Saamai ( Little Millet ) And Vegetable Upma

           This is my 500th post, it took me more than 3 years to do this, with my laziness, I can't believe that I have done so many posts. Actually I should have celebrated it with something sweet, but I noticed it only now, Well then, coming to today's post, Millet Upma, I have started including millets in our diet at least 2 or 3 times in a week, mostly I use it in the place of rice, in idlis, dosas, pongal and pilafs. I made this upma, some time back, I have used saamai/little millet and I have made it slightly different from the regular upma. The upma was very flavorful and colorful from the different vegetables and was very filling too. We can serve it either with coconut chutney or even with yoghurt/curd..

Need To Have

• Saamai/Little Millet - 3/4 cup
• Onions - 2 medium, chopped
• Yellow Capsicum/Bell Pepper - 1 small, chopped
• Carrot - 1 small, chopped
• Fresh/Frozen Green Peas - 1/4 cup
• Tomato - 1 medium, chopped
• Chopped Coriander - 2 tablespoons
• Green Chillies - 2, sliced
• Mustard Seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
• Urad Dal/Husked Black Gram - 1 tablespoon
• Curry Leaves - 10 - 15

To Pound

• Shallots - 4
• Ginger - 1" piece
• Garlic - 3 cloves

Method

          Pound together all the ingredients given under ' to pound ' with a mortar and pestle. Wash and drain the saamai and keep.

          Heat some oil, add the urad dal and mustard seeds, when it starts spluttering, add the chopped onions, green chillies and curry leaves and saute for a minute. Then add the pounded onions and keep sauteing till you get a nice smell.

          Add the capsicum, carrots and peas and mix it, then add the tomatoes and keep mixing for another minute.

          Add the millet and mix for one more minute, then add about 21/2 cups of water and bring it to a boil. Then reduce the heat, cover and cook till the millets are cooked. Finally mix in the chopped coriander, cover and leave it undisturbed for about 10 minutes.

Note
You can add some roasted peanuts or cashews for more taste.

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Foxtail Millet Cookies, Thinai Cookies

          Foxtail Millet/Thinai Cookies, I should have posted this sometime last month, I was paired with Veena Shankar for the 'Shhhh Cooking Secretly Challenge', she was travelling and I was caught up in something, so by the time we decided on our ingredients, we had crossed the posting date. She had given me millets and sugar as the secret ingredients, my mind was already set on making cookies with the two ingredients, and after so much delay, I finally made them. I was debating whether to use only millet flour or a combination of flours, I finally settled on using millet flour and whole wheat flour and I also used some dark chocolate chips. The cookies turned out superb, melt in the mouth kind, the texture was like that of the Dark Fantasy cookies. Before we go on to the recipe, I don't have to tell much about Veena's blog, if some of you have not visited her space, do so, she has so many different and delicious recipes..

Need To Have

• Foxtail Millet/Thinai Flour - 1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon
• Whole Wheat Flour - 1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon
• Unsalted Butter - 2 tablespoons
• Oil - 2 tablespoons
• Sugar - 1/4 cup
• Vanilla Extract - 1 teaspoon
• Chocolate Chips - 1/8 cup
• Salt - very small pinch

Method

          Melt the butter, add the oil, salt and vanilla extract, followed by the millet flour, whole wheat flour, sugar and chocolate chips. Using your hand, mix it together to make a soft cookie dough.

          Shape it into small balls and flatten it slightly, arrange it on a cookie sheet lined with aluminium foil, bake it at 180 C for 15 minutes. Remove, let it cool for 5 to 10 minutes, remove and leave it on a wire rack to cool completely, then store it in an airtight container.

Note
I initially started with 1/4 cup millet flour and 1/4 cup whole wheat flour, but after making the dough, I felt I can add another tablespoon of each.
I have used organic sugar, I forgot to powder it, but still the cookies came out very good.

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Kambu Adai, Bajra ( Pearl Millet ) Adai

         Kambu/Bajra/Pearl Millet Adai, this is another easy recipe using millets, I have used bajra and a mixture of dals/lentils, but I have changed the flavors in this adai, I have used cumin and black pepper while grinding and lots of onions in the batter. The combination of the above three gives this adai a nice flavor and taste. It goes very well with coconut chutney or any chutney with a little coconut in it, try this out, the next time you are thinking of making adais..

Need To Have

• Kambu/Bajra/Pearl Millet - 1 cup
• Tuvar Dal/Split Pigeon Peas - 1/2 cup
• Chana Dal/Gram Dal - 1/2 cup
• Urad Dal/Husked Whole Black Gram - 1/4 cup
• Dried Red Chillies - 2 - 4
• Cumin Seeds - 2 teaspoons
• Black Peppercorns - 2 teaspoons
• Onion - 6 medium ones, chopped finely
• Curry Leaves - 10 - 15. chopped roughly
• Salt to taste

Method

          Wash and soak the millets and the dals for at least 4 hours.

          Grind the dal with the cumin seeds and peppercorns into a coarse paste and remove. Grind the bajra with the red chillies into a smooth paste, mix both of them.

          Add the chopped onions, salt and curry leaves, mix it well, the batter should be slightly thick, at the same time, you should be able to spread it. Heat a pan, add a ladle or 2 of the batter, spread it as thin as possible, drizzle some oil, cover and cook on medium heat. When the bottom has started turning golden brown, flip and cook on the other side till you get brown spots, remove and serve it with some chutney.

Note
If you don't like onions, you can also add some finely chopped cabbage instead.
Like all adais, it tastes best, right off the stove.
I have given chillies as 2 to 4, depending upon the spiciness of the chillies, use more or less.

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Thinai Idli, Foxtail Millet Idli

          Millets is finding back its place in South Indian cooking, we can find them in many stores, and they are available whole, as flours or even coarsely broken like semolina/rava. In my house, I use them mostly in the place of rice in tiffin varieties like idlis, dosas, pongal and adais. I have already posted idlis using kambu/ pearl millet, varagu/ kodo millet, today's post is once again idlis, this time I have made it using thinai/ foxtail millet. I have also used some rice and rice flakes along with the millets and the idlis came out really soft and fluffy..

Need To Have

• Thinai/ Foxtail Millet - 2 cups
• Idli Rice - 2 cups
• Red Rice Flakes - 1/2 cup
• Urad Dal/ Husked Whole Black Gram - 1 cup
• Fenugreek Seeds - 1 teaspoon

Method

          Wash and soak the foxtail millet, rice and rice flakes and the urad dal and fenugreek seeds together for 3 to 4 hours.

          Grind the rice, rice flakes and foxtail millet together into a slightly coarse paste ( don't make it very smooth, it should have a grainy texture ). Grind the urad dal and fenugreek seeds, add it to the rice and millet mixture, add 4 teaspoon salt, mix it well, using your hand and leave it overnight to ferment.

          Pour them in idli molds, steam them for 12 to 15 minutes, remove and serve it warm with the chutney of your choice.

Note
The idli batter should have a thick pancake consistency.
When using the idli maker, pour water in the vessel, it should start boiling, before you put the idli stand inside.
Once cooked, leave the idlis for a minute or two on the stand, or sprinkle some water around the edges, then using a wet spoon, remove the idlis.
I have used the wet grinder to make the batter, and I grind the urad dal for 25 minutes.

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Saamai Ven Pongal, Little Millet Pongal

          Happy Pongal/Sankranti ! While going through my blog, I realized that I had lot of sweet/sakkarai pongal recipes but not one ven pongal ( savory ), so decided to post this today. But instead of using rice I have used millets, I have used saamai/ small millet for making this pongal. It's a very easy recipe, it came out really good and tasted as good as the regular pongal..

Need To Have

• Saamai/Little Millet - 1/4 cup
• Moong Dal/ Green Gram - 2 tablespoons
• Ginger - 1" piece, chopped finely
• Cashews - 5 to 6, broken into pieces
• Cumin Seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
• Black Peppercorns - 11/2 teaspoons
• Asafoetida - 1/4 teaspoon
• Turmeric Powder - 1/8 teaspoon
• Curry Leaves - 15 leaves

Method

          Dry roast the little millet and moong dal till you get a nice aroma. Wash it and cook it with about 21/2 cups of water  and 1/2 teaspoon of oil till done.

          Heat some oil and ghee mixture, add the cumin seeds, black pepper and cashews. Once the cumin seeds start sizzling and the cashew start turning golden, add the ginger, curry leaves, asafoetida and turmeric powder and mix it for a 1/2 a minute. Add it to the cooked millet and moong dal and mix it well. Serve it warm with chutney and sambar.

Note
I cooked the millets and dal in the pressure pan, you can do it in a regular pan too.
The millet and dal once cooked, shouldn't be dry, add some water, it should be in a porridge consistency, it thickens as it cools.
Be a little liberal with the ghee and don't avoid the ginger.

Some Sakkarai Pongal varieties in my blog :

Broken Wheat Sakkarai Pongal
Regular Rice Sakkarai Pongal
Semolina/Rava Sakkarai Pongal
Karumbu Charu Pongal/ Sugarcane Pongal
Kothiraivali Sakkarai Pongal

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