Brown-top-millet-Bread

#BrownTopMilletBread : I have been enjoying most of the minor millet such as Samai, Kodo, Barnyard, Proso, Foxtail millet since when I started living in Raipur, the capital city of Chhattisgarh.
Since then slowly I started including these millet, buckwheat and Amaranth seeds in my cooking list from the year 2012.
I have been trying different dishes from these millet and shared those recipes here in my posts.

Last year, I had seen a video of speech by Dr Khader Vali about millet. After watching it I came to know about one more millet called #BrowntopMillet [ some call it #AmericanMillet ]. Especially he is recommending to include five millet namely Kodo millet, Little Millet, Barnyard Millet, Foxtail Millet and Browntop Millet in our daily diet because of its medicinal properties. He is also stressing the point that all should take food made from these millet as regular diet to lead a healthy life and tide over modern day diseases.

#BrownTopMillet is scientifically known as Brachiaria ramosa or Urochloa ramosa. 
It is called 
Pedda sama or korle in Kannada  
Kula samai or Pala pul in Tamil.
Markra, Murat in Hindi
Andu Korralu, Eduru gaddi in Telugu
Chama pothaval in Malayalam

It has been in use since ancient times. The grains are Brownish yellow in color. It is largely cultivated in Tumakuru, Chikkaballapur and Chitradurga districts of Karnataka and some parts of Tamil Nadu, Andhra and Maharashtra. It grows well in less fertile and dry area with one or two spells of rain.
Unlike other millet it is being cultivated in limited area in India and also dehusking of grains is little bit difficult compared to other millet. So it is costlier than the other ones.

The nutritional value of brown top millet from a table depicting nutritional value of millet in Indian Institute of Millet Research website is given below :

per 100 gm of Brown top millet contains

11.5 g Protein, 12.5 g fiber, 4.2 g minerals, 0.65 mg iron and 0.01 mg calcium. 

The fiber in brown top millet is the highest among millet. Also compared to rice and wheat the fiber content is far far higher in brown top millet. So this millet roots out problems in digestive system.

Millet has to be soaked for a minimum of two hours before cooking to reap full medicinal benefit.

As always first I made pongal and the taste was good with nice aroma. Its aroma is different from other millet. So I thought of trying some other interesting recipe with brown top millet. I searched this blog for a suitable recipe using this millet. Then I zeroed in on a rice recipe by name Kallappam and decided to give it a try. I had made it long ago after seeing a shared recipe by a friend. I immediately swung into action and started preparation. It was a great success. Yes My choice is right!! The bread was so tasty and the aroma was great.

The recipe of Brown top millet bread involves three stages

• Preparing batter
• Fermenting
• Steaming in Idli pot

So start planning 8 to 10 hours before to get a tasty and aromatic bread. Prepare batter the previous night to make bread for breakfast. If you are planning for dinner then prepare batter in the morning.

Note : Yeast has to be added to the batter to aid fermentation. But the dry yeast which I am having is not active. So I have added fermented sour idli maavu. 

Ingredients :
1 1/4 cup	Brown top Millet
1/2 cup	Coconut scrapings
1 Tbsp	Sugar [ Adjust ]
1 Tsp	Salt [ Adjust ]
2 - 3	Dried Dates [ Raisins ]
1 Tsp	Fermented sour Idli maavu
1/4 Tsp	Ghee
1/4 Tsp	Gingelly oil

Method :
Take 1 cup of brown top millet in a big vessel and 1/4 cup in a separate small vessel.
Wash them once.
Add 1 1/2 cup of water in big vessel and slightly more than half a cup of water in small vessel.
Soak them for two hours.

After two hours, take a pressure cooker & add a cup of water.
Now keep the small vessel inside the pressure cooker.
Close small vessel using a lid. 
Close the pressure cooker with weight on.

Heat on a stove over high flame till a whistle.
Then reduce the flame to SIM and cook for 10 minutes.
Take out cooked brown top millet only after the pressure cooker ran out of steam.
Allow to cool down.

Now take soaked brown top millet from big vessel and coconut scrapings in a big mixie jar.
Grind into smooth batter adding enough water.
Finally add cooked millet and grind into a smooth paste.

The batter should be of idli maavu consistency.
Transfer into a big vessel.
Add fermented sour idli maavu salt, sugar and mix well.
Keep it closed in a warm place for 6 - 8 hours or the whole night to ferment.

After fermentation the batter would have doubled in volume and looks like this.

Keep an idli pot on a stove and add 2 cups of water.

Place steamer plate in it to fit into its slot.

Heat on high flame.

Take a deep flat plate and grease it with 1/4 Tsp of oil.

Half fill the greased plate with batter.

Sprinkle nicely chopped raisins over the batter.

Keep it inside the idli pot and close the idli pot.

Steam it for 12 minutes.

After 12 minutes pierce the bread from the top with a clean knife or stick.

If it comes out clean then the bread is ready.

Take out from the idli pot and keep it on kitchen platform.
Allow to cool down little bit.
No color powder has been added but appears in its natural light chocolaty brown color.
Brush with ghee over the surface of the bread to avoid drying up.

Then slice it with a clean &dry knife.
Its very soft and taste like a real bread.

Enjoy with any spicy tomato chutney.

You might like to try 

Varagarisi pongal [ kodo millet pongal ]	Kanjeepuram Idli	Kambu Idli [ Pearl millet idli ]
Sorghum Dosai [ Chola Dosai ]	Appam	Samai Sweet Bread

You might also like to know about other millet

Millet Special

For other Appam Recipes

Appam recipes

For other Tiffins

Tiffin Varieties

Bael fruit - Vilva pazham Juice

#BaelFruitjuice #VilvaPazhamJuice : #BaelFruit is called #VilvaPazham [ #Vilvamfruit ] in Tamil. The scientific name is Aegle marmelos and it is commonly known as bael, Bengal quince, golden apple, Japanese bitter orange, stone apple or wood apple. We all must have seen vilva tree as native tree in most of the Siva temples in Tamil Nadu. I have heard elders saying that doing pooja with vilva leaves to siva lingam is very good. But they haven't told any other uses or benefits of vilva tree.
Around eight months back we have moved into a house at a township called Chittaranjan in West Bengal. The house is surrounded by many big trees such as mango, neem, guava, jack fruit, vilva [ bael tree ], fig, jamun and other unknown varieties of trees. My dear husband occupied the house before I joined him. During that period he sent a photo showing a glass of juice made from the fruit of vilva tree. It was a big surprise for me. Even more surprising is that the leaves, bark, root and fruit of  vilva tree have innumerable medicinal property. But I couldn't taste it then as the season was over when I reached Chittaranjan. Till now I  have been relishing only its tender leaves in salads and herbal tea.

Now the time has come for me to enjoy bael fruit. Fruits are falling down one by one daily as Summer has just started.

Later on I learned from world wide web that its indigenous to Indian subcontinent and mainly found in tropical, subtropical regions & also lower ranges of Himalayas upto a height of 500 meters. It is being cultivated in Eastern Uttar pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal and nearby areas for its fruit, leaves, bark and roots. Various useful products such as squash from fruit pulp, dried leaf powder and other medicinal products are being produced. 

The trunk of the tree in my garden is very big and its bark looks like that of neem tree. I have noticed that smaller tender branches have sharp thick thorns about an inch long. When the leaves are bruised a nice aroma spreads around. The taste of the leaf is somewhat like that of tender raw mango [ வடுமாங்காய் ]. The flower of the tree has a pleasant fragrance. 

The fruit is spherical in shape approximately 3 to 4 inch in diameter while its top and bottom slightly flat. Some fruits are pear shaped. The fruit has a thick hard woody outer shell either green or grey in color and turns yellow when it ripens. 

The shell has to be opened just like we do for vilampazham using a heavy knife or banging on a stone or floor. The fruit has a very nice fragrance near the stalk. A good fruit is selected by its fragrance and weight. The pulp inside the shell has many segments. The pulp is orangish yellow in color. It is soft, sticky, gummy, fibrous and fragrant. The seeds are embedded in the pulp. We could see some honey like viscous fluid in the pulp. The pulp of a ripe fruit is sweet & bland or sometimes sweet & slightly sour in taste.
Carotenoids present in the fruit gives orangish yellow color to it. Tannins, ascorbic acid and riboflavins are present in the fruit. The fruit has considerable amount of fiber which help to ease constipation. Research works on bael fruit and clinical trials proved that it is antifungal, antimicrobial and antiviral.

Henceforth if you see a bael fruit [ vilva fruit ], don't hesitate to enjoy as it is a store house of vitamins & minerals and also for its therapeutic properties.

Relish the fruit after opening the shell and scooping out the pulp. Or an yummy juice can be prepared from vilva pazham and enjoy along with breakfast in the morning.

Ingredients :
2 Ripe	Vilva pazham [ bael fruit ]
2 Pinch	Salt [ Adjust ]
1 Tbsp	Lemon juice [ Adjust ]
1/2 Tsp	Pepper powder [ Adjust ]
5 - 6	Mint leaves [ Optional ]

Method :
Break vilva pazham and scoop out pulp using a spoon.
Take the pulp in a big vessel.

Add 2 to 2 1/2 cups of water.
Squeeze out the pulp with your hand and remove the fibers.
Add salt and lemon juice. Mix well.

Transfer into a tall glass and top it with pepper powder and chopped mint leaves.
Enjoy tasty yummy vilva pazham juice. 

Other juices you may like to try

Green Tea with Tulasi & orange

Mango Milk Shake

Muskmelon Mint juice

Aam panna Raw mango juice

For other juice and soup recipes

Refreshments

Barnyard-Millet-Fried-Rice

#BarnyardMilletFriedRice  #KuthiraivaliFriedRice : #BarnyardMillet is called #Kuthiraivaali [ குதிரைவாலி ] in Tamil. The scientific name is Echinochloa frumentacea. It is called Sawan or Bhagar in Hindi, Kodisama in Telugu and Oodalu in Kannada.
Generally all millet happen to be non acidic and non glutenous food.
The minerals and protein present in barnyard millet is considerably high compared to rice and wheat.

Nutrient contents per 100 gm of Barnyard millet : 11.2 g Protein, 10.1 g fiber, 4.4 g minerals, 15.2 mg iron and 11 mg calcium. The amount of protein present in Kuthiraivaali is the highest among minor millets like kodo, foxtail and little millet.
Barnyard millet has to be soaked for a minimum of two hours before cooking to reap the full health benefits.

#BarnyardMilletFriedRice preparation involves three stages

• Soaking millet for 2 hours and then cooking
• Cooling down to make cooked millet non sticky and separate
• Process involving different ingredients in a hot kadai

Ingredients :
1/2 Cup	Barnyard millet [ kuthiraivaali ]
1 Tsp	Cumin seed
1/2 Tsp	Black pepper pounded
1 Tsp	Pepper-Cumin powder [ adjust ]
1 big size	Onion, chop
1 or 2	Green chilly [ adjust ]
10 - 15	Garlic cloves chopped
2 - 3 Tbsp	Green peas fresh
1	Carrot, chop nicely
1/2 Cup	Coriander leaves chopped
3 Tsp	Gingelly oil [ Til/Sesame oil ]
1 Tsp	Ghee [ optional ]
1/2 Tsp	Ginger nicely chopped [ optional ]

Method :

Take 1/2 cup of barnyard millet in a pressure cooker.

Wash two or three times with water and add 1 cup of water.

Allow to soak for two hours.

After two hours pressure cook on high flame for 3 whistles.

Open pressure cooker only after it ran out of steam completely.

Topple the cooked barnyard millet into a wide mouthed vessel.

Add two teaspoon of gingelly oil and allow to cool down under fan.

Keep turning with a long spoon gently to get non sticky cooked millet.

Heat a kadai over medium flame with 1 Tsp of gingelly oil and 1 Tsp of ghee.

Crackle cumin seeds and then add slit green chilly, chopped garlic cloves and chopped onion.

Saute for two minutes and then add chopped garlic, carrot and green peas.

Saute for five to seven minutes.

Then add pounded black pepper & 

Pepper-Cumin powder

  followed by chopped coriander leaves.

Saute for a minute and then add cooked barnyard millet & salt.

Mix gently and check salt.

Top with coriander leaves and transfer into a serving bowl.

Relish with any side dish of your choice or thayir pachadi. 








You might also like to try

Coconut Drumstick leaf rice

Karuveppilai Rice - Curry Leaf Rice

Kuthiraivaali puliyodharai

Cabbage Pepper Rice- Muttaikos milagu Rice

Vangi Bath - Katharikkai Rice

Recipes from Millet

Recipe Index

Tiffin Varieties

Broccoli-Masala-Curry

#BroccoliMasalaCurry : #Broccoli belongs to a family called cruciferous vegetables and the family is scientifically called  Brassicaceae family [ also called Cruciferae ]. Some of the cruciferous vegetables are cabbage, cauliflower, kale, brussels sprouts and similar green leaf vegetables.
#Broccoli is rich in minerals, vitamins, fiber and low in calories. 
#Broccoli is tasteless and flavorless. It takes very little time to cook. We have already seen broccoli stir fry [ Poriyal ] along with other vegetables. Now we will see a masala curry preparation of broccoli with potato, green peas and other vegetables.

Ingredients :
1 Cup	Broccoli florets
1/4 Cup	Green Peas
1 medium size	Potato
1/2	Capsicum, chop
1	Carrot, chop
3/4 Tsp	Salt [ Adjust ]
2 Tsp	Gingelly oil [ Til/Sesame oil ]
To Grind :
3 Tsp	Coconut scrapings
2 -3	Green chilly [ Adjust ]
1 Tsp	Cumin seeds
1/2 Tsp	Fennel [ Somp ]
1 Tsp	Coriander powder
10 - 12	Curry leaves
8 - 10	Coriander sprigs
1/4 Tsp	Salt
1 medium size	Onion, chop
Tempering :
1/2 Tsp	Mustard seed
1 Tsp	Black gram split

small quantity of fresh coriander leaves to garnish

Method :

Wash potato well and cut into halves.

Boil potato pieces in a pressure cooker adding half a cup of water and 1/2 Tsp salt for 5 whistles.

Open after pressure cooker ran out of steam.

Take out boiled potato and peel.

Break into small pieces with hand and set aside.

Take a big vessel with 3 cups of water and dissolve a Tsp of salt.

Put broccoli florets in salt water for half an hour.

Take all the ingredients to grind except chopped onion in a blender and grind coarsely adding little water.

Finally add chopped onion and run for 2 seconds.

Transfer the masala paste into a bowl or plate and set aside.

Heat a kadai with oil on a stove over medium flame.

Crackle mustard seeds once oil becomes hot and then add black gram split.

Add chopped carrot and capsicum after black gram turns golden color.

Saute for three minutes.

Then add broccoli florets and green peas.

Add salt and mix well.

Close the kadai with a lid and cook on slow flame till vegetables becomes soft.

Open the lid and add boiled potato and ground masala paste.

Mix gently and adjust salt.

Allow to simmer until raw smell of masala paste goes off and the curry turns dry.

Finally add chopped fresh coriander leaves and transfer into a serving bowl.

A tasty masala curry is ready to relish with hot white rice mixed 

with sambar or rasam and also tastes good with curd rice.


It also goes well with chappathy or puri.









You might also like to try

Cauliflower manchurian

Colacasia masala curry

Ennai katharikkai brinjal curry

Cauliflower poriyal

Vazhaipoo carrot poriyal

Curry Index

Ideas for Breakfast/Dinner

Varieties of Dishes for Lunch

Recipe Index