Millets are a family of ancient grains that offer a wealth of nutritional benefits and culinary versatility. They are gluten-free, high in fiber, and packed with essential vitamins and minerals. With their nutty flavor and chewy texture, millets can be used in a variety of dishes, from savory to sweet.
Here are some popular millet recipes to inspire your cooking:
Sorghum Burfy
Ingredients:
- Sorghum flour – 100g
- Besan – 100g
- Condensed milk – 350g
- Ghee – 150g
- Dry fruits – 50g
- Cardamom powder – 10g
- Sugar powder – 50g
- Milk – 1 tbsp
Preparation Method:
Mix sorghum flour with besan and sieve. Add 1 tsp ghee or 1 tbsp milk. Heat the ghee in a pan, add the flour mixture, and fry thoroughly. Add condensed milk, sugar, and cardamom powder while stirring. Once done, pour the mix into a greased plate and allow it to set. Cut into pieces before it cools.
Sorghum Namak Para
Ingredients:
- Sorghum flour – 50g
- Wheat flour – 50g
- Baking soda – 2g
- Ajwain – 3g
- Ghee – 3g
- Salt – to taste
Preparation Method:
Mix all the ingredients to make a dough like chapati dough. Roll into a chapati shape and cut into diamond shapes. Deep fry until golden yellow. Serve with tea as a snack.
Sorghum Chiroti
Ingredients:
- Sorghum flour – 1 cup
- Maida – 2 cups
- Sugar powder – 1/4 cup
- Ghee – 1/2 cup
- Corn flour – 1/2 cup
- Hot water – as required
Preparation Method:
Mix sorghum flour and maida to make a dough with hot water. Mix corn flour and ghee in a bowl and set aside. Roll the dough into chapatis and apply the corn flour paste on them. Roll the chapatis, cut them into small pieces, and deep fry. Sprinkle sugar powder on top before serving.
Sorghum Chocolate
Ingredients:
- Dark chocolate – 300g
- White chocolate – 80g
- Coconut powder – 100g
- Roasted sorghum flour – 40g
- Dry fruits – 100g
- Condensed milk – 1 tbsp
Preparation Method:
Melt dark and white chocolate together in a double boiler. Mix roasted sorghum flour, dry fruits, coconut powder, and condensed milk for stuffing. Pour a layer of melted chocolate into molds and freeze for 5 minutes. Add the sorghum stuffing into each mold, cover with more melted chocolate, and freeze for 5 minutes. Remove the chocolates from the molds and wrap them in colored wrappers.
Sorghum Annam
Ingredients:
- Dehulled sorghum grain – 1 cup
Preparation Method:
Cook pearled or dehulled sorghum in boiling water until the grains become soft and palatable. It can also be prepared in a pressure cooker for 5-10 minutes.
Sorghum Roti
Ingredients:
- Sorghum flour – 100g
Preparation Method:
Add hot water to sieved sorghum flour and knead into a smooth, soft dough. Make small round balls (approx. 50g) and flatten them into round shapes on a polythene sheet using a rolling stick or by pressing with your palm. Cook the roti properly on both sides on a preheated tawa. Serve hot with curry or dal.
Sorghum Dosa
Ingredients:
- Sorghum grain – 3 cups
- Black gram dal – 1 cup
- Salt and oil – for shallow frying
Preparation Method:
Grind the soaked sorghum grain and black gram dal into a fine batter. Add salt to taste and allow it to ferment. Apply a teaspoon of oil on a preheated tawa and pour the batter, spreading it into a thin round shape. Fry until the dosa becomes crisp. Serve hot with chutney.
Sorghum Kanji
Ingredients:
- Sorghum flour – 1/2 cup
- Rice starch soup
- Salt – as required
Preparation Method:
Mix sorghum flour with lukewarm water carefully to avoid lumps. Add rice starch soup and salt to the mixture and cook for 15-20 minutes. Cool the drink, or ferment it overnight in an earthen pot and consume the next day.
Sorghum Upma
Ingredients:
- Sorghum rawa – 1 cup
- Bengal gram dal
- Mustard seeds
- Chopped onion
- Green chilies
- Carrot
- Tomato
- Curry leaves – as required
Preparation Method:
Roast 1 cup of sorghum rawa until it turns brown. In another pan, season mustard seeds, Bengal gram dal, onion, green chilies, carrot, tomato, and curry leaves. Add 3 cups of water, salt, and bring to a boil. Slowly add the roasted rawa and cook until soft over a low flame. Serve hot.
Sorghum Vegetable Tawa Roti
Ingredients:
- Sorghum flour – 25g
- Chopped onions, capsicum, carrot, cabbage
- Green chili paste
- Sesame seeds
- Jeera
- Salt – as desired
- Water – as required
Preparation Method:
Mix all the ingredients with water to form dough like chapati dough. Make small balls, flatten them into round shapes using a rolling stick, and roast them on a preheated tawa until cooked on both sides.
Sorghum Samosa
Ingredients:
- Sorghum flour – 1 cup
- Maida – 1 cup
- Potatoes – 1 cup
- Boiled peas
- Onions
- Green chilies
- Curry leaves – as required
Preparation Method:
Mix sorghum flour and maida with water to form dough. Make small chapati balls, flatten them, and cut into halves. For the filling, mash boiled potatoes and mix with boiled peas, chopped onions, green chilies, and curry leaves. Season with salt and fill the dough halves with this mixture. Fold into triangular shapes and deep fry. Serve hot with tomato sauce or chutney.
Sorghum Khichdi
Ingredients:
- Sorghum khichdi rawa – 1 cup
- Moong dal – 1/2 cup
- Mustard seeds
- Chopped onions
- Green chilies
- Tomato
- Curry leaves
- Ginger-garlic paste
- Turmeric powder
- Salt
- Water – as required
Preparation Method:
Soak sorghum rawa and moong dal for 15 minutes. Season mustard seeds, onions, green chilies, ginger-garlic paste, tomatoes, curry leaves, and turmeric powder. Add sufficient water and salt, cook on low flame until fully cooked, and serve hot.
Sorghum Kesari
Ingredients:
- Sorghum rawa – 1 cup
- Dry fruits (cashew, pista, almond, raisins) – 1/2 cup
- Ghee – 1 tsp
- Milk – 1 cup
Preparation Method:
Roast sorghum rawa and dry fruits separately in ghee until light brown. In a pan, boil milk with a pinch of kesari. Add the fried rawa and sugar to the milk, and cook for 15 minutes. Garnish with dry fruits and a little ghee before serving hot.