Little Millet (Sama, Samai) Recipes

Little Millet (Sama, Samai) Recipes

The staunchest no-millet people find themselves warming to this grain. Its colour being closest to paddy rice could be one big reason, not to mention its simple flavor.

  

Sama and Whole Wheat Bread

Measures are based off a cupe measure of 8 oz. This recipe has been adapted from Peter Reinhart’s book. The Sama makes the bread moist.

Overnight starter:
Whole Wheat flour – 1 3/4 cup
Yeast (active dry) – 1/3 tsp. Use twice as much if you are using fresh yeast.
Water – 1 cup

Mix all and leave overnight. You don’t have to knead this mixture at all. The gluten strings will develop overnight.

Dough:
Overnight Starter – all
WW flour – 1 cup
Salt – 1 tsp
Honey – 1 1/2 tbsp
Cooked sama – 6 tbsp. Mash it up a bit.

Oil or butter – 2 tbsp (optional)
No more water is needed for the dough. You might need some to just wet your hands while kneading.

The overnight starter should have bubbled and fallen. Mix all ingredients well. Rest the dough for 5 mins, so it relaxes and helps you knead better. Knead for about 300 strokes or till you find the dough stretchy and silky. Rest for a min or two. Knead for another minute. Leave in a bowl for 1-1.5 hr for the first rise. You know this rise is done when you poke a wet finger gently into the dough. If it makes an impression that just stays and does not get filled up. its ready for shaping. If it fills up, then leave it for some more time.

Gently shape the dough and place in tin/basket and leave for 45min – 1 hr. In the mean time, heat your oven to 250C.

Slash the top of the dough just before you put it into the oven. Bake
at 250 for 10 minutes. Then reduce heat to 220 and bake till done.1

Let the bread cool before you slice it.

Sama Khichdi

2 cups sama (little millet)

1 cup sprouted mung dal

6 cups water

carrots, beans (can add peas also)

1″ ginger chopped small

4-6 cloves

2-3 1″ cinnamon sticks

turmeric

salt

Seasoning: jeera, 1 onion chopped, oil

Chop the carrots and beans. Pressure cook the veggies with sama, spouted mung, ginger pieces, cloves, cinnamon, turmeric, salt and water. Sautejeera and onion in oil. Add the seasoning to the khichdi. Its ready to eat!

Sama Sprouted MungKhichdi

Sama rice

1 cup korra (foxtail millet) or sama (little millet)
2 cups water
Cook the millet in water just as you would cook rice. Serve with vegetables, dal etc

Kodo Millet (Varagu, Arikelu) Recipes

Very flavourful, the grains are larger than Foxtail and Little millet grains. When cooked as rice, the grains keep their shape and can be used to make lime rice, cocunut rice and any other such dish where one wants grain integrity to be maintained.

Varagu Coconut Rice

Varagu Rice – 1 cup

Water – 2 cups

1/2 grated coconu

Carrot – 1, chopped and steamed (optional)

Onion – 1, chopped

Seasoning – Curry leaves, Channa Dal, Mustard Seeds, Oil

Cook the varagu in water. Let it cool down completely, so it does not become mushy when you prepare the coconut rice. Add seasoning to oil. Then saute onions and add the steamed carrots. Add grated coconut and let it cook for a minute. Then add the rice and mix everything well. Viola!

Varagu Mango Rice

Varagu – 1 cup (or 1/2 cup varagu, 1/2 cup paddy rice)

Water – 2 cups

Raw mango, grated – 1 or per taste

Groundnuts – 2 tbsp

Seasoning – curry leaves, chillies. mustard seeds, urad dal, turmeric, asafoetida, oil

Salt to taste

Cool the varagu in water and let it cool before mixing the rest of the ingredients. Fry groundnuts in oil, keep aside. Prepare the seasoning. Add grated mango and saute for a minute. Add the rice and groundnuts. Tangy mango rice is ready.

Pearl Millet (Bajra, Kambu) Recipes

Bajra flour, with its characteristic hints of dark green and brown is used to make delicious, rustic rotis. It can also be sprouted as it is a naked grain.

Kambu Adai

Kambu (Pearl Millet) flour – 2 cups
Drumstick leaves
Chopped Onion – 1
Water to make dough
Salt to taste
Oil

Mix the flour, leaves, onion, salt and water to form a stiff dough. Pat out theadais directly onto the tava with your hand. These adais are much thicker than wheat rotis. Let the side on the tava cook well before you flip it. Cook well on the other side too. Serve with chutney.

Bajra Sprouts

Bajra grains

Soak the bajra grains overnight. Tie them in a cheese cloth for a day or as long as you want the sprouts to mature. You can eat them raw or leave them in boiling water for a minute or two and then eat.

Broken Bajra Rice

Bajra rice can be made from Bajra rava, ie, broken Bajra.

Broken Bajra – 1 cup

Water – 2 cups

Pressure cook the broken Bajra just like you cook paddy rice. It makes a very delicious rice.

Bajra& Whole Wheat Buns for Pav Bhaji

Measures are based off a cupe measure of 8 oz. This recipe has been adapted from Peter Reinhart’s book. The cooked broken bajra makes the bread moist.

Overnight starter:
Whole Wheat flour – 1 3/4 cup
Yeast (active dry) – 1/3 tsp. Use twice as much if you are using fresh yeast.
Water – 1 cup

Mix all and leave overnight. You don’t have to knead this mixture at all. The gluten strings will develop overnight.

Dough:
Overnight Starter – all
WW flour – 1 cup
Salt – 1 tsp

Honey – 1 1/2 tbsp

Cooked bajra - 6 tbsp. Mash it up a bit. Use bajra rava. Cook one measure in 3 measures of water.

Raisin or date puree – Soak ½ oz raisins in ½ oz water overnight. Puree before use.

Oil or butter – 2 tbsp (optional)

No more water is needed for the dough. You might need some to just wet your hands while kneading.

The overnight starter should have bubbled and fallen. Mix all ingredients well. Rest the dough for 5 mins, so it relaxes and helps you knead better. Knead for about 300 strokes or till you find the dough stretchy and silky. Rest for a min or two. Knead for another minute. Leave in a bowl for 1-1.5 hr for the first rise. You know this rise is done when you poke a wet finger gently into the dough. If it makes an impression that just stays and does not get filled up. its ready for shaping. If it fills up, then leave it for some more time.

Divide the dough into a dozen pieces and flatten each piece and then roll it up. Leave for 45min – 1 hr. In the mean time, heat your oven to 250C.

Bake at 250 for 10 minutes. Then reduce heat to 220 and bake till done. The rolls bake in 15 minutes. Let them cook for 5 minutes and you can eat them hot.

You could use them as the pav for pavbhaji.

Bajra Roti

2 cups of bajra floor
2 cups of water

1. Take 2 cups of water and bring it to boil. The moment the water starts to simmer pour the the 2 cups of Bajra in the boiling water.

2. Adjust the stove to “sim”  and do not mix the Bajra with the water. Just leave it like that.

Add Bajra flour to hot water

3. Now After 2 minutes turn off your gas and get then mix the floor thoroughly. (If you feel you need to add some more Bajra floor you can add it. But if you want to add more water then you need add hot water.)

Mixing the flour and water

4. Now allow the dough to cool down (10 minutes)

5. Then roll them into small balls

6. When rolling them out into circular shapes puff/dust them with try Bajra floor

7. Now place it on the hot pan.

Bajra roti getting made

8. Use a cloth to press it on all sides and then keep changing the sides of the chapati. (You can use your hand, but cloth is a better option)

9. Optionally you can also add/spread some oil on the chapti to get the Paratha effect.

MethiMattarBajra Dalia Khichdi (Serves 3 adults)

Wash a bundle of methi well and remove the roots. You do not have to separate the leaves from the stalk since the khichdi is going to be pressure cooked.

Wash a handful of peas, 2 tomatoes, ginger (to taste – since it is cold here I used a six inch piece), green chillies (2 green ones slit lengthwise) and a few cloves of peeled garlic.

Add a teaspoon of oil (gingily, olive or mustard oil) in the pressure cooker. Pop a few mustard seeds. Add the ginger, garlic, coarsely chopped tomatoes and green chillis. Saute for a minute and then add the methi and one cup of bajradalia. Stir for a couple of minutes.

Add 2 1/2 cups of water. Let the mixture boil and close the cooker. After 2 whistles of the pressure cooker lower the flame and let the khichdi cook on low flame for 7-8 minutes. Turn off the flame and once the pressure is released completely from the cooker open the lid and enjoy the delicious khichdi with curd / a chutney of your choice.