Superfoods to add to your summer dining menu

Sorghum: The humble hero

It’s the world’s fifth most commonly grown grain crop after rice, maize, wheat and barley, but sorghum is undergoing a renaissance in SA.

The tall growing grassy plant was once a staple in households across the country but was eclipsed by the other cereal crops. It’s coming back into popularity thanks to the work of chefs such as Mokgadi Itsweng who are highlighting indigenous dishes made with whole grains such as sorghum. It’s also appealing because of its nutritional properties.

Sorghum is a gluten-free grain that is high in protein and dietary fibre, making it ideal for vegans and vegetarians. It’s also a good source of iron, calcium, zinc and potassium. The grain can be cooked whole like rice or barley, or it can be milled into flour and then consumed as a porridge, bread or even folded into cake batter.

In her cookbook Veggielicious, Itsweng has a handful of sorghum-recipes. These include sorghum balls, sorghum sourdough bread and a Mighty Sourdough Salad in which the grain is tossed together with carrots, sweetcorn, baby marrows, broccoli and herbs for seasoning. Because of the protein-packed sorghum, the salad can become a filling meal that’s perfect for breezy summer days.

Millet: Marvellous, however you like it

When the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) declared 2023 the International Year of Millets, it was a recognition of the grain's versatility and global cultivation. The crop comes in a variety of species such as finger millet, pearl millet, proso millet and foxtail millet.

Its preparation accommodates different palates and flavours. Millet porridge is considered a traditional food in Russia, Germany and China but how it’s eaten is different. Some porridges are taken sweet with milk, sugar or honey and sometimes even apples added during the boiling process. In other cuisines, the porridge is often a savoury base eaten with meat, bean or vegetable stews. Millet is also commonly used as a dessert or treat, such as in bánh đa kê, a Vietnamese sweet snack of smashed millet and mung bean topped coconut meat wrapped in a crunchy rice cake, and in brukina, a sweet drink popular in West Africa.

Nutritionally, millet is small but mighty. According to dietitian Mpho Tshukudu, the grain provides significant levels of fats, dietary fibre, prebiotics, carbohydrates, essential amino acids, phytonutrients, B vitamins, and minerals “This strong combination of nutrients is associated with the prevention of chronic diseases such as obesity, diabetes, atherosclerosis, cancer and inflammation.”

Lentils: The pulse that’s back on plates

For many generations, they’ve been a staple in households in Asia, the Mediterranean and Latin America. But recently lentils had a resurgence, driven by young home cooks and chefs on social media.

One of its most popular traditional preparations is lentil curry, but boiled lentils and lentil stock are also used to thicken other types of vegetarian curries. A dish common across many regions in the world is the combination of lentils and rice as a base. It’s called mujaddara in some countries, khichdi in India and Pakistan, kushari in Egypt and in Iran, becomes adas polo when served with fried raisins.

A rising desire for food options that are gluten-free but high-protein has seen the popularity of lentils surge in the past few years. This has come with new preparations for the grain, with lentil flatbreads, lentil wraps and lentil tortillas recording high audience interest on social media. On YouTube, a video on lentil patties has more than 10-million views, while another one on lentil kofta has close to 5-million.

Global diabetes bodies often recommend lentils because their soluble fibre can help stabilise blood sugar levels for people managing Type 2 diabetes.