Samai-Buckwheat-Payasam

#SamaiBuckwheatPayasam : #Samai or #SamaiArisi is called #LittleMillet in English. This belongs to small seeded cereals commonly known as #millet. These millets can be grown in places where rainfall is very poor and also not so fertile soil.
Daily we have been watching advertisements on TV showing how healthy the oats is for heart. But along with it millets have to be included as they are rich in Magnesium. Magnesium helps to lower high blood pressure and also prevents heart attacks. Apart from magnesium millets are rich in iron, copper, manganese, calcium, zinc and vitamins A & B. Little millet is one of the millets having good amount of iron and zinc compared to rice or wheat.
#Buckwheat is not a cereal but seed of a fruit. It is triangular in shape and brownish pink or brown in color. It is rich in protein and helps in strengthening the capillary walls.
I have taken little millet and buckwheat to prepare a tasty coconut payasam.
Approximately 2 cups of payasam can be prepared.

Ingredients :
1/4 cup	Samai [ Little Millet ]
1 Tbsp	Buckwheat
1 pinch	Salt
1/3 cup	Coconut milk
1/4 cup	Jaggery [ adjust ]
To grind :
3 Tsp	Coconut scrapping
1 Tsp	Khuskhus [ poppy seeds ]
2	Cardamom
small piece	Nutmeg
2 or 3	Cashew nuts
To garnish :
2 Tsp	Almond shavings

Method :

Take samai and buckwheat in a small vessel.

Wash two or three times.

Add 3/4 cup of water and a pinch of salt.

Take a pressure cooker and add 1 cup of water.
Keep the vessel in the cooker and close the lid with weight on.

Allow three whistles. 

Then reduce the flame and cook for 5 minutes.

In the meantime grind the given ingredients into a smooth paste adding 1/4 cup of water.
Set aside.

In another vessel take jaggery and add 1/4 cup of water.
Heat on a stove over slow flame.
Dissolve jaggery with a ladle.
Turn off the stove once the jaggery has completely dissolved in water.
Strain through a filter into a big vessel to remove any stones and impurities.
Set aside.

Open the cooker once it ran out of steam.
Take out the cooked samai - buckwheat.
Mash well with a ladle.
Heat the jaggery water on a stove over a medium flame.
Add mashed samai-buckwheat and mix well.
Bring it to boil and then add the coconut paste.
Reduce the flame and allow to simmer for 5 to 8 minutes.
When all blend together and becomes a porridge add coconut milk.
Simmer for 2 to 3 minutes.
Turn off the stove and transfer into serving bowls.
Top it with almonds.
Tasty yummy samai buckwheat payasam ready.
Enjoy with pakoda or vadai.



Note :

• The color and taste of the payasam depends on the type of jaggery taken.
• The payasam has to be cooked over slow flame after adding coconut milk.
• Coconut milk lighten the color of the payasam.
• Payasam can be garnished with coconut pieces roasted in ghee.

You might like to try

Aval Paal Payasam	Thinai Payasam 4	Thinai Payasam
Samai coconut Payasam	Samai Arisi Payasam	Samai spicy masala bread

For other Millet Recipes

Millet Special

For variety of Dishes

Recipe Index

Amaranth Neer Kozhukattai

#AmaranthDumpling : #Dumpling is known as #Kozhukattai in Tamil. Dumplings are either steam cooked or cooked in boiling water.
This one is done in boiling water. I have already done Amaranth Neer Kozhukattai in combination with broken maize [ corn ]. This time tried with amaranth flour, amaranth seeds and rice flour.

Amaranth  is a leafy vegetable ( greens ) and its seed is also known as amaranth. Amaranth is nothing but widely used leafy vegetable called Thandu keerai or Mulai keerai in Tamil. The seeds of these plants are called amarnath seeds or simply amaranth in Tamil. It is called Rajkir Kara in Chhattisgarh.

Amaranth Seeds

There are many varieties of amaranth. Some are cultivated for food and some are grown as ornamental plants and some grow in wild. The leaves of some amaranth are in green in color, some are green and red in the middle and fully red in color. The whole plant is edible. The leaves are used as leafy vegetable, the stem is also cooked and the seeds are also used to make dishes. Even the white roots are cleaned, peeled and used in the preparation of sambar. Some amaranth flowers are strikingly beautiful and red in color and which produce lots of seeds. All the seeds are edible whether its cultivated or garden or wild varieties .

To know more about the plant
Amaranth Plant

Several studies have shown that like oats, amaranth seed or oil may be of benefit for those with hypertension and cardiovascular disease; regular consumption reduces blood pressure and cholesterol levels, while improving antioxidant status and some immune parameters.
Source : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amaranth

Now coming back to the preparation.

Ingredients :
1/3 cup                                       Rice flour
1/3 cup                                       Amaranth flour
1 Tbsp                                       Amaranth seeds
1/3 cup                                       Coconut scrap
1/2 Tsp                                       Salt

To Saute :
1/4 cup                                        Palak nicely chopped
2 Tsp                                           Coconut scrap

To Temper :
1/2 Tsp                                       Mustard seeds
1/2 Tsp                                       Cumin
1 or 2                                          Red chilly
2 pinches                                     Asafoetida powder
1 Tsp                                          Gingelly oil [ til / sesame oil ]



Method :
Soak Amaranth seeds for 45 minutes.
After 45 minutes drain the water and keep aside.
Now mix the flours, soaked amaranth seeds, coconut scrap, salt adding little water.
Make a tight dough.
Using both the hands roll the dough into small balls.

Boil a cup of water in a vessel on high flame.
When water starts boiling reduce the flame to SIM.
Then add balls into boiling water slowly. The balls settle at the bottom.

Do not disturb the balls for 2 - 3 minutes.
After that balls slowly come to the upper surface of the boiling water.
Stir with a ladle and take care not to break the balls.

Let it simmer for 8 to 10 minutes.
Check whether the balls are cooked well.
Transfer the cooked amaranth balls into a bowl.

The water used for cooking the dumplings would have turned into porridge. 
Do not throw away this porridge. It can be consumed either with salt or jaggery.

Now heat a kadai on a stove with 1/2 Tsp of oil.
Splutter mustard and cumin seeds.
Then add broken pieces of red chilly.
Now add chopped palak and saute for 2 minutes.
Then add enough salt and saute for a few seconds.
Add dumplings and mix well.
Finally add 2 Tsp of coconut scrap and saute for a minute.

Transfer into a serving bowl.

You may also like to try

Amaranth Khasa Khasaa Payasam

Amaranth Payasam

Amaranth Neer Kozhukattai 1

Amaranth pancake

Amaranth ragi chikki

Ideas for Breakfast and Dinner

Tiffin Recipes

Tasty accompaniments for Tiffin and Rice

Chutney Recipes

For lots of ideas for variety of dishes

Recipe Index

Amaranth Dumpling

#AmaranthKozhukattai #AmaranthDumling : #Amaranth is a leafy vegetable ( greens ) and also refers to its seed. Amaranth is nothing but widely used leafy vegetable called Thandu keerai or Mulai keerai in Tamil. The seeds are called amarnath seeds or amaranth in Tamil. It is called Rajkir Kara in Chhattisgarh.
There are many varieties of amaranth. Some are cultivated for food and some are grown as ornamental plants and some grow in wild. The leaves of some amaranth are in green in color, some are green and red in the middle and fully red in color. The whole plant is edible. The leaves are used as leafy vegetable, the stem is also cooked and the seeds are also used to make dishes. Even the white roots are cleaned, peeled and used in the preparation of sambar. Some amaranth flowers are strikingly beautiful and red in color and which produce lots of seeds. All the seeds are edible whether its cultivated or garden or wild varieties .
To know more about the plant
Amaranth Plant

Several studies have shown that like oats, amaranth seed or oil may be of benefit for those with hypertension and cardiovascular disease; regular consumption reduces blood pressure and cholesterol levels, while improving antioxidant status and some immune parameters
Source : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amaranth

Here we will see the preparation of dumpling using this seed.

Ingredients :
1/4 cup                                             Amaranth
1/4 cup                                             Rice Flour
1/4 cup                                             Oats soft
1/4 cup                                             Coconut scrap
1/2 Tsp                                             Salt

To Temper :
1 Tsp                                                Mustard
1 Tsp                                                Black gram [ urad dal ]
2 Tsp                                                Bengal gram [ channa dal ]
3 Tsp                                                Pea nut [ ground nut ]
1 or 2                                                Red chilly, break into small pieces
10 or 12                                            Curry leaves
1/4 Tsp                                             Asafoetida powder
2 Tsp                                                Oil

Method :
Mix all the given ingredients by adding enough water.
Make a slightly thick dough.
Allow it to stand for half an hour.

After half an hour keep a kadai over a slow flame.
Crackle mustard seeds and then add red chilly pieces & all the dals.
Roast them until golden color.
Then add curry leaves and asafoetida powder.
Turn off the stove and transfer onto the dough.
Mix well.

Now keep Idly maker with three cups of water on the stove.
Turn ON the stove and heat over a medium flame.
Grease the pits of idly plate with oil.
Now make dumplings and arrange over the greased idly plate.

Steam cook for 10 to 12 minutes or till its done.

Serve hot with coconut chutney


or any chutney of your choice.

It also tastes good without any side dish.
I felt that this dumpling is very tasty compared to all that I have prepared so far!!





You might also like to try

Modhakam sweet

sweet pidi kozhukattai

Broken maize dumpling

Rice dumpling

Modhakam - spicy

Ideas for Breakfast and Dinner

Tiffin Recipes

Tasty accompaniments for Tiffin and Rice

Chutney Recipes

For lots of ideas for variety of dishes

Recipe Index

Seeds

We get Cereals from grass. But seeds of some of the broad leaf plants are used just like cereals. They can be called #Pseudocereals. Some examples of pseudocereals are #Amaranth [ Love-Lies-bleeding, red amaranth, Prince-of-Wales-feather], #Buckwheat, #Flaxseed and Quinoa.

Recipes prepared using those Pseudocereals are listed here.

#Amaranth  is a leafy vegetable ( greens ) and its seed is also known as amaranth. Amaranth is nothing but widely used leafy vegetable called Thandu keerai or Mulai keerai in Tamil. The seeds of these plants are called #amarnath seeds or simply amaranth in Tamil. It is called Rajkir Kara in Chhattisgarh.

Several studies have shown that like oats, #amaranthseed or oil may be beneficial for those with hypertension and cardiovascular disease.
Regular consumption reduces blood pressure and cholesterol levels while improving antooxidant status and some immune parameters. 

Source : Amaranth

#Buckwheat is actually a fruit seed not a cereal. It is brownish pink or brown in color and triangular in shape.
#Buckwheat contains a glucoside called rutin a phytochemical that strengthens capillary walls.

Source : Buckwheat


#Flaxseed [ or #linseed ] : It is one of the richest sources of micronutrients, fiber and essential fatty acid alpha-linolenic acid or omega-3.

Source : Flax Seed


#Quinoa is a pseudocereal as the edible seeds are obtained from a flowering plant and not from grass. The scientific name is Chenopodium quinoa. It is a flowering plant belongs to Amaranth family.
Quinoa is gluten free and high in Protein.
The edible seeds are rich in protein, dietary fiber, B Vitamins and dietary minerals in amount greater than other cereals.

A cup of Quinoa gives twice the amount of Protein and 5 g more fiber than the same amount of Rice.

100 gms of uncooked Quinoa contains 14.1 gms of protein [ 20% of daily value DV ], folate 184 ug [ 46 % of DV and higher amount of dietary minerals like Magnesium 197 mg [ 55% ], Manganese 2 mg [ 95 % ], Zinc 3.1 mg [ 33 % ], and Phosphorus 457 mg [ 65 % ].

100 gms of cooked Quinoa is rich source of Manganese and Phosphorus [ 30 % and 22 % respectively ], moderate source of dietary fiber [10 - 19 %],
folate, Iron and Zinc [ 11% of DV each ].


To know more on Quinoa

Links to the recipes of these seeds are given here.

• Use the picture grid below to go to the posts of Breakfast/Tiffin/Evening snack
• Hover cursor over the picture to know the name of the recipe
• Click on the picture to take you to the recipe

Breakfast/Tiffin/Evening Snack
Amaranth Dumpling	Amaranth Pancake
Amaranth & Corn Dumpling	Amaranth Dumpling
Amaranth Kuzhi Paniyaram	Amaranth Roti
Buckwheat Pongal	Buckwheat Dumpling
Rawa Buckwheat Idly	Buckwheat Spinach Roti
Buckwheat Pumpkin Pancake	Buckwheat Rice Upma
Spinach Kuzhi Paniyaram	Bajra Cauliflower Pancake
Oats Amaranth Dumpling	Amaranth Kuzhi Paniyaram with Venthaya keerai
Kuthiraivaali Buckwheat Upma	Quinoa Pongal

• Use the picture grid below to go to the posts of Powder
• Hover cursor over the picture to know the name of the recipe
• Click on the picture to take you to the recipe

Powder
Flax and Poduthalai Powder	Flax seeds powder for rice
Idly milagai podi with flax seeds	Milagu [ Pepper ] n Flax Podi
Dhaniya [ Coriander ] n Flax Podi

• Use the picture grid below to go to the posts of Soup
• Hover cursor over the picture to know the name of the recipe
• Click on the picture to take you to the recipe

Soup
Buckwheat Soup	Buckwheat & Coriander seeds Soup
Quinoa Conjee [ Kanji or soup ]

• Use the picture grid below to go to the posts of Sweet/Dessert/Payasam
• Hover cursor over the picture to know the name of the recipe
• Click on the picture to take you to the recipe

Sweet/Dessert/Payasam
Flax Urundai [ Flax Balls ]	Buckwheat Payasam
Amaranth Khuskhus Payasam	Amaranth Payasam 1
Amaranth Payasam 2	Buckwheat sweet Pongal
Amaranth Buckwheat Paruppu Payasam	Amaranth Ragi Chikki
Amaranth Buckwheat Paal Payasam	Quinoa Paruppu Payasam

For variety of Dishes

Recipe Index