Kuthiraivaali-Buckwheat-Upma

#KuthiraivaaliBuckwheatUpma  #BarnyardMilletBuckwheatUpma :
#BarnyardMillet is known as #Kuthiraivaali in Tamil and #Bhagar in Hindi.
The botanical name is Echinochloa frumentacea - Indian Barnyard millet and Echinochloa esculanta - Japanese millet.
#Kuthiraivaali is known by different names in various languages as given below.
English                               : #BarnyardMillet Or Japanese Barnyard Millet
Common Name                  : Sawan Or sanwa Or Samo Or Morio
Marathi & Chhattisgarh       : Bhagar Or Varai
Kannada                             : Oodalu
Oriya                                  : Kira
Punjabi                               : Swank
Telugu                                : Udalu Or Kodi Sama
Scientific Name                   : Echinochloa Frumentacea or                Echinocloa esculanta

Source : Echinochloa , Barnyard Millet 

To know on Millets


Generally millets are non acidic food and non glutenous also.
Iron is the most essential mineral to combat malnutrition of human being. Barnyard millet shows highest amount of iron followed by  Little millet.

The dietary fiber, both soluble and insoluble present in barnyard millet is high and thus it helps in preventing constipation, bloating and excess gas formation.

#Buckwheat - Fagopyrum esculetum is not related to wheat as it is not a grass. It is referred to as a pseudocereal as it is used in cooking just like any other cereal. Buckwheat is 72% carbohydrates, including 10% dietary fiber, 3% fat and 13% protein. It is rich in iron ( 60 - 100 ppm ), zinc (20 - 30 ppm) and selenium (20 - 50 ppb). This is also gluten free.
Click to know more on Buckwheat. 

I have used Barnyard millet and buckwheat to prepare a tasty upma.
Millet has to be soaked for a minimum of two hours before cooking to get its full health benefit and also to cook soft.

Ingredients :
1 cup	Barnyard Millet
2 Tbsp	Buckwheat
2 Tsp	Thuvar dhal [ Red gram split ]
1 big size	Onion, chop
2 - 3	Green chilly, slit lengthwise
1/2 inch piece	Ginger, chop nicely
10 - 15	Curry Leaf
1/2 Tsp	Mustard seeds
2 Tsp	Gram dhal split
Small piece	Asafoetida
1 Tsp	Salt [ Adjust ]
2 Tsp	Gingelly oil [ til/sesame oil ]

Method :
Take Barnyard millet & red gram split in a vessel and wash well with water.
Then add 2 1/4 cups of water and soak for two hours.
After two hours wash buckwheat with water and put into the vessel containing barnyard millet and red gram split.
Now keep a heavy bottomed vessel or kadai on stove.
Add oil and heat over medium flame.
Crackle mustard seeds once oil starts fuming.
Then add asafoetida and gram dhal.
Add green chilly and curry leaves and saute for half a minute.
Then add chopped onion and ginger.
Saute till onion becomes translucent.

Add salt and the soaked barnyard millet, buckwheat and red gram split along with soaked water.
Mix well and bring it to boil on high flame.

Reduce the flame to low position once it starts boiling.
Close the vessel/kadai with a lid and cook till its done.
Keep stirring at regular intervals and it takes around 10 to 12 minutes to cook.

When the millet has become soft turn off the stove.
Keep it closed for another 2 - 3 minutes.

Serve hot with coconut chutney or maangai chutney.


The taste is similar to that of rice upma and even more tastier than it.

You might like to try 

Varagarisi pongal [ kodo millet pongal ]

Instant Pumpkin  pancake

Kambu Idli  [ Pearl millet idli ]

Sorghum Dosai [ Chola Dosai ]

Brown top  millet bread

For other Millet Recipes

Millet Special

For other Upma & Sundal Recipes

Upma Recipes

Beetroot-Vazhaithandu-Aval-Upma

#BeetrootVazhaithanduAvalUpma : #BeatenRice [ #RiceFlakes ] is known as #Aval in Tamil. Soaked paddy is dry roasted in a kadai over high flame for few seconds and pounded immediately when it is still hot using a wooden pestle in a mortar to flatten it. Then husks are removed to get aval.

That's why it is also called #flattenedRice. Now-a-days heavy pounding machines are used to produce aval. Rice flakes are available in different thicknesses in the market.
It is rich in iron. It can be consumed as it is or cooking with other vegetables & condiments.
Here I have prepared aval upma with beetroot as it is packed with vital nutrients and full of fiber.

Ingredients :
1 cup	Thick Aval [ beaten rice ]
1 medium size	Onion, chop nicely
1/4 cup	Beetroot julians [ or grated ]
1 Tbsp	Green peas cooked
1/4 cup	Vazhaithandu julians
1 or 2	Green chilly
2 pinch	Turmeric powder
1/4 Tsp	Cumin powder [ jeera powder ]
1/4 Tsp	Red chilly powder [ adjust ]
1/2 Tsp	Salt [ adjust ]
Tempering :
1/2 Tsp cup	Mustard seeds
1 Tsp	Black gram split
2 Tbsp	Peanuts [ ground nut ]
1/4 Tsp	Asafoetida powder
2 Tsp	Oil
To garnish :
1 Tbsp	Carrot grated
1 Tbsp	Coriander leaf chopped

Method :
Take aval in a wide mouthed vessel.
Wash twice and completely drain the water.
Now add 1/4 cup of water and 1/2 Tsp of salt.
Mix well and set aside.

Heat a kadai with oil on a stove over medium flame.
Crackle mustard seeds and then add black gram split, peanuts & asafoetida.
Keep stirring until peanuts turn golden color.
Add chopped onion, green chilly and curry leaf.
Saute till onion becomes translucent.
Then add beetroot, vazhaithandu, green peas, red chilly powder, turmeric powder, cumin powder and salt.
Mix well and close with a lid till beetroot becomes soft.
Remove the lid and add aval.
Mix well and adjust salt.
Close with a lid and allow to cook over very low flame for 3 minutes.
Turn off the stove and let it be closed for another five minutes.
Bright beetroot colored tasty spicy aval upma is ready.

Serve hot after topping with grated carrot and chopped coriander leaves.
Relish with tomato sauce or without any side dish.
I have served here with jaggery.

You might also like to try

aval upma without onion

lemon aval

lemon aval steamed

noodles with tomato sauce

spaghetti

Ideas for breakfast / Dinner

Tiffin Recipes


Great accompaniments for tiffin and rice

Chutney recipes

Upma-and-Sundal-Varieties

#Upma is a traditional dish of Tamil Nadu, India. It is commonly prepared for breakfast/dinner from broken rice and served with Coconut chutney. Upma can also be prepared using millet, rawa [ sooji ], semiya [ vermicelli ]. Traditionally rice upma is served with fresh coconut scrapings.

#Sundal : This is also our traditional dish prepared from roasted rice and green gram dhal. The recipe is similar to that of Rice upma but the texture is different. After cooking, the grains are well separated  just like #sundal [ stir fried legumes ]. This might be the reason that this dish got the name #RiceSundal. The roasted green gram dhal gives a nice flavor to the tiffin.
It is a well balanced food as rice gives carbohydrate and green gram dhal gives protein. The tiffan sundal can also be prepared from millet.
Just like rice upma, rice sundal is also served with fresh coconut scraping.

Upma Varieties

Rice Upma	Buckwheat Rice Upma	Rawa Upma
Broken wheat Upma	Semiya [ vermicelli ] Upma	Aval Upma without onion
Aval Upma	Lemon Aval Upma	Lemon Aval Upma 1
Varagarisi [ kodo millet ] Upma	kuthiraivaali [ barnyard millet ] Upma	Samai [ little millet ] Upma
Thinai [ foxtail millet ] Upma	Beetroot vazhaithandu Aval Upma

Sundal Varieties

Rice Sundal	Puli Sundal	Varagarisi [ kodo millet ] Sundal
Kuthiraivaali [ barnyard millet ] Sundal

Coconut chutney is a great accompaniment for upma and sundal. But other chutney also goes well with these tiffins

Chutney varieties

Note :

Rawa upma and broken wheat upma can be relished with sugar.
Rice upma tastes good with jaggery.
Rice sundal can be relished with freshly scrapped coconut and sugar.

Thinai-Upma

#ThinaiUpma  #FoxtailMilletUpma : #FoxtailMillet is known as #Thinai or #thinaiArisi in Tamil. It belongs to minor #Millet variety.
The botanical name is Seteria italica.
All millet varieties [ kodo, foxtail, finger. proso, pearl and little millets ] are gluten free and show high antioxidant activity.
Foxtail millet may help in controlling blood sugar and cholestrol.
Foxtail millet is a very good source of protein, iron, significant amount of calcium and other minerals.
It is also rich in fiber compared to generally consumed cereals.
Here let me present a simple but tasty upma using thinai.

Ingredients :
1 cup	Thinai [ Foxtail millet ]
2 Tsp	Thuvar dhal
1 big size	Onion, finely chop
2 or 3	Green chilly, halve into two lenthwise
8 - 10	Curry leaves
1/2 Tsp	Ginger finely chopped [ optional ]
1 1/2 Tsp	Salt [ Adjust ]
To Temper :
1/2 Tsp	Mustard seeds
2 Tsp	Gram dhal [ kadalai paruppu ]
1/4 Tsp	Asafoetida powder
2 Tsp	Oil

Method :
Take thinai and thuvar dal in a vessel and wash two times.
Add a cup of water and soak it.
Keep aside.

Now heat a kadai on a stove over medium flame.
Add oil and wait until oil attains required temperature.
Now crackle mustard seeds and then add black gram split [ urad dhal ].
Roast until black grams turns golden color.
Then add asafoetida, green chilly and curry leaves in the order.
Saute for half a minute.
Then add onion and saute until it becomes translucent.
Now add ginger and saute until its raw smell goes off.

Add 1 cups of water and salt.
Keep the flame at HIGH.
Stir well to dissolve the salt and bring it to boil.

When it starts boiling reduce the flame to SIM position and then add  thinai and thuvar dhal along with water.
Mix well with a long ladle.

Keep stirring for a minute and then close with a lid.
Let it simmer for 10 minutes or until thinai becomes soft and well cooked .
Open and stir well at regular interval.
Once done turn off the stove and allow to stand for another 3 more minutes.

Now tasty tasty thinai upma is ready to serve.
Enjoy with coconut chutney, 

pudhina chutney 

or mango pickle.







Other recipes you may like to try

Semiya upma

Varagarisi upma

Buckwheat rice upma

Thinai neer dosai

Thinai Payasam

Ideas for breakfast / Dinner

Tiffin Recipes


Great accompaniments for tiffin and rice

Chutney recipes