The Department of Botany, St. Joseph Vaz College, Cortalim organized ‘Cook with Millets’ as a part of the monthly millet activity commemorating year 2023 as the ‘International Year of Millets’. The main objective of this competition was to promote and incorporate millets in our food preparation. Millets are an excellent source of dietary fibres, vitamins and minerals. With the increasing food demand, use of millets in cuisines is a great way to promote their benefits and awareness.

The purpose of this competition was also to promote culinary talents of our young students and to give students an opportunity to showcase their talents and creativity in cooking. About 17 participants participated in the competition. These were F.Y., S.Y. and T.Y.B.Sc. students which were divided into 3 groups. The first group prepared ‘Millet Chaat’ using Sorghum bicolor (Jowar), second group used Eleusine coracana (Ragi) to prepare ‘Millet Idli’ and third group prepared ‘Millet drink’ using Eleusine coracana (Ragi). The first Judging criteria was based on execution, appearance, taste and overall presentation. The second judging was based on the amount collected after selling the prepared dish. Prize winners of the first judging criteria was Group 2 (Ashish & group) and in the second judging was Group 1 (Tejaswini & group).

Overall, the competition was successful in achieving its objective.