Let's clear all your confusion regarding millets!

Millet Ambali

Ingredients

•Browntop Millet Rice 1 Cup (Or any millet rice variant)

•Water 10 Cups

Instructions

•Wash millet rice and soak it with 4 cups of water for 6-8 hours

•In the same water, cook the millet rice on low flame till the water is absorbed. Use a claypot/steel vessel for cooking

•Once the water is absorbed, keep adding the remaining water gradually to the gruel till it gets absorbed. Total of remaining 6 cups of water should be added by this process.

•After the gruel is cooked, cover it with a clean cotton cloth and leave for 8-10 hours. Do not add anything to it at this stage.

•The Ambali is fermented & ready to be served. Pair it with vegetables, daal, sambhar, onions, just add salt and consume.

•Do not reheat the ambali or add hot accompaniments to it as the beneficial microorganisms now present in it will die.

Pulav

Ingredients

•Foxtail millet 1 cup

•Water 3 cups

•Chopped Onions -1

•Finely chopped Ginger 1 Tsp

•Chopped Vegetables of choice (Carrots, beans, Green Peas) – 1 Cup

•Salt

•Oil – 1 Tbsp (Can be skipped also)

Instructions

•Wash and pre-soak the millet in 3 cups of water for at least 2 hours. You can extend the soaking time to 4 hours also

•First bring the water to a boil. Use the same water the millet was soaked in. Once the water comes to a boil, add the drained millets to it and cook on low flame till all the water is absorbed

•After the millets are cooked, empty them out on a tray to cool down. Spread the grains gently. This will ensure that the cooked millets remain fluffy. Once they have cooled down completely, we can easily reheat them without losing the texture

•In the meanwhile, to a pan, add 1 tbsp of oil and wait for the same to heat

•Add the ginger and onions and saute them. Add the remaining vegetables and some salt and let them cook.

•Once the vegetables are cooked, add the cooled millet rice to this and mix well.

•Your millet pulav is ready. Serve with sides of choice

Dosa

Ingredients

•Whole Ragi 1 cup

•Foxtail Millet – 2 cups

•Urad Daal – 1 Cup

•Methi (Fenugreek) Seeds – 1 Tsp

Instructions

•Wash & soak whole ragi, foxtail millet, urad daal and methi seeds separately. The daal and methi should be soaked together.

•After 6 hours of soaking, grind the foxtail and ragi together. Empty this in a big bowl. Grind the daal and methi seeds and mix to the earlier mixture

•Add salt to this, mix well and leave to ferment. The fermentation time depends on the weather and ranges from 5 hours in the summer to 12-14 hours in the winter.

•Once the batter has risen and smells mildly sour, it has fermented.

Dosa

•Thin out the batter with very little water if you feel it is thick.

•Heat a cast iron pan. Once the pan is hot, use a wet cloth to cool the surface.

•Take some batter in a ladle and on low heat, spread the batter in a circle and spread outward

•Increase the heat to high and let it cook

•Remove the dosa from the pan and serve with Sambhar or chutney. You can even make this into a masala dosa

Paniyaram

Ingredients

•Whole Ragi 1 cup

•Foxtail Millet – 2 cups

•Urad Daal – 1 Cup

•Methi (Fenugreek) Seeds – 1 Tsp

Additional ingredients for Paniyram/Paddu/Ponganalu

•Green Dhaniya – ½ Cup

•Green chillies chopped – As per preference

•Onions chopped – 1 cup

•Turmeric – 1 Tbsp

•Salt – As per Taste

•Oil – 1 Tbsp

Instructions

•Wash & soak whole ragi, foxtail millet, urad daal and methi seeds separately. The daal and methi should be soaked together.

•After 6 hours of soaking, grind the foxtail and ragi together. Empty this in a big bowl. Grind the daal and methi seeds and mix to the earlier mixture

•Add salt to this, mix well and leave to ferment. The fermentation time depends on the weather and ranges from 5 hours in the summer to 12-14 hours in the winter.

•Once the batter has risen and smells mildly sour, it has fermented.

Paniyaram

•To the batter add salt, haldi, chopped dhaniya, onions & green chillies. Add a little bit of water if needed

•Heat a paniyaram pan and use minimal oil for all the cavities. For 7-9 cavities,1 Tbsp oil should be enough. Spread the oil around the cavities evenly

•Once the pan is hot, add the prepared batter to the cavities. Make sure that it is only half full.

•Once it is cooked on one side, using a fork move the paniyaram let it cook on the other side.

•Remove from pan and cook with chutney of choice

Pasta

Ingredients

•Jowar Flour - ½ Cup

•Besan ½ Cup

•Soaked Sabudana ¼ cup

•Pysllium Husk - 1 Tablespoon

•Flaxseed meal 2 tablespoons (15 grams)

•Warm water - 6 tablespoons

•Olive Oil / Sunflower Oil – 2 Tsps (Can be skipped)

Instructions

•Mix flaxseed meal in 6 tbsps of warm water and let sit for 15 mins

•Mix together the jowar flour, besan, & pysillium husk together

•Grind the soaked sabudana and make it into a slurry with less water

•Add the oil and mix well. Now add the flaxseed meal mix & sabudana slurry and knead until the dough comes together and can be formed into a ball.

•Wrap the dough in plastic/cloth wrap and set aside for 20-30 minutes

•Dust a large surface, your hands, and a rolling pin with besan/jowar flour, and roll the dough out until very thin

•Cut into flat noodle shape using a knife or a pizza cutter.

•Bring a boil of salted water to a boil

•Add the pasta and cook for 2-3 minutes

•Drain and serve with sauce of choice. Keep the sauce ready before hand and mix with sauce immediately after draining to avoid sticking of pasta.

Salad

Ingredients

• 1 Cup Kodo millet (60 gms)

• 3 cups water

• 1 small onion, cut into thin slices

• 2 Oranges

• 1 Beetroot

• Spinach 100 gms

• Lettuce 100 gms

• Walnuts/roasted peanuts – 2 small handfuls, broken in halves

For the dressing

• 5 Tbsps. Lemon Juice

• 5 Tbsps. Orange Juice

• 5 Tbsps. Olive Oil or sesame oil

• 2 Tbsps. Honey (Or more if your prefer the salad slightly sweeter)

• 2 Tsps. fresh ground black pepper

• Salt as per taste

Instructions

• To cook the Kodo millet, wash and drain the millet. Soak it with 3 times water for 2 hours

• Boil the same water that you used to soak the millets in a vessel. Once the water boils, add the millet and reduce the heat to low. Cover with a lid till the rice is cooked. Do not drain any water. For the salad, it needs to be cooked a bit fluffy.

• Once the millet is cooked, let it cool down. To ensure fluffiness, empty it on a bigger plate and let it cool.

• Cut the beetroot into small wedges and cook it in its own juices adding some water and salt

• Remove the individual orange segments and also remove the cover of the individual segments and seeds. While doing so, catch the juice from the oranges in a bowl.

• Layer the salad bowl with the greens, add the cooked millet

• Add lemon juice, honey and choice of dressing oil to the orange juice. Mix well.

• Mix the dressing in the salad and toss. Add salt as per taste

• Scatter the beetroot, oranges and walnut pieces and serve

Millet Phulka Roti

Ingredients

•Jowar Flour – 1 Cup

•Water – 1 Cup

Instructions

•In a stockpot, add 1 cup of water and let it come to a boil

•Once the water comes to a boil, add the 1 cup Sorghum/Jowar flour and mix wel

•Switch off flame and take off the gas

•Cover and let it sit for 5-10 minutes

•Take our the dough when still hot and knead into a cohesive dough

•Roll the rotis using a rolling pin

•Use the remaining jowar flour for dusting

•On a hot iron pan, cook the roti

•Flip the sides and using a clean cotton cloth roll and press gently

•The roti will puff up on the pan itself

•Serve with some ghee or plain.

•The roti will stay soft even after cooling down

Bajra Khoba Roti

Ingredients

•Bajra Flour – 1 Cup

•Water ¾ Cup

•Salt – 1 Tsp

Instructions

•In a pan add the water and salt. Bring the water to a boil and add the flour in the boiling water.

•Mix well and cover. Leave aside for 10 minutes

•Take out while still warm and knead into a cohesive dough

•Roll the Roti slightly thick.

•Pinch the roti from the top in circles and cook well on both sides.

•Serve with vegetable of choice.

Bread

Ingredients

• Pre -soaked barnyard millet 1 cup in 1 cup water ( 8 Hours)

• 1/2 cup soy/almond milk

• 1 Tbsp lemon juice

• 1/4 cup flaxseed powder

• 2 Tbsp pysllium husk

• 3/4 cup water

• Salt 1 tsp

• Oil 1 1/2 tsp

• 1 tsp honey

• 3/4 tsp baking soda

Instructions

• Grind the barnyard millet with ½ cup of water. Add ¼ more only if needed

• Add the lemon juice to soy milk and let it stand for 10 minutes

• In a separate bowl, add the flaxseed powder, psyllium husk and mix it. Add ¾ cup of weter. Mix and let it rest for 5 minutes

• Add the milk and vinegar mix to this.

• Add the salt, oil & honey to this and mix.

• Add the ground millet and mix gently

• Add the baking soda and mix

• Line a bread tin with butter paper and grease all sides with oil

• Pour the batter in the bread tin and tap it

• Pre heat the oven 160 degree Celsius and bake the bread about 40-45 minutes

Ingredients

• Kodo Millet Flour -1 Cup

• Water 1 Cup

• Chopped Onions 2 tbsp

• Chopped Green Coriander (Dhania) 2 Tbsp

• Salt – as per taste

• Oil – 5 Tbsps

Instructions

1. In a stockpot, add 1 cup of water along with 1 Tsp oil and some salt and let it come to a boil

2. Once the water comes to a boil, add the 1 cup barnyard millet flour, chopped onions & dhaniya and mix well

3. Switch off flame and take off the gas

4. Cover and let it sit for 5-10 minutes

5. Take our the dough when still hot and knead into a cohesive dough

6. Roll the rotis using a rolling pin and make some holes in it

7. Use the remaining flour for dusting

8. On a hot iron pan, cook the roti

9. Cook and flip the sides and apply oil/ghee on both sides

10. Cook well and serve with chutney and raita

Shepherd’s Pie

Ingredients

• Boiled Potatoes 4-5 Medium sized ones

• Cashew Cream ¼ Cup

• Little millet ½ cup

• Onions 1 chopped

• Garlic 1 tbsp chopped

• Zuchhni 1 large diced

• Carrots 2-3 peeled and diced

• Tomato puree 5-6 tomatoes

• Oregano (Fresh or dried )- 1 Tsp

• Basil (Fresh or dried) – 1 Tsp

• Freshly ground black pepper – 1 Tsp

• Salt

• Oil – 1 tbsp

Instructions

• In a pan, take 1 tbsp of oil. Let it heat. Add the garlic and onions and saute for a while

• Add the chopped zucchini and carrots. You can also add any other vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, bell peppers to this. Just make sure to cut them to the same size.

• Add the washed and drained millet. Remember to pre-soak the millet for 2 hours. Add salt and let it cook for a while.

• Add the tomato puree after 5-7 minutes of the vegetables cooking. Add the seasoning and let it cook till the vegetables are done and the millets are cooked. The final stage should be not watery but not dry either.

• In the meanwhile, mash the potatoes. Best to mash when they are still warm to ensure no lumps. Mix the cashew cream. Add salt and ground black pepper.

• In a baking dish, first layer the vegetables at the bottom. Top it off with the mashed potatoes.

• Moisten your hands with water and smooth out the top layer of the assembled dish

• Bake in a pre heated over for 40 minutes at 180 degrees. The top layer should become lightly browned.

Millet Gluten Free Chocolate Cake

Ingredients

•Jowar/Sorghum flour – 1 cup

•Cocoa Powder – 4 tbsp

•Baking powder – 1 tsp

•Almond Milk – 1/2 cup

•Plant based Yogurt – 1/2 cup

•Raw Sugar– 1 cup

•Butter – 4 tbsp (melted and at room temperature)

•Vanilla Essence – 1/2 tsp

Instructions

•Sieve jowar flour, cocoa powder and baking powder together in a bowl. Sift twice.

•Combine milk, yogurt, sugar, butter, vanilla essence in another big bowl. Mix it well.

•Now add the sifted flour-cocoa mix and mix it well and bring the batter to a dropping consistency.

•Grease a 7 inch with butter on all sides.

•Dust some jowar flour evenly on all sides. Shake and tap the pan.

•Pour the batter into prepared tin and tap once.

•Bake in a pre-heated oven (180° C/ 360° F) for 25-30 minutes.

•Remove from the oven and let it cool down completely. Then invert on a plate and keep it ready

Gluten Free Laddus

Ingredients

•Ragi Flour 1 Cup

•Roasted & Ground Peanuts ¼ cup

•Coconut Powder ¼ cup

•Jaggery Powder – ½ cup

•Water ½ Cup

Instructions

•Boil water in a pan and add the jaggery powder. Let it boil till it reaches a honey like consistency. Avoid reaching the string consistency as it will make the laddus harder.

•Dry roast the Ragi flour till it gives it a nice fragrance.

• Mix the Ragi flour, peanut powder and coconut powder well.

•Add the jaggery liquid to the mix and mix well together.

•Shape into laddus. This will keep for a week on room temperature.

Barfi

Ingredients

• Millet Sattu 1 Cup

• Almond Flour ½ Cup • Cashew Flour ½ Cup

• Raw Sugar 1 Cup

• Water ½ Cup

• Elaichi powder 1 Tsp

• Chopped Pista ¼ Cup

• Coconut oil 1 Tbsp

• Cashew Cream 2 tbsp

Instructions

• In a deep vessel, put the water & sugar together.

• Add the elaichi powder to this as well and let it come to a boil

• Reduce heat to low and add the millet sattu, cashew flour & almond flour.

• Mix it well and keep cooking. Do not let it stick to the bottom

• The mixture will become thick and will start to come off the sides. Add the coconut oil at this stage and mix well

• Keep cooking until the mixture is not sticky anymore

• Add the cashew cream to the mixture

• Grease a tray or line it with butter paper

• Spread the barfi out and garnish on top with chopped pista

• Cool it in the refrigerator for about half an hour

• Take it out and slice into desired shapes and serve

Kheer

Ingredients

• Barnyard millet – ¼ cup

• Water ¾ Cup

• Coconut milk 2 cups

• Raw Sugar 1 cup

• Elaichi powder 1 Tsp

• Almonds Broken 1 Tbsp

• Pista Broken 1 Tbsp

• Raisin 1 Tbsp

• Saffron – a few strands

Instructions

• Wash and soak the barnyard millet for 2 hours. Cook it with the soaked water and keep aside

• In a pan add the coconut milk, raw sugar and elaichi powder. Bring it to a boil

• Add the pre cooked millets to this and let it simmer & cook for 10 more minutes till it becomes thick.

• Add the saffron strands to this and mix.

• Add the dry fruits

• Kheer is cooked. Serve hot or cold.

Gluten Free Sprouted Sorghum Cookies

Ingredients

•Sprouted Jowar Flour 1 Cup

•Peanut butter 1/2 cup

•Almond Milk ½ Cup

•Jaggery Powder ½ cup

•Baking Powder ¼ Tsp

•Vanilla Essence 5 ml

•Oil – 1 Tbsp (for brushing only)

•Sesame Seeds – 1 Tbsp

Instructions

•In a bowl, beat peanut butter and jaggery together till fluffy

•In the same bowl, sift sprouted jowar flour and baking soda together

•Knead into a dough by adding the almond milk bit by bit

•Make small rotis of ½ inch height and using cookie cutters cut into desired shapes

•Top them with white sesame seeds

•Grease a baking tray and gently place cookies on the tray

•Refrigerate the cookies for 15 minutes before baking. This prevents them from spreading

•Pre heat oven to 150 degree Celsius and bake cookies for 20-25 minutes

•Cool down and then store in an airtight box