Millet Marvels: A Hyderabad restaurant that pushes millets as alternative to rice, wheat

Millet laddu, millet burgers, millet muesli — one can cook up a storm with just one type of whole grain, the millets. No wonder Telugu actors such as Nagarjuna, Nabha Natesh and other celebrities have been swearing by whole grain millet products. “It’s a healthy replacement for rice and especially wheat,” tweeted Nagarjuna, who has been eating millets for the last four years. Banking on this trend, Dr Bharath Reddy, who is a senior consultant cardiologist and a Telugu actor himself, decided to give a push to the increasing millet consumption and started the Millet Marvels, a restaurant in Hyderabad.  From dosa, idli and vada to puri and uthappam, all food items here are made of different types of millets, and sold at reasonable prices. Started in August 2020 at Hyderabad’s Film Nagar, Millet Marvels also sells whole grains. The grains are sourced from the farmers of Vikarabad of Telangana, Rayalaseema region of Andhra Pradesh and other regions of Karnataka.  For Dr Bharath Reddy, however, it was not just business. As a doctor, he wanted to create awareness about making the right food choice. “If you continue eating polished white rice and wheat, you will end up taking medications from the age of 35 to 40,” he told The News Minute.   “We put the word millets in the restaurant’s name as we want people to know that they are eating millets when they step into our outlets and the awareness around it should increase. Giving something worthwhile back to society is the main aim behind starting this,” said Dr Bharath Reddy, who has been on a millet diet for the last five years.  According to the actor-doctor, who has featured in more than 50 films in Telugu, Tamil and Kannada, several celebrities, too, have been endorsing Millet Marvels “without any commercial attachment”, as a social cause to increase the consumption of millets.  I have been eating millets for the last 4 years!! A health replacement for rice & especially wheat...Take a look at @MilletMarvels from my friend and co-actor @bharathreddyam at https://t.co/jThBnqbEOb you won’t regret it pic.twitter.com/cIbT89sbi7— Nagarjuna Akkineni (@iamnagarjuna) January 8, 2021 Despite running into financial losses, Dr Bharath said he managed to keep the restaurant afloat with the help of entrepreneurs, Raju and Bhasker Reddy. Today, Millet Marvels has branches spread across the city at Film Nagar, Kismatpur, Kapil Towers and Manikonda. He plans to turn his venture into a pan-India project. Why whole grain millets  Dr Bharath Reddy, who is also a practising cardiologist for last 22 years, said that he has been seeing frequent cases of diabetes among the young population, especially those in the age of 22 and 24 years. The sugar levels are as high as 450 to 600, “which is a pathetic scenario,” he said.  The main culprit, Dr Bharath says, is predominantly what people eat, including polished white rice and wheat, and the quantity they consume. “They are also called as negative grains as they cause more harm to the body, inducing diabetes, hypertension and obesity. There is not much benefit you get from polished grains, not even one per cent of fibre,” pointed out Dr Bharath. Finger millet is considered rich in niacin, playing an important role in more than 400 enzyme reactions. Finger millet is full of dietary fibre, which helps to control the bad cholesterol. However, today finger millet is used in hundreds of recipes. Enjoy the popular dishes using pic.twitter.com/wQy5bEBbP6 — Millet Marvels (@MilletMarvels) January 28, 2021 Quoting the Diabetic Association of India, Dr BharathReddy said that in another three years, that is, by 2023-2024, 70% of people would be diabetic or pre-diabetic by the age of 40. If the trend continues, in another five years, most of them end up being diabetic.  “Everything is interconnected, if we don’t change our eating habits now, we have lost. If we don't give the next generation what they are supposed to eat, then we are gone. India as a healthy generation may not exist,” warns Dr Bharath Reddy, stressing on the need to shift to whole grain millets. While there are many people who think that eating chapati and phulka made of wheat flour would help, Dr Bharath Reddy said it's a myth. He also warned against buying unpolished millet grains available in the market. “Any grain contains fibre, micro-macro nutrients, trace elements (nutrients) and phytonutrients in its outer bran layer. When a grain is polished, we are losing its nutritional value and there is not much left,” said Dr Bharath, who is also parallelly working on five film projects in south Indian languages, including two web series Read: ‘RRR’ team reveals first look of actor Olivia Morris