IIMR throws light on unique jowar roti making machine

Anyone with a little culinary experience would vouch for the fact that jowar (sorghum) rotis are difficult to make.

Only a skilled hand would know how to pat the dry, glutten-free dough into flat cakes, thin enough for roti but thick enough not to get charred on fire. Even commercial success of jowar rotis in select population of the health-conscious and the diabetic has not resulted in simplifying the process of roti making.

The Indian Institute of Millets Research (IIMR), a subsidiary of Indian Council for Agricultural Research, has brought to light an improvisation by a vendor of jowar rotis from Kovvur in West Godavari district, in the hope that it would increase consumption of sorghum.

The machine can churn out 300 rotis per hour without the use of electricity, the inventor T. Suresh Kumar claims.

His finding remained unnoticed for nine years, though he has been making rotis and selling them in Rajahmundry and neighbouring areas. With intervention from IIMR, he has now applied for a patent.

The machine, in its original form, constitutes two rollers and a lever by which to operate. A dispenser will run the dough between the rollers when the levers are operated. The flattened dough emerging along the metal incline can be cut into size and baked on a gas stove. It is especially useful for youth looking for employment, Mr. Kumar said, addressing a press conference here on Saturday. Acting Director of IIMR T.G. Nageshwar Rao said the cultivation of sorghum has come down from 20 million hectares three decades ago to a mere seven million hectares now, due to onslaught by profitable crops. Though good for health, sorghum consumption has come down drastically due to policy interventions in favour of wheat and rice. Attempts at marketing the machine is part of the entrepreneurship development programme undertaken by the institute.

The machine costs about Rs.25,000, and is an improvement over another appliance run with electricity which churns out 50 rotis per hour, Mr.Suresh Kumar informed. Commercial production of the machine will depend on the number of orders. Dr. Rao also said that the nine institutions under ICAR will send teams to Telagana’s nine districts on October 5 and 6, to propagate about millet cultivation.

It runs without electricity and can churn out 300 rotis per hour