Recipes from Foxtail Millet

Foxtail Millet

Scientific name: Setaria Italica (L.) P. Beauvois

Hindi name: Kangni; Telugu name: Korralu

Foxtail millet is one of the oldest cultivated millets. Three to fourdecades ago, foxtail millet was consumed as the staple food. It has double quantity of protein content compared to rice. It controls blood sugar and cholesterol. It increases disease resistant capacity when consumed and is considered ideal food for people suffering from diabetes and gastric problem.

Foxtail millet provides a host of nutrients, has a sweet nutty flavour and is considered to be one of the most digestible and non-allergic grains available. It contains fibre, protein, calcium and vitamins. It is a nutritive food for children and pregnant women. It is rich in dietary fibre and minerals such as copper and iron that keep one’s body strong and immune.

Foxtail Millet Kheer

Ingredients: Dehulled foxtail millet grain – 1 cup, dry fruits, ghee, water, sugar, milk, cardamom powder– as required.

Preparation Method:

• Cook the dehulled foxtail millet in boiling water for 5 min.
• Roast dry fruits in ghee.
• Boil the water and milk, then add the cooked millet, add sugar and stir slowly for 10-15 minutes until it is cooked.
• Add cardamon powder and decorate with cashew nuts and other dry fruits.
• Serve hot as a traditional sweet.

Foxtail Millet Mango Rice

Ingredients: Foxtail millet – 1 cup, water – 2 cups, raw mango, grated – 1 or per taste, groundnuts – 2 tsp, seasoning – curry leaves, chillies, mustard seeds, black gram dal, turmeric, asafoetida, oil, salt to taste.

Preparation Method :

• Cook the millet in water and let it cool before mixing the rest of the ingredients.
• Fry groundnuts in oil, keep aside.
• Prepare the seasoning.
• Add grated mango and saute fora minute.
• Add the cooked millet and mix.
• Tangy mango rice is ready, serve hot.

Foxtail Millet Cutlet

Ingredients: Dehulled foxtail millet - 100 g, potatoes – 20 g, carrots – 20 g, beans – 20 g, salt – 2 g, pepper – 5 g, chat masala – 5 g, bread crumbs – 20 g, green chillies – 5 g, water – as required and oil - for shallow or deep frying.

Preparation Method :

• All the chopped vegetables and foxtail millet grain are cooked and kept aside.
• In a pan add one table spoon of oil, ginger garlic paste, sliced green chilies and fry them until light brown colour appears.
• Add the cooked millet, chat masala, pepper and cooked vegetables and mix them well.
• Make them into cutlet shapes, coat the cutlets with foxtail bread crumbs.
• Shallow or deep fry in a pan them until light brown colour appears.
• Serve with tomato sauce or chutney.

Foxtail Millet Coconut Rice

Ingredients: Foxtail millet- 1 cup, coconut grated - 1 cup, ghee - 2 tsp, coriander leaves - 2 tsp and salt – as desired.

Preparation Method:

• Foxtail millet is soaked for 2 hr and cooked fully.
• Add ghee and cumin, green leaves, ginger, leaves, red chilli, curry leaves and saurte them in a pan.
• Add cooked foxtail and grated coconut and cook for two min.
• Add salt as per taste and serve hot.

Foxtail Millet Vegetable Biryani / Chiken Biryani

Ingredients: Foxtail Millet - 1 1/2 cup, onion sliced – 2, carrots - 1/2 inch pieces (2), french beans - 1/2 inch pieces (15), green peas shelled - 1 cup, salt – as desired, green cardamons – 8, black cardamom – 1. cloves – 15, cinnamon - 1/2 inch stick, bay leaf – 1, caraway seeds (shahi jeera) - 1/2 tsp, ginger-garlic paste - 1 1/2 tsp, turmeric powder – 1 tsp, Red chilli powder- 1 tsp, coriander powder- 1 tsp, tomatoes - 1 cup, garam masala powder- 1 tsp, Lemon juice - 1 tsp, food colour- a pinch (If desired), fresh coriander leaves chopped - 2 tsp, Fresh mint leaves chopped - 2 tsp.

Preparation Method:

• Boil Foxtail millet in four cups of salted boiling water with Cardamom, cloves and  cinnamon, until three-fourth done. Drain excess water and set aside.
• Boil all the chopped vegetables and keep aside.
• Add green cardamoms, cloves, black cardamom and cinnamon along with bay leaf and caraway seeds and roast in a thick bottom pan.
• Add tomatoes, ginger-garlic paste, deep fried onions, carrot, French beans, and boiled green peas. Sprinkle salt, cover and cook on medium heat for two minutes.
• Add turmeric powder, red chilli powder, coriander powder, garam masala powder and mix well. Simmer for two minutes.
• Arrange a layer of millet at the top over that arrange half the cooked vegetables.
• Sprinkle fried onions, lemon juice, food colour mixed in milk garam masala powder, the coriander leaves and the mint leaves.
• Cover with a lid and cook. Let it stand for five minutes. Serve hot.
• NOTE: For chicken biryani in the place of vegetables chicken is to be substituted, remaining whole procedure is same.

Foxtail Bread

Ingredients: Foxtail millet flour – 1 cup, maida – 1 cup, milk – 15 ml, salt – 1 g, yeast – 2 g, sugar – 5 g, water – 30 ml, egg-1 and oil – forgreasing.

Preparation Method:

• In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add the sugar,salt, oil keep aside for 2 minutes.
• Add the foxtail millet flour, maida, milk and mix them into a smooth dough.
• Knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 to 10 minutes and place in a greased bowl.
• Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 ½ hrs. and set the oven temperature to 190°C.
• After 1 ½ hr punch down the dough onto a floured surface.
• Shape them into a loaf and place in a greased loaf pan and bake them at 190°C for 15 to 20 mins.
• Remove from pan and cool them and cut them into loaves and pack.

Foxtail Millet Bisebelle baat

Ingredients: For masala powder - coriander seeds, red dry chillies, chana dal, fenugreek seeds, for sambar - cooked toor dal - 1 cup, lemon – 1, tamarind – 1, small onion- 5-7, mixed vegetables - 2 cups (carrot, drumstick, beans and potato), oil - 2 tsp, curry leaves – 10, mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp, turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp, broken red chillies – 2, asafoetida- a generous pinch, salt to taste, coriander leaves - 1 tsp, foxtail millet - 1 cup, water - 2 cups, salt a pinch, coriander leaves - 2 tsp.

Preparation Method:

• Add tamarind water, vegetables, salt and sambar spice powder in a pressure cooker and cook till two whistles.
• Cook the foxtail millet, toor dal, turmeric powder, salt and water in another pressure cooker until two whistles.
• For seasoning, saute mustard seeds, cumin seeds, red chilli, curry leaves in ghee and keep aside.
• Add the spicy vegetable tamarind curry to the cooked millets and mix together till a mish mash.
• Add the seasoning and transfer the bisibelle baat to a serving bowl. Sprinkle the chopped coriander and serve hot.

Foxtail Millet Kajjikayalu

Ingredients : Forxtail millet flour - 100g, Maida - 100g, Ground nuts - 250g, Roasted Bengal gram (putnalu) - 250, Sugar - 250g, Iiaichi - 50, Sesame seeds - 50g, Coconut Powder - 50g, Dry fruits - 80g.

Preparation Method :

• Mix foxtail millet and Maida flour and prepare a dough.
• Roast coconut powder, mix sugar and dry fruits.
• Roll dough into small chapattis.
• Stuff coconut - sugar mixture and fold.
• Cut the excess chapatti and deep fry.

Sources:

Millet Recipes - IIMR, Hyderabad

Millet Recipes - Department of Agriculture, Karnataka