Barnyard Millet Benefits With Healthy And Tasty Recipes

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Barnyard Millet Benefits 

Barnyard millet is a food crop domesticated in India and grown for both grain and fodder purposes. It is quite popular in hills especially the Himalayas and the important content of hill and tribal agriculture. It is also grown on a lesser scale in Bihar, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, and Madhya Pradesh. Barnyard millet in Telugu is Oodalu and Sanwa in Hindi. This variety of millets is widely used for fasting in different areas across India. There are numerous health benefits of millets. Lets get into the barnyard millet benefits and some delicious barnyard millet recipes.

Barnyard Millet vs Rice

In comparison with rice or wheat, Barnyard millet is rich in fibre and helps regulate the sugar and cholesterol levels. Regular south Indian breakfast varieties like Idli , Dosa or Chapati are easily digested and there will be excessive insulin secretion which leads to rise in sugar and cholesterol levels. In case of millets, we eat slow and in less quantities due to its high fibre content.

Barnyard Millet Nutritional benefits 

A study was undertaken to assess barnyard millet nutritional value per 100g with regard to nutrient composition, glycemic index and health benefits of barnyard millet in type II diabetics. The millet had 10.5% protein 3.6% fat, 68.8% carbohydrate and 398 kcal/100 g energy.

1. Low in calories and rich in protein

Barnyard millet has least caloric density in comparison with all other cereals. This type of millet is rich in high amounts of easily digestible protein and can be considered a great option for vegetarians as a source of protein 

2. Low Glycemic index food 

Barnyard millet has very low carbohydrate content and is slowly digestible. This is due to the formation of high amounts of resistant starch.

3. Rich in iron

Barnyard millet is shown to be having high amounts of iron which is highest of all other millet varieties. So it can be a good source of iron for vegetarians. 

4. Gluten free 

Like all other millet varieties , Barnyard Millet is Gluten free. It is highly recommended for people who are intolerant to gluten and who are looking forward to following a gluten free lifestyle by eliminating wheat, barley etc.

5. Rich in fibre 

Barnyard millet is the top in terms of high fibre content in comparison with all other grains and millets. This high fibre content helps in preventing constipation, bloating , gastric issues and cramping.

Health Benefits of Barnyard Millet 

  1. Like any other millet variety, Barnyard millet is alkaline and it is digested easily.
  2. Barnyard millets can hydrate your colon to keep you away from being constipated and also from ulcers.
  3. These millets substantially lower the risk of Type 2 Diabetes.
  4. Barnyard millet also have cardiovascular benefits for postmenopausal women.
  5. Barnyard millet is excellent in the case of Jaundice.
  6. The secretion of serotonin in Millets helps in calming your mood. 
  7. Niacin in barnyard  millet helps lower cholesterol levels.

How to cook Barnyard Millet 

All you need is just a pan or a pot and the right proportions of water to millet to perfectly cook the millet. Here is the procedure to cook Barnyard millet. 

  • 1 cup raw Barnyard millet 
  • 2 cups of water 
  • One pinch of salt ( optional ) 
  • Half a teaspoon of clarified butter or ghee ( optional ) 

Process:

  1. Take a pan , add in the raw barnyard millet. 
  2. Toss it for about two minutes on medium flame and add 2 cups of water, salt, and ghee to it. 
  3. Cover it and cook for about 20 mins. For porridge-like consistency add 3 cups of water instead of 2.

Note: You can soak the barnyard millet for about 1 hour beforehand to reduce its cooking time to 10 minutes.

Barnyard Millet Recipes

1. Barnyard Millet Urad Rice

In the south of India, rice is combined with any of the dals and cooked in a pressure cooker along with cumin seeds and cloves to add flavor to the rice. In this recipe, we are going to use barnyard millet to replace regular white rice to make it healthier. Let us now check out the recipe.

Ingredients: 

  • Barnyard Millet rice – 1 cup 
  • Urad dal with skin – ⅓ cup 
  • Fenugreek seeds – ½ tsp 
  • Garlic cloves – 2 
  • Cumin seeds -1 tbsp 
  • Grated coconut – ½ cup 

Method:

  1. Rinse the Barnyard millet rice and urad dal in water. 
  2. Combine everything in a pressure cooker with 2 ½ cups water, including the barnyard millet rice and the urad dal, and pressure cook for 15 mins. 
  3. Add chopped coriander leaves and stir well. Before serving drizzle a generous amount of cold-pressed sesame oil on the barnyard millet urad rice for a nice flavor. Serve with sesame chutney. 

2. Barnyard Millet Coconut Milk Rice

This Barnyard Coconut Milk Rice recipe is a healthier version of traditional coconut rice made with regular white rice and coconut milk. Let’s get into the recipe.

Ingredients:

  • Barnyard Millet rice – 1 cup 
  • Onions – ¼ cup 
  • Green chillies – 3 
  • Mint leaves – 6 leaves 
  • Cashew nut – 5 
  • Cinnamon powder – 2 pinch 
  • Cloves – 3 
  • Ginger –  1 inch 
  • Coconut milk – 1 cup 
  • Bay leaf – 1 
  • Ghee – 1 tbsp 
  • Salt to taste 
  • Coriander leaves 

Method:

  1. Soak barnyard millet rice in water for 30 mins. 
  2. Make a paste of cinnamon, cloves. Gingher and garlic.
  3. Heat ghee in a saucepan. Saute the onions, ginger-garlic paste, and mint leaves. 
  4. Drain off the water from the rice and add it to the sauteed onions. 
  5. Saute for a few minutes. 
  6. Add 1 cup of coconut milk and 1 cup water. 
  7. Now add salt to taste. 
  8. When it starts to boil, add the bay leaf and close the pan. Cook, till it is done. 
  9. Now garnish with coriander leaves and cashew nuts fried in ghee. Serve with hot and spicy gravy.

3. Barnyard Kummayam 

Kummayam means well-boiled dal. Typically, kummayam is made by cooking powdered dal and rice along with the jaggery and cardamom powder in ghee. In this recipe of barnyard kummayam, we are using barnyard millet instead of rice. Try this recipe with the right proportions of ingredients to balance the flavors of each ingredient. 

Ingredients:

  • Black gram – 1 cup 
  • Barnyard millet rice – 3 tsp 
  • Green gram – ¼ cup 
  • Jaggery – 1 ½ cups 
  • Desi cow ghee – ¼ cup  

Method:

  1. Dry roast black gram, barnyard millet rice, green gram dal for 3 mins. 
  2. Now grind them into a powder and set them aside. 
  3. Mix jaggery with 1 cup of water, strain for impurities, and set aside. 
  4. Now grind jaggery, water, powdered barnyard millet rice, and dals to a batter. 
  5. Melt 3 tsp ghee in a thick bottomed pan. 
  6. Add batter and stir constantly, adding cow ghee at intervals, and cook on a low flame. Keep it on the stovetop and cook it for about 10 to 15 mins on a low flame. 
  7. Keep stirring the batter until it gets thick and shiny. 
  8. Then add ghee and cardamom powder. Now mix it well and serve hot with ½ tsp ghee on top.

4. Barnyard Millet Pearl Millet Idli and Dosa 

Idli and dosa are two of those traditional and common breakfast recipes in south India. A traditional idli or dosa recipe is made out of rice and urad dal.  This recipe of multi millet dosa is one of the varieties of millet dosa without rice. The batter made with the following ingredients can be used for making both idlis and dosas.

Ingredients:

  • Pearl millet – 1 cup 
  • Barnyard millet rice – 1 cup 
  • Urad dal – ½ cup 
  • Fenugreek seeds – 1 tsp 
  • Salt to taste 

Method: 

  1. Wash well and soak the pearl millet with enough water for 5 to 6 hours. 
  2. Soak the barnyard millet rice and urad dal with fenugreek seeds separately for 3 to 4 hours. 
  3. Drain the water from urad dal and grind it to a fine paste. Transfer the urad dal batter to a vessel and now grind both the soaked pearl millet and barnyard millet rice to a coarse paste. 
  4. Now mix both the urad dal batter with barnyard millet rice and pearl millet batter, add salt to taste, and keep aside for over a night. 
  5. After fermentation, give a stir and cook as dosas on both sides by drizzling oil in a dosa pan or make idlis with idli mold and serve hot with chutney or sambar.

5. Barnyard Millet Poorna Kozhukatta | Barnyard Millet Kozhukattai

Kozhukattai or Kudumulu is a traditional festival recipe. Kozhukattai is basically a sweet dish made with rice flour and coconut. Modak is another variant of kozhukattai made in other parts of India. In this recipe, rice flour is replaced with Barnyard millet flour.

Ingredients for Pooranam 

  • Grated coconut – 1 
  • Jaggery- 150 grams 
  • Desi cow ghee – 1tbsp 
  • Elaichi powder – 1 pinch 

Ingredients for Kozhukatta 

  • Barnyard millet rice flour – 1 cup 
  • Cold pressed sesame oil – 2 tbsp 
  • Salt – a pinch 

Method:

  1. Heat ghee in a pan. 
  2. Add the coconut and fry for 2 minutes then add the jaggery and mix well. Add the elaichi powder and heat it slightly. 
  3. Boil water with a pinch of salt and two spoons of sesame oil or even cooking oil and pour the boiling water in the barnyard millet rice flour and mix well. 
  4. Mix and bring it to the consistency of chapati dough. 
  5. Take a lemon size ball of the dough. 
  6. Rub oil in the palms and make a poori with the side of your palms so there is no impression of your finger.
  7. Make the barnyard millet kozhukattai with hands with little oil in palms to avoid drying of the dough. 
  8. Keep a spoon full of pooranam and fold the poori. Heat the idly vessel and steam cook it. 

Note:

Use only boiling water to make the kozhukattai. Also, add enough oil and rub the oil in palms before you do each one as dryness may cause cracks in the kozhukattai. This Poornam can be stored in the refrigerator for a week. If you are doing it in large quantities boil green gram dal, drain out the water and add it to the poornam just after the coconut to increase volume. Plain coconut poornam has a longer shelf life than the one with green gram dhal. 

6. Barnyard Millet Kara Kozhukatta

You can try this Barnyard Millet Kara Kozhukattai instead of millet sweet kozhukattai explained in the recipe above for the savory variant of Kozhukattai. Let us check out the recipe. 

Ingredients:

  • Barnyard millet – 1 cup 
  • Moong dal – ¼ cup 
  • Cumin seeds – 1 tsp 
  • Green chillies – 2 
  • Salt – 1 tsp 
  • Grated coconut – ½ cup 
  • For tempering – oil 2 tsp,curry leaves, balck mustard seeds and urad dal 

Method:

  1. Wash barnyard millet rice and dal separately. S
  2. oak the barnyard rice in 3 cups of water for about 2 hours. 
  3. Soak the dal in enough water to cover. Drain rice completely. 
  4. Grind barnyard millet rice, cumin seeds, and green chilies with 1 cup of water to a coarse consistency. Transfer to a bowl. 
  5. Drain dal and mix it into the ground barnyard millet rice. 
  6. For the tempering, put the oil in a frying pan over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the curry leaves, mustard seeds, and urad dal. Fry over medium heat, till mustard seeds, are spluttered and dal is golden for about 30 seconds. 
  7. Add the ground barnyard rice and moong dal and salt to the pan. 
  8. Pour about 1 ½ cups of water into the pan. Simmer covered, stirring frequently over medium heat, till the barnyard rice is cooked. 
  9. Add coconut and mix well. Let the mixture cook. Shape into small lemon sized balls and steam cook for 10 mins before serving.

7. Barnyard Millet Tomato Rice 

This barnyard millet rice is made with the goodness of tomatoes and packed with spicy flavors of coriander and red chilies. This recipe is an alternative for regular tomato rice with a healthy replacement with Barnyard Millet.

Ingredients:

  • Barnyard millet rice – 2 cups 
  • Tomatoes- 4 ripe
  • Onions – 2
  • Green chillies – 2 
  • Turmeric powder – 1 pinch 

For spice powder 

  • Red chilies – 4 dry 
  • Coriander seeds- 1 tbsp 
  • Bengal gram – 1 tbsp 
  • Urad dal – ½ tsp 
  • Fenugreek seeds – 1 tsp 

For seasoning

  • Mustard seeds – ½ tsp 
  • Curry leaves – 12 to 15 
  • Roasted peanuts – 2 tbsp
  • Salt 
  • Oil 

Method:

  1. Heat a tbsp of oil in a pan, add the tomato paste and cook till it forms a slightly thick paste (approx 10-12 mins). 
  2. Heat the remaining oil in a separate heavy bottomed vessel, add mustard seeds and once they splutter add the curry leaves and turmeric powder and stir fry for a few seconds.
  3. Add sliced onions and green chilies and stir fry for 6-8 mins. 
  4. Add the tomato paste to the sauteed onions and combine. Then, add salt to taste and combine well. 
  5. Reduce heat, add the cooked rice, combine, sprinkle the spice mixture. Add the roasted peanuts and combine with the rice. 
  6. Serve hot with any curry of your choice or with just pickle, raitha, and papad.

Barnyard Millet is an important grain to include in diet for a healthy living. It helps lower the risk of diabetes, regulate cholesterol levels and works great for weight loss. Try these simple and easy recipes to imbibe those barnyard millet benefits into your diet.

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