Whats on your plate: 15 mouth watering

ways of eating Millets!

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Recent Comments
aravinda
Wonderful! We had ragi porridge for breakfast today and now to my great delight I see this article time to expand my repertoire :-) I
can't wait to try some of these recipes.
Whats on your plate: 15 mouth watering ways of eating Millets! 1 day ago
koolhead17
Considering the statistics, every second child in India is facing sexual abuse. << Really?
source?
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Rajesh K
Excellent article. I wish all architects thought like him, rather all people were sensitive to nature, like him. A man can wish, right?
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Adithi
Thank you Sangitha, and yes you are right. I was actually trying to combine the plights of both school and college teachers. The
examples I have given in this particular article are all from...
Women, teaching and the education system 3 days ago
Irene
Hi Priya, Sorry for the delay in responding.. What I meant was the subsidy of Rs 9200 is fairly recent, and the way to get this subsidy is
unclear/ complicated. Like you say, they're available only...
Whose loo? Why 600 million Indians still defecate in the open 3 days ago
Sejal Parikh
28-February 3:01 pm
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Did you know that 6000 varieties of millets exist around the world all in different colours and sizes! The virtues of millets are similarly
manifold. Besides being completely gluten-free, millets are rich in almost all nutrients when compared to popular grains like wheat or rice.
They are also very affordable unlike exotic grains like Quinoa.
With very low water foot-print, millets are quite suitable for small farmers without irrigation facilities. They are a great source of protein,
vitamins, minerals and other essential nutrients. They also are better digested than wheat or rice. It is unfortunate that despite knowing some
of these benefits, people are still not able to accommodate millets in their regular diet. Our taste buds need to undergo some changes to be
able to adapt to these grains, which is one of the reasons. Moreover, we also have to invest good efforts in learning to incorporate millets in
our diet as we are conditioned (and trained) to cook with rice and wheat for years.
Having tried being gluten-free for a month of two, I know how challenging it can be initially to cook without wheat. Heres an attempt to
compile my learnings through 15 different healthy ways to use various millets in everyday and special dishes. These recipes are not only
vegan, but many of them are also free of any oil or sugar.

Pic: vegrecipesofindia.com
1. Chapati/Roti
Bajra, Ragi or Jowari rotis are very famous in many parts of the country. Its true that one needs to learn the art of making millet rotis as
they need to be made by hand. Heres a great recipe of Ragi Roti, for example. However there are some tricks which lets you make rotis
easily with rolling pin. Key is to knead the dough with warm or hot water and using good binding agents. Adding boiled and mashed
potatoes or mashed unripe banana helps in binding the flours. I sometimes also add different lentil flours made from chana, moong dal or
masoor dal. This along with flax seeds binding mix (1tbsp flax seeds kept for 5 minutes in 3 tbsp of water) works very well.
2. Rice dishes
Korra (Foxtail millet) or Sama (Little millet) can easily be replaced in all the rice dishes such as Pulao, Bisibella bath, Rice-Sambar,
Puloihara, Khichadi etc. (Cook 1 cup millet in 1 cup of water, just like you would cook rice)
3. Daliya
Daliya made of Jowar (Sorghum) or Bajra (Pearl millet) are easily available today. They can simply replace in your favorite Wheat Daliya
recipe!
4. Cookies

Pic: veganosauras.com
This is my favorite recipe of Almond-Bajra-Date cookies. I also make it with Ragi. The unique feature of this cookie is that its super
healthy vegan, oil-free, sugar-free and gluten-free. The best part is that it literally only takes 15 minutes to make them! Also try
this Coconut-almond-bajra cookies.
5. Laddu
Ragi laddus can easily be made with malted Ragi flour. Take 1/3 cup soft pitted dates with 1/3 cup of walnuts and 1tbsp of desiccated
coconut. Roast 1/3 cup of malted Ragi flour and add it in the blender with a pinch of salt and cinnamon. Blend again until the mixture
becomes sticky again. Optionally 1tbsp of coconut oil can be added if the mixture is still not binding. Take this mix out in a container and
make laddus. Roll them in the desiccated coconut.
6. Porridge baby food

My 10 month old loves ragi porridge made of malted ragi flour. The recipe is as simple as mixing it with water and stirring it on to low
flame until it thickens! No need to add salt, sugar or milk. Why? Read morehere with detailed recipe. Ragi-porridge also serves as a good
breakfast item for adults as well!
7. Payasam
Any millet can be used in making delicious Payasam with coconut milk! Here is the basic recipe. Please replace brown rice with any millet
and follow the same recipe. (Blackstrap molasses can be replaced with Jaggery).
8. Muthiya

Muthiya is Gujarati steamed dish with a mix of grain and leafy greens or vegetables. It is very easy to make muthiya with Jowar (Sorghum).
Follow the recipe here.
9. Idly/Dosa
Simply replace rice with equal quantity of millets while making Idly or Dosa batter and voila, you got healthy millet based breakfast ready!
10. Sprouts
Like any grain, millets can also be sprouted and used in salads.
11. Bhel
Puffed millets such as Amaranth can be very well used in bhel instead of puffed rice.
12. Handvo
Handvo is very famous Gujarati dish. One can make millet based Handvo by just replacing Rice with Korra (Foxtail millet) in this recipe.
13. Upma
Today, many places sell Ragi, Jowar or Bajra based Samolina which can be readily used in making Upma, a famous South Indian breakfast
item.
14. Sheera
Roast 4 tbsp of Amaranth flour or Jowar flour in 2 tbsp of sunflower oil. Add hot water when it changes color. Mix continuously with a big
spoon and add sugar to taste. Stir it for a whole until it thickens. Add more water if needed. Let it cool once cooked and add a pinch of
cardamom powder. Mix well and serve!
15. Millet mylk!
Yes! You can also make vegan plant-based mylks out of various millets! Soak 1 cup millets, cook them just the way you cook rice. Let it
cool down and then blend with 2 cups lukewarm water (or less if you need thick mylk). Add less water initially while blending get a smooth
paste and then add the rest of the water. Strain with the help of a thin cloth (optional). Add a pinch of vanilla extract and Jaggery as
sweetener. This can be a good plant based mylk substitute in various recipes or used for breakfast cereals as well!
Tags: Healthy Food Millets Vegan Recipes What's on your Plate
Author: Sejal ParikhA Telecommunication engineer by profession, who used to earn her bread by working with
MNCs for about 6 years post-graduation until she found her interests venturing into environmental and social problems. She then took a break for
few years and traveled through the country, primarily in rural areas, where she was exposed to vegan lifestyle. She's now a passionate vegan,
freelance writer at the same time trying her best to be a green momma :-). She blogs at http://sejswhirlpool.wordpress.com/