Pearl Millet Idly/Dosa (நாட்டுக் கம்பு இட்லி /தோசை)

Pearl millet (நாட்டுக் கம்பு) is one of the major millets cultivated in India. It is rich in protein, calcium, iron and dietary fiber. Pearl millet can be used to make traditional breakfast items like idly and dosa by using fermentation method. I have already shared a few recipes using pearl millet flour. Click here to view them. 

Ingredients:

Pearl millet - 2 cups

Idly rice - 2 cups

Rice flakes (அவல்) - half a cup

Whole urad dhal or Black gram dhal - 1 cup

Methi or fenugreek seeds - 1 tablespoon

Salt - to taste

Oil - for making dosa and for smearing idly moulds

Method:

How to prepare the batter: Wash and soak pearl millet and idly rice separately. You may have to wash the millet several times till the water runs clear. Let the millet soak for 5 hours. Wash and soak urad dhal and fenugreek seeds together, and let the ingredients soak for 4-5 hours. Drain the water and grind urad dhal and fenugreek seeds using a wet grinder or a mixer-grinder into a spongy mass. Transfer to a large vessel. Wash and soak rice flakes for 30 minutes.Now grind the soaked pearl millet, idly rice and rice flakes together into a smooth paste and transfer the millet-rice paste to the same vessel on top of the urad dhal paste. Add required salt and mix both the pastes very well. Cover and allow it to ferment for 8 hours. 

Note: Use a larger container to hold the batter overnight, as the batter will rise when fermented.

How to prepare idlies: Mix the batter well before using. Smear the idly moulds with oil. Pour batter up to the brim in each mould. Pour 300 ml of water in a pressure cooker or rice cooker. Steam the idlies for 5-7 minutes. Switch off the stove and remove the idly mould. Allow the idlies to cool for a minute or two. Remove the idlies from the mould using a knife or flat spoon, and transfer to a hot case. Serve hot with chutney and sambar.

Note: You may test if the idlies are cooked by using a wooden tooth pick. Wet the tooth pick and drive it through the idly in the mould. If the idly is cooked, the tooth pick will come out smoothly with no batter sticking on it.

How to prepare dosas: Mix the batter well before using. Add water, if required, to make a smooth batter with pouring consistency. Heat the tava on medium flame. Once ready, spread the batter evenly on the tava. You may make the dosa slightly thick or thin and crisp. Add oil around the dosa and allow it to cook for a minute. When cooked, bubbles appear on the surface of a thick dosa. If you are spreading the batter thin, wait for the dosa to become golden brown. Turn the dosa over and cook for short while. Remove from the tava and serve hot with chutney and sambar.

Note: You may refrigerate the batter and use it make idlies and dosas as needed. Idlies are preferably made on the first two days. Beyond two days the batter may start to sour and idlies will not taste good.

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Foxtail Millet Kesari (தினை கேசரி)

Foxtail millet (தினை), one of the widely-cultivated grains in India, is known to the mankind for a very long time that it is even mentioned in the ‘sangam literature’ (சங்க இலக்கியம்). This millet is rich in minerals especially iron and zinc, dietary fiber, and vitamins, mainly the B complex. Foxtail millet rice can be used to make keasri, an easy-to-make sweet preparation. You can serve kesai as a dessert or simply as a snack. Let’s see how to make this healthy sweet!

Ingredients:

Foxtail millet rice (தினை அரிசி) – ½ teacup or 100ml measure

Sugar – ½ teacup or 100ml measure

Ghee or clarified butter – 3 teaspoons

Cardamom – 2 no

Cashew nuts – broken, 1 tablespoon

Raisins – 1 tablespoon

Kesari powder or red food color – a pinch (optional)

Method: Remove the cardamom seeds, pound them into a fine powder and keep aside. Heat 1 teaspoon of ghee in a kadai. Add cashew nuts and raisins, and sauté till the nuts turn golden brown in color. Add pearl millet rice, and fry on medium flame till it turns light brown in color (See figure 1).  

Figure 1: Foxtail millet rice fried in ghee

Now, add 1¼ teacup (250 ml) of water and kesari powder. Mix well. Cover and cook on low flame till the foxtail millet rice is fully cooked and soft to touch. Add sugar, remaining ghee and cardamom powder. Mix well and simmer till the contents start separating from the sides. Switch off the stove and serve hot.

Foxtail Millet Kesari (தினை கேசரி)

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Pearl Millet - Peanut Bake

This is my 300th recipe on Rathika's Nest, and I wish to thank all my readers for your kind support without which this feat would not have been possible. Many thanks indeed!

Millets are often used in traditional cooking to make breakfast items and rotis. I have tried using millet flour for baking and it has turned out well. Pearl millet (கம்பு) is rich in carbohydrate, protein, dietary fiber, vitamins mainly B complex and minerals especially phosphorus and potassium. Pearl millet flour is light brown in color and is available in most grocery stores. This snack, baked with pearl millet flour and peanuts is nutritive and tasty. Go on. Give it a try! 

Ingredients:

Peal millet flour – ½ teacup or 100ml measure

Curds – ½ teacup or 100ml measure

Salted butter – 25 grams

Baking powder – ½ teaspoon

Cooking soda – a generous pinch

Cinnamon powder – ½ teaspoon

Sugar – ½ teaspoon

Butter – for greasing the bowl

Peanuts – roasted, 2 tablespoons

Pearl Millet - Peanut Bake

Method: Sieve pearl millet flour, baking powder and cooking soda together 2-3 times. Add in salted butter. Blend the butter with flour mixture very well using your fingers in a bowl. Beat the curds well. Add in cinnamon powder and sugar. Mix well. Add the curds mixture little by little to flour mixture, while beating continuously with a hand blender or ladle. Once all the curd mixture is added, continue beating till the batter becomes smooth and creamy. Add roasted peanuts and mix well. 

Peal millet batter ready to bake!

Grease a microwave safe glass bowl with butter. Transfer the batter to the greased bowl; gently shake the bowl so that the batter settles evenly.

Preheat the microwave oven in convection mode at 200^oC for 2 minutes. Now place the bowl containing the batter on the grill stand and bake in convection mode at 200^oC for 10 minutes or till the crust turns golden brown. Switch off the oven. Remove the bowl from the oven and allow it to cool.

Cut it into quarters and serve as a snack. This easy-to-make millet snack is quite filling.

Cut into quarters and serve!

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Pearl Millet - Rava Dosa (கம்பு - ரவை தோசை)

Usually pearl millet (கம்பு) dosa is slightly thicker than the regular dosa. However, pearl millet flour can be used to make thin dosas when combined with semolina/rava. Let us see how these dosas are made.

Fig.1: Pearl millet-rava dosa batter

Ingredients: (makes approximately 8 dosas)

Rava or semolina (ரவை) – 1 big hollow ladle or 75ml measure
Pearl millet flour (கம்பு மாவு) – 1 big hollow ladle or 75ml measure
All purpose flour or maida (மைதா மாவு) – ½ tumbler or 100ml measure

Buttermilk – 1 big hollow ladle or 75ml measure

Pepper corns – ½ teaspoon

Jeera/cumin seeds – 1 teaspoon

Salt – to taste

Cooking oil – for making dosas

Method: Mix rava, pearl millet flour, maida and salt in a bowl with buttermilk and two tumblers (400ml) of water. Use a hand blender and mix very well taking care that lumps are not formed. Add peppercorns and jeera to the batter. The batter should be thin and of pouring consistency (Fig.1). 

Fig.2: Pour the batter along the edges of the hot tava

How to prepare dosas: Heat the dosa tava very well. Though you can make this dosa on any tava, it is preferable to use a flat tava. Mix the batter well before using. Once the tava is hot, take one big hollow ladleful of batter and start pouring along the edge of the tava. As the batter is thin, it runs towards the center. You may lift the tava by the handle and tilt it gently to let the batter fill the gaps, if any. Please note that as the batter spreads there will be small gaps in the dosa as shown in the picture (Fig.2). Leave it as such. DO NOT TRY TO SPREAD THE BATTER USING THE LADLE, as you would do with ground dosa batter. Pour a teaspoon of oil around the dosa. Allow it to cook till the dosa turns golden brown. Turnover and cook the other side for a few seconds. Remove from fire. Serve hot with chutney or sambar.

Pearl Millet - Rava Dosa (கம்பு - ரவை தோசை)

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Pearl Millet Adai (கம்பு அடை)

Pearl millet (கம்பு) has been used in India for nearly three millennia. It is rich in carbohydrate, protein, dietary fiber, vitamins mainly B complex, and minerals especially phosphorus and potassium. Pearl millet flour is light brown in color and is available in most grocery stores. You may alternatively grind pearl millet in a neighborhood flour mill. Though pearl millet can be soaked in water and ground into a paste, I prefer using pearl millet flour for convenience. In south Indian cuisine, pearl millet is used to make dosa, adai, rice, porridge and roti/chappati. Pearl millet adai is nutritious, tasty and quite filling.

Pearl Millet Adai Batter (கம்பு அடை மாவு)

Ingredients: (makes approximately 10 adais)

Pearl millet flour (கம்பு மாவு) – 1 tumbler or 200ml

Urad dhal – 1 big hollow ladle or 75ml measure

Toor dhal – 1 big hollow ladle or 75ml measure

Bengal gram dhal – 1 big hollow ladle or 75ml measure

Dried red chillies – 3 no

Asafoetida – 3 pinches

Salt – to taste

Oil – for making adai

Curry leaves – a few

How to prepare the batter: Wash urad dhal, Bengal gram dhal and toor dhal, and soak them in sufficient water in a container for 4-5 hours. Grind the soaked items with salt, asafoetida, red chillies and required water using the wet grinder or mixer-grinder into a thick paste. Mix pearl millet flour with 1 tumbler (200ml) of water into a smooth paste. Add the ground batter to the millet flour paste. Mix well. Add water, if required, to make the batter into pouring consistency. Add curry leaves and mix well. Please note that this batter should be thicker than dosa batter. You can make adai immediately. You may refrigerate the batter and use it make adai as needed.

Note: Adai batter NEED NOT be left outside to ferment. Store the batter in the refrigerator soon after grinding, if you do not intend to make adai immediately.

How to prepare Adai: Mix the batter well before using. Heat the tava on medium flame. Once ready, spread the batter evenly on the tava. You won’t be able to spread the batter thin owing to the consistency of the batter. This adai will be thicker than dosa. Add oil around the adai and allow it to cook for a minute. You will find the edges of the adai start to become golden brown. Turn the adai over and cook for short while. Remove from the tava and serve hot with chutney. Traditionally pearl millet adai is served with spinach gravy (கீரை கூட்டு). This adai also goes well with coriander chutney. 

Note: You may add chopped onions or drumstick leaves (முருங்கை கீரை) to adai batter, mix well and prepare adai. Alternatively, you may use finger millet/ ragi flour (கேப்பை மாவு) or corn flour (சோள மாவு) instead of pearl millet flour and make ragi adai (கேப்பை மாவு அடை) or corn flour adai (சோள மாவு அடை) in the same manner.

Pearl Millet Adai (கம்பு அடை)

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Pearl Millet Dosa (கம்பு தோசை)

Pearl millet (கம்பு) is rich in carbohydrate, protein, dietary fiber, vitamins mainly B complex and minerals especially phosphorus and potassium. Pearl millet flour is light brown in color and is available in most grocery stores. In south Indian cuisine, pearl millet is used to make dosa, adai, rice, porridge and roti/chappati.

Pearl millet dosa batter

Ingredients: (makes approximately 8-10 dosas)

Pearl millet flour (கம்பு மாவு) – 2 tumblers or 400ml

Urad dhal or split back gram– ½ tumbler of 100ml measure

Salt – to taste

How to make the batter: Wash and soak urad dhal in sufficient water for at least four hours. Later, drain and grind the dhal with required water into a fine paste using the mixer-grinder. Mix pearl millet flour with 2 tumblers (400ml) of water into a paste. Now add urad dhal batter and salt to this paste. Mix very well. Add more water if needed to make the batter into pouring consistency (similar to regular dosa batter). 

How to make dosas: Heat the tava on medium flame. Once hot, pour a big hollow ladleful of batter on the tava and spread evenly. Pour oil around the dosa. When the edge of the dosa turns golden brown, remove the dosa using a flat spoon and turn it over. Cook for a minute and then remove from the tava. Serve hot with coconut chutney.

Pearl millet dosa served with coconut chutney

Note: You may use finger millet/ ragi flour (கேப்பை மாவு) or corn flour (சோள மாவு) instead of pearl millet flour and make ragi dosa (கேப்பை மாவு தோசை) or corn flour dosa (சோள மாவு தோசை) in the same manner. 

 
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