An increasing number of people are including millets in their diet these days. Due to their lower glycemic indices, millets are popular with both people with diabetes and those who are health-conscious.
For someone who is not used to cooking with millets, it can be a challenge to incorporate it into the regular diet. The obvious method that comes to mind is to boil it like rice and substitute it for boiled rice. Upmas, kichadis and biriyanis can also be made with whole millets. Porridge made from millets with a ladle of yogurt, makes for a healthy and nutritious breakfast.
We are all familiar with aval and now we have millet aval or flaked millets too that lend themselves well to quick cooking. They are already parboiled during their manufacturing process before the flattening and drying takes place. Soaking for a couple of minutes or a quick steaming process after washing it is sufficient to rehydrate and soften it, ready to be seasoned.
A handful of the millet aval can be added to some recipes without altering the final texture or taste. For instance, a handful of ragi aval / finger millet flakes can be added to pancake batter. Reduce the content of the flour in the regular pancake recipe by about 10 - 15 per cent and add a handful of ragi aval, stir gently before pouring out the pancakes on a hot pan. Even the popular chivda can be given a healthy twist with a handful of roasted ragi aval.
In some recipes, the rice aval can be completely replaced by a millet aval, of your choice. In aval upma, instead of rice aval, try using one of the millet avals. Similarly, a kichadi can also be made with millet aval. One of my personal favourites is to use aval made from kambu / bajra / pearl millet in kanda poha. Kanda poha is a popular breakfast dish from Maharastra traditionally made with the aval, tossed with potatoes and peas and a very delicious tempering. It's a savoury dish but with a tinge of sweet and sour. It goes very well with peanut or coriander chutney.
Kanda Poha with kambu aval
Ingredients
3 cups Kambu aval
1 potato, cut into 1cm cubes and boiled
1/4 cup peas, boiled
2 tsp sugar
1 tbsp oil
1/4 tsp mustard seeds
1 green chilli, slit into 2
1 pinch of asafoetida
1 sprig of curry leaves
1 big onion, chopped
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
Salt to taste
1/8 cup roasted peanuts
1 tsp lime juice
1/8 cup coriander leaves, chopped
Method
Wash and drain the kambu aval. Steam for 2 minutes. Add the sugar, toss and set it aside.
Add mustard seeds to hot oil and let them crackle. Add the green chillies, asafoetida, curry leaves and chopped onion. Sauté till the onion turns translucent. Now put the turmeric powder and add the boiled potatoes, peas and salt and stir. Once they are well coated, add the prepared aval and toss. Adjust salt to taste. Garnish with roasted peanuts, lime juice and coriander leaves and mix. Serve hot with peanut or coriander chutney.
There is an interesting array of brown rice avals in the market such as Kavuni Arisi (from Chettinad) and Maapilai Samba rice. Each of the millets or even rice varieties comes with its own cocktail of beneficial micro-nutrients. The more varieties we include in our diet, the higher the health benefits.
