and is also high in fiber content. Before starting his entrepreneurial journey, Sudhir spent time with the tribals in Srikakulam, studying organic farming methods and learning about the traditional millets grown in the region. He collaborated with Acharya NG Ranga Agricultural University in Guntur where he experimented with idli for the first time.
organic produce
Sudhir gets nine types of millets from Paderu, a tribal belt in Visakhapatnam district and Parvatipuram in Vizianagaram district, where they are grown organically by tribal farmers. About 10 to 15 kg of millet is used daily to make fresh batter. “We make the batter in two batches—once in the morning and once in the evening—so that it’s fresh,” he says.
NS Vistaraku The leaves give a unique flavor to their idlis. “It also has antibacterial and antiseptic properties,” says Sudhir. Considering the increasing demand for their idlis, they have to buy around 2,000. Is required Vistaraku Every other day leaves from Paderu, which has become a challenge. “The rain has affected the production and supply of leaves. Paderu is a remote area with limited network connectivity. There were days when the leaves were out of stock and I could not open my stall,” he says.
While innovation in millet based food is a subject close to his heart, Sudhir also wants to support tribal farmers and organic farming practices. “I am in the process of bringing together the tribal farmers of Paderu to start and register as a Farmer Producer Company (a hybrid between cooperatives and private limited companies) to get the value of their crops. The registration process will be done in January. I am encouraging them to grow black pepper, groundnut, tamarind, red moong dal apart from bajra. With the Vice President’s tweet making national headlines, Sudhir was flooded with requests for extension through the franchise route. “I want to eventually expand my venture and take it to other cities. But I want to take it slow and keep my focus on quality control to build the brand,” he adds.
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