Browntop_Millet_Pongal

 #BrowntopMilletPongal :

#BrowntopMillet is called #Kulasamai in Thamizh.

It is also known by name #AmericanMillet.

#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

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.

Browntop millet has a distinct aroma and tastier than normal rice.

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

To know more on Millet :

Millet

Nutrients of Millet

The first dish I made out of American millet was Pongal. But I didn't click photos then. So it took so long to write this recipe.

Rinse and soak browntop millet 2 hours before to reap its nutritional benefits.

Preparation Time          : 5 - 10 mins

Cooking Time               : 15 mins

Quantity prepare           : 2 1/2 Cup approx.

Ingredients :
3/4 Cup	Browntop millet
1/4 Cup	Green gram split
1/4 Tsp	Fenugreek [ optional ]
1 Tsp	Black Pepper
1 1/2 Tsp	Cumin seeds
1 Tsp	Ginger finely chopped
1 Tsp	Turmeric tuber finely chopped *
10 - 15	Curry leaves
4 - 5 cloves	Garlic, chop nicely
1	Green chilly slit lengthwise [ optional ]
3/4 Tsp	Salt [ adjust ]
To Temper :
5 - 6	Cashew nuts, break into pieces
1 Tsp	Cumin seeds
8 - 10	Black pepper
10 - 12	Curry leaves
3 -4 Tsp	Ghee

* Turmeric tuber can be replaced with 1/4 Tsp of turmeric powder.

Method :

Rinse and soak browntop millet in a vessel adding 3 cups of water for two hours.

After two hours transfer the soaked browntop millet along with water into a pressure cooker.

Add washed green gram & fenugreek and chopped garlic, ginger & turmeric tuber.

Also add cumin seeds, slightly pounded black pepper, salt and curry leaves.

Close the pressure cooker with its lid and put on its weight over the nozzle.

Pressure cook on HIGH flame for a whistle.

Then reduce the flame to SIM position and cook for 7 minutes.

Open the cooker only after it ran out of steam.

Heat a kadai with 1 tsp of ghee on a stove over slow flame.

Fry cashew pieces till it turns golden color and transfer onto the hot pongal in the cooker.

Again in the same kadai add ghee and first crackle cumin seeds and then add black pepper.

Fry till black pepper starts spluttering, turn off the stove and add teared curry leaves.

Stir for a while and transfer onto the hot pongal.

Serve hot pongal on a plate pouring liberal amount of ghee over it. 

Relish with Pongal thuvaiyal [ Coconut Thuvaiyal ].

Or with coconut chutney or Onion sambar.

You might like to try :

Quinoa Paruppu Payasam

Quinoa Conjee [ Quinoa soup ]

Samai spicy bread

Browntop millet bread

Browntop millet Mudakattan dosai

Buckwheat Pongal

For other tiffin varieties

Breakfast and Dinner ideas


For Accompaniments

Chutney Varieties

Kuthiraivaali_Spicy_Bread

#KuthiraivaaliSpicyBread  #BarnyardMilletSpicyBread :

#Kuthiraivaali is known as #BarnyardMillet in English. It is called #Oodalu in Kannada. It is known as Bhagar or Varai in Marathi & Chhattisgarh.

#Kuthiraivaali is gluten free and non acid forming food.

The glycemic index of kuthiraivaali is low and thus beneficial for cardiovascular and Type 2 Diabetic patients.

The amount of Protein present in Kuthiraivaali is significantly higher than other millet varieties.

Kuthiraivaali is rich source of Iron and dietary fiber.

100 g of kuthiraivaali contains 11.2 g of Protein, 10.1 g of Fiber, 4.4 g of minerals, 15.2 mg of Iron and 11 mg of Calcium.

The millet has to be soaked for a minimum of two hours before cooking to reap the complete health benefits. And also soaking the millet before cooking helps the body to absorb its nutrients well.

The dough has to be allowed to stand for a minimum of 6 - 8 hours to ferment. So pre-planning is necessary and the process has to begin well in advance.

There are four stages involved in the making of spicy masala bread

1. Soaking and grinding :

#Kuthiraivaali [ #BarnyardMillet ] has to be soaked for two hours. A small quantity of cooked kuthiraivaali is required to make batter. The soaked kuthiraivaali and cooked kuthiraivaali are ground together using a mixer grinder into a smooth batter. The batter should be thick just like idli maavu consistency and transferred into a vessel. 

2. Fermentation of the batter :

Sugar, curd and salt are mixed with the batter and allowed to stand for 6 - 8 hours or the whole night. 

3. Preparation of vegetable masala.

4. Combining fermented batter and masala to make the dough. Then steam cooking it in an idli maker.

Kindly keep in mind the time involved before beginning to make kuthiraivaali [ Barnyard millet ] spicy bread:

Soaking Time          : 2 hours

Fermentation Time  : 6 - 8 hours

Masala preparation  : 15 mins

Steam cooking time  : 15 - 18 mins

Ingredients :
1 cup	Kuthiraivaali [ Barnyard millet ]
3 Tbsp	Cooked Kuthiraivaali [ Barnyard millet ]
1/2 Tsp	Salt [ adjust ]
5 Tsp	Sugar [ adjust ]
2 - 3 drops	Curd
1/4 Tsp	Baking soda
For Masala :
1/4 Cup	Carrot grated
1	Onion chopped nicely
10 - 15	Curry leaves
1 Tsp	Oil
1/2 Tsp	Cumin seeds
To Grind coarsely :
10 - 12	Black pepper
1 - 2	Green chilly
1 Tsp	Cumin seeds
1 Tsp	Fennel seeds [ saunf ]
1/2 Tsp	Coriander seeds
1/4 in. piece	Cinnamon
1	Star Anise
3	Cloves
8 - 10	Curry leaf
2 - 3 Tsp	Coriander leaf chopped
10 - 12	Pudina [ Mint ]
1/4 Cup	Karpooravalli
2 - 3 pods	Garlic
1/2 inch	ginger
1/4 inch	turmeric tuber*

Gingelly oil [ sesame/til oil ]/ghee to apply

* If Turmeric tuber is not available then 1/4 Tsp of turmeric powder can be used.

Method ;

If I have planned to make spicy bread for breakfast, then I have to start the preparation the previous day evening itself.

 Previous Day Evening :

Take 1 cup of Kuthiraivaali in a big vessel. Rinse once with water and then add enough water to soak it.

Take 1 Tbsp of kuthiraivaali in a small cup and rinse once. Add 2 Tbsp of water.

Allow to stand for 1 hour. After an hour pressure cook over high flame for a whistle and then reduce the heat and cook for 7 minutes. Open the cooker only after it ran out of steam.

After two hours combine soaked kuthiraivaali and cooked kuthiraivaali in a mixer grinder jar.

Grind into a smooth batter adding little water.

The batter should be of idli maavu consistency.

Transfer into a big vessel. 

There should be enough space above the surface of the batter 

as the volume would increase due to fermentation.

Add sugar, salt and curd. 

Mix well and close the vessel with a lid. 

Keep the vessel at a warm place in the kitchen to aid the fermentation.

The next day morning :

In the morning the batter would have fermented and raised up in volume.

Collect all the ingredients necessary to make spicy masala.

Put in all the ingredients to be ground into a mixie jar and coarsely grind & set aside.

Heat a kadai with a teaspoon of oil.

Crackle cumin seeds once oil starts fuming.

Immediately add onion and saute for half a minute.

Now add coarsely ground masala mix and salt.

Stir well till its raw smell goes off.

Finally add grated carrot and mix well.

Now spicy masala is ready. Add some chopped coriander leaves and turn off the stove.

Transfer into a bowl and let the prepared masala cool down to room temperature.

Steam cooking :

Grease shallow plate/container with oil and set aside.

Heat Idli pot with 3 cups of water on a stove over high flame. Place the steamer plate inside the idli pot.

Now combine the fermented batter and masala mix together adding baking powder. Mix well. 

Pour the prepared dough into the oil greased plate/container till 3/4th of its height.

Tap the plate gently to evenly spread the dough.

Place the plate containing dough inside the idli pot over the steamer plate.

Close the idli pot and cook for 12 - 15 minutes.

After 14 minutes insert a clean and dry knife from the top through the bread. If the knife comes out clean then the bread is ready.

Take the plate out from the idli pot.

If the knife comes out with dough sticking to it then cook for another 3 - 5 minutes.

The time taken to cook the dough depends on the volume of the dough filled in the plate/container.

In the same way steam cook rest of the dough in batches.

Apply 2 -3 drops of ghee/gingelly oil over the surface of the bread to avoid drying up.

Wait for five minutes to cool down considerably.

Cut into pieces.

Tasty N spicy Kuthiraivaali spicy bread is ready to relish.

Enjoy your breakfast!!

No need of any side dish or chutney.

It can also be enjoyed either hot or cold as an evening snack with hot coffee.

You might also like to try

Samai spicy masala bread [ Little millet spicy masala bread ]	Kuthiraivaali sweet bread [ Barnyard millet sweet bread ]	Samai Arisi Thaengai Payasam
Kuthiraivaali Sundal [ Barnyard millet Sundal ]	Kuthiraivaali pasalai adai [ Barnyard millet spinach pancake ]	Samai Methy Pancake [ Little millet methy pancake ]

For other Kuthiraivaali Recipes

Barnyard Millet Recipes

For spicy accompaniments

Chutney Recipes

Ideas for breakfast and dinner

Tiffin Recipes

Mudakattan_Keerai_Chutney

#MudakattanKeeraiChutney : 

#MudakattanKeerai [ #MudakathanKeerai ] is a wild creeper commonly found on the road sides and in waste lands of villages. It is known as Balloon Vine or Love in a Puff or Heartseed or Heartseed vine.

The botanical name is Cardiospermum halicacabum and Cardiospermum corindum.
The leaves are rich source of antioxidants and its an anti inflammatory agent.

It is found that the extracts of leaves reduce fever. It is traditionally used as an anti arthritic agent and helps in reducing joint pain.
Generally I used to include mudakattan keerai paste with dosai maavu or grind with rice & urad dhal [ black gram ] to prepare Mudakattan dosai.

I have made mudakattan dosai with some of the millet varieties.

This time I tried a chutney from Mudakattan keerai [ Mudakathan leaves ].

Here presenting two chutneys from Mudakattan keerai. 

The first one being Mudakattan with Nellikkai and the 

second one Mudakattan with fried gram [ pottukadalai ].

1. Mudakattan-Nellikkai Chutney :

Ingredients :
1/2 Cup	Mudakattan keerai chopped
10 - 15	Green chilly [ Adjust ]*
1 big size	Onion, chop nicely
1/2 inch long	Ginger, chop finely
1 - 2 Tsp	Lemon juice [ adjust ]
Small piece	Asafoetida [ Perungayam ]
1 Tsp	Black gram
1 Tsp	Horse gram
3	Nellikkai [ Amla ], deseed and chop nicely
1 - 2 pinch	Turmeric powder
5 - 6	Garlic pods
6 -10	Black pepper corns [ adjust ]
1/2 Tsp	Jaggery
1 Tsp	Salt [ adjust ]
2 Tsp	Gingelly oil [ till / sesame oil ]

*What I have shown in the image is green chilly only but the color is red.

Method :

Heat a kadai with half a teaspoon of oil on a stove over medium flame.

Add asafoetida piece & black gram and fry for few seconds and then add horse gram.

Keep stirring till horse gram splutters and black gram turns golden brown.

Transfer into a bowl.

Add half a teaspoon of oil in the same kadai and add turmeric powder.

Immediately add chopped nellikkai [ amla ] pieces.

Keep stirring till the pieces become soft.

Transfer into a bowl.

Again in the same kadai add half a teaspoon of oil and add ginger & chilly. Saute for a minute and then add onion & garlic. Keep stirring till onion changes to dark pink color and gives out nice aroma.

Transfer into the bowl.

Now in the same kadai add half a teaspoon of oil and put in nicely chopped mudakattan keerai.

Keep stirring till keerai becomes soft and well cooked.

Let all the fried and sauteed items cool down to room temperature. 

Take all the sauteed ingredients, fried items along with salt, jaggery & lemon juice.

Grind into a smooth paste. Check salt.

Check sourness of the chutney. The mudakattan keerai gives slightly bitter taste to the chutney. So add lemon juice liberally that helps to subside the bitter taste.

Thus prepared spicy chutney goes well with Idli and also a superb accompaniment to dosai.

2. Mudakattan-Fried gram Chutney :

In the second chutney I have taken karpooravalli leaves [ Omavalli ] also along with Mudakattan keerai. Mudakattan keerai doesn't have any aroma and so I have included karpooravalli to give an extra punch to the chutney.

I have used jaggery in the first chutney to neutralize the bitter taste of the mudakattan keerai. Here I have included fried gram [ pottukadalai or porikadalai ] for the same purpose. The chutney has come out well and the taste was superb.

Ingredients :
1/2 Cup	Mudakattan keerai chopped
10 - 15	Green chilly [ Adjust ]*
1 big size	Onion, chop nicely
1/2 inch long	Ginger, chop finely
1 - 2 Tsp	Lemon juice [ adjust ]
Small piece	Asafoetida [ Perungayam ]
1 Tsp	Cumin seeds [ Jeera ]
1 Tsp	Coriander seeds [ Dhaniya ]
2 Tbsp	Fried gram [ porikadalai or varukadalai ]
10 - 12	Karpooravalli leaves
5 - 6	Garlic pods
1	Tomato, chop into 8 pieces
1/2 Tsp	Vinegar [ optional ]
1 Tsp	Salt [ adjust ]
2 Tsp	Gingelly oil [ till / sesame oil ]

Method :

Heat a kadai with half a teaspoon of oil on a stove over medium heat.

Add ginger & chilly. Saute for a minute and then add onion & garlic. Keep stirring till onion changes to dark pink color and gives out nice aroma.

Transfer into a bowl.

Again in the same kadai add half a teaspoon of oil and put in nicely chopped mudakattan keerai.

Keep stirring till keerai becomes soft and well cooked.

Transfer into the bowl.

Now in the same kadai add half a teaspoon of oil and saute tomato pieces till done.

Transfer into the bowl.

Let all the items cool down to room temperature.

Combine all the other ingredients with sauteed ones and blend into a smooth paste.

Check salt and sourness.

Transfer into a serving bowl.

Mudakattan spicy chutney goes well with Idli and 

also with dosai.

You may like to try :

Bringaraj chutney	Ammaan pacharisi thuvaiyal [ Asthma plant chutney ]	Pudhina yogurt chutney
Vallarai [ centella ] chutney	Poduthalai thuvaiyal	Pineapple-Mint Chutney	Vetrilai [ Betel leaf ] chutney
Katharikkai [ Brinjal ] chutney	Ammaan pacharisi [ Asthma plant ] Paruppu thuvaiyal	Maangai herbal chutney [ Raw mango herbal chutney ]

For Other Chutney Varieties

Chutney Recipes

For variety of recipes

Recipe Index