And its time we take pride in cooking these ancient mostly forgotten miracle grains…Shall we?!
Now lets get on to the FAQ’s first:
What are Millets?
Millets are a group of highly variable small-seeded grasses, widely grown around the world as cereal crops or grains. Millets are known as “Small Grains” or “Siru Thaaniyangal” in Tamil.Millets are one of the oldest foods known to humans and possibly the first cereal grain to be used for domestic purposes.Millets are also unique due to their short growing season. They can develop from planted seeds to mature, ready to harvest plants in as little as 65 days. This is important in heavily populated areas. When properly stored, whole millets will keep for two or more years.
Why to eat Millets?
- Millets are gluten free, rich in fiber and proteins.
- Their rapid growth and shorter growing seasons make millets ideal for emergency, late-planted, and double cropping situations.So mostly they are grown organic without any pesticides and chemicals.
- Millets are highly nutritious, non-glutinous and not acid forming foods. Hence they are soothing and easy to digest.
- Compared to rice, especially polished rice, millets release lesser percentage of glucose and over a longer period of time. This lowers the risk of diabetes.
- Millets are particularly high in minerals like iron, magnesium, phosphorous and potassium. Finger millet (Ragi) is the richest in calcium content, about 10 times that of rice or wheat.
Where to buy Millets?
Try getting millets in organic stores or at any trusted supermarket so that its already cleaned else you will have to take the pain of cleaning to remove husk if any.
Millet Varieties:
| English | Tamil | Hindi |
| Pearl millet | Kambu | Bajra |
| Foxtail Millet | Thinai | Kangni |
| Kodo Millet | Varagu | Kodra |
| Barnyard Millet | Kuthiraivali | Jhangora |
| Little Millet | Saamai | Kutki |
| Finger Millet | Kelveragu | Mandua |
| Sorgum | Cholam | Jowar |
Cooking Methods for Millets (2 methods)
1.Pan Method – Refer stepwise
2.Pressure Cooker Method : For 1 cup of millet add the same 3 cups and pressure cook for 3 whistles in medium flame.
I would prefer the pan method for making plain rice variety and pressure cooker method for making upma / pongal.
How to cook millets
Recipe Category: Main | Recipe Cuisine: indian
Millet – 1 cup
Water – 3 cups*
* Water quantity slightly differs for thinai and kambu alone.Check my notes section.
Millet Recipes:
The millet varieties can easily be substituted for rice and wheat. The recipes I have tried so far are:
1.Thinai Upma, Thinai Payasam
2.Kambu Koozh, Kambu Thayir Sadam, Kambu Sadam, Kambu Dosai(recipe coming up soon)
3.Varagu Pongal (recipe coming up soon)
4.Kuthirai Vali Idiyappam
5.Saamai Upma
6.Ragi Malt, Ragi Kozhukattai
There are many recipes you can try with millets like adai, roti, idli, dosa etc will sure post them one by one.
Method:
- Clean the millet first and remove any grits if any.Take the millet(I used varagu here), rinse it in water and set aside.Boil water. Here I have used only 1/4 cup of millet so adjusted water quantity accordingly.
- Add the rinsed millet, and let it cook covered till all the moisture is absorbed and the grain is cooked till soft.
- Once all the water has been absorbed by the millet, switch off and keep aside for 10mins by that resting time it will cook further.Then fluff it up with a laddle.
Serve hot with sambar and any veggie of your choice.
My Notes:
- For thinai alone soak for an hour and cook else it will take longer or you will need to add more water.Check thinai upma recipe.
- If you want pulav style grains then use 2 to 2 and 1/2 cups of water if you want it little more mushy then 3 cups water will be perfect.If you want to make variety rice then use 2 and 1/2 cups of water.
- And if you want more creamier porridge consistency then add 4 cups of water.
- Rinsing is optional.While washing take care as the grains are tiny it gets easily washed away with water, You can use a big wide strainer to wash/rinse the millets.
- Also you can even roast the millet for few mins to enhance the nutty flavour of the grain.
- Serve millets always hot / warm exceptional for kambu alone.
- The time required to cook depends on each millet variety.
- You can make any variety rice or khichdi with the millets just substitute millet for rice.
- In the varagu sadam pic above you see I used 2 and 1/2 cups of water to get it grain separated as I wanted to make lemon rice with it.
- As I made just 1/4 cup I used my small pan but if you are making 1 cup or more use a thick bottomed vessel to cook to avoid sticking at the bottom.
Very very useful post…..I too love millets a lot. Nowadays they are regular in our diet.
Lovely clicks…..your food photography is excellent Sharmi….Really I want to learn !!!
Wonderful post.. the use of such millet is almost nil now and the lifestyle is such that mostly people consue more carbs.. I have been looking for rice alternatives for sometime and this post really helps!! Thanks 🙂
usefull post sharmi.. loved the way you explained them all…
Sharmee hats off ….. Good job. Thank you for such a good post. Our generation are really not aware of these foods. Keep doing this good job!!!!
Very useful post for healthy lifestyle
very useful post
Thanks for taking the efforts to give us a healthy way of life.
I have also compiled a post about this Sharmi. What a coincidence. Nice post with useful information and nice pictures as always.
Thx Sharmee for sharing very useful info. any recommended shop in Chennai to get Millets?
Not really sure about shops in Chennai
Hi Sharmilee,
In super markets you will get the branded/ certified millet products. Most of the companies sell only the polished millets as it looks white just like rice varieties. Eating polished millets does not provide any nutritional benefits. It is just like eating the polished rice.
My request to all the readers is to search for the organic shops in your localities where you can get the unpolished millets without impurities.
In Chennai, the best quality millets are available at Restore organic shop (it is run by volunteers & the URL is http://restore.org.in/).
Very useful post..never ever tried this at home….will grab a packet next i see them in super market!!! thanks sharmi
Hi mam, Ive been recently looking up your blog. found it very useful for my daily cooking and making homemade things like paneer and butter. thanks to you 🙂 ive been married recently! my in laws place is in coimbatore, though we stay in kochi. we visit coimbatore every few months. it would be kind of you if you could point me as to where i can buy millets in coimbatore (as in specific shops). thanks a lot.
Thats good to know Divya…I usually get from Nilgiris or Rangasamy Chettiyar Shop, both are in RS Puram but now millets are available in many supermarkets, but see to it that its cleaned else we need to manually clean it.
thanks for the reply sharmilee! ive been able to procure most of the millet from Cbe and have successfully made your thinai arisi upma! 🙂
Can you make kanji mavu with millets, Do you need to roast them lightly before grinding.in mixie
Hi Sharmi! Thank u so much for this post! I didnt know millet was Indian! I have a pack of organic hulled millet. Its light yellow in color. Which one is it in Thamizh?
I think it must be thinai……
Hi Sharmi,
Very useful ideas. I like your site.
Are there any national brand marketing these Millets?
Where can I get them in Mumbai?
I am really not sure of any brands…I usually get it from a supermarket here
My mother gets these millets from local grocery store and the brand name is "Mayoora"
http://www.mayooramillets.com
very informative!!!! Is super millet and foxtail millet the same? Plz reply. . thank you 🙂
No I guess, not really sure of super millet hearing it for the first time
good
Thanks for the detailed steps 🙂 You Rock!!
does anyone know who can ship to US? i am very much interested in trying this.
You can get in Indian stores. Search for Hindi words
Excellent work. I have been looking for something like this for years. The Tamil English translation are exactly what I was looking for. Thank you so much for writing this up
thank you so much for composing and posting this. very healthy recipes
Thank you for this important information.
I recently bought 2 kinds of millet in an Asian store, one called 'Glutinous Indian Millet' (looks very much like red sorghum), and another — 'Glutinous Millet' (tiny round green-yellow seeds, like mustard). I'm trying to find out what species they are. All sources say that millets are gluten-free. I'd appreciate any help.
Thanks alot for this useful post
Excellent. Thanks and appreciate your efforts
I have just started using millets. But I have been coming across articles connecting milkets to thyroid problems. Is this a caise for worry or is it just ignorance? Looking forward to answers from all.Thank you.
I am not really sure of it Bindu…..Actually this sounds new to me
Is it okay to replace rice intake completely by millets ( cooked like rice). ??
Thank you for a wonderful tutorial.
Have a doubt though.
You have mentioned samai:water in samai kozhukattai as 1:2
But here it looks like 1:3
Please clarify
For each recipe it varies
Hi can u post how to make normal dosa from thinai n samai…waiting for Ur reply n post
Sure will post soon
That was really helpful. I always wondered abt millets n n today got one packet.. Kodu… I must try smthing! I’m worried abt how millets affect thyroid patients! Any idea?
Not really sure