10 Delicious Kodo Millet Recipes

10 Different And Delicious Kodo Millet Recipes

Kodo Millet is an annual grain primarily grown in India and the various Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Thailand. This is a popular Upvas (fast) food in various parts of India. This type of millet is considered superior to rice, gluten-free, and rich in fiber, vitamins, and minerals. Millets are all very nutritious and have many benefits; check out the benefits of millets. Let’s get into the Kodo millet benefits and some delicious recipes.

These grains are well-suited to poor soils and dry land, and chemical-free cultivation is the closest we have to find a climate-resilient grain that benefits farmers and consumers equally.

Kodo millet in Telugu is Arikelu or Arika, kodo millet in Hindi is Koden or Kondra, kodo millet in Tamil is varagu and kodo millet in Kannada is Harka.

Arikelu / Kodo Millet Nutrition

Kodo millet can substitute rice or wheat. It can be cooked just like rice or ground into flour. It provides balanced nutrition, unlike regular white rice or wheat. Listed below is the nutritional value of the Kodo millet. 

kodo millet nutrition values

1. Antioxidant and Antimicrobial activity 

Kodo Millet consists of polyphenols and antioxidants. They possess antimicrobial action against some bacterias. 

2. Anti-Diabetic

Anti-diabetic compounds in Kodo Millet, such as quercetin, ferulic acid, p-hydroxybenzoic acid, vanillic acid, etc., helps reduce fasting blood glucose levels and promote a significant increase in serum insulin level.

3. Cholesterol Reduction 

Regular consumption of Kodo millet helps lower triglycerides and C-reactive protein; thus, it lowers the bad cholesterol and is ideal for your heart.

4. Anti-obesity 

Kodo is high in fiber and prevents gain in weight. It also helps prevent the rise in cholesterol and triglyceride levels and is a functional food to manage weight and promote weight loss.

Kodo Millet Benefits (Arikelu Benefits)

Here is the list of traditional benefits of Kodo millet. 

  • Beneficial for postmenopausal women 
  • Hydration of colon 
  • Controlling blood sugar and cholesterol 
  • Reduction of cancer risks 
  • Management of diabetes mellitus 
  • Treatment of inflammation, hemorrhages, and general debility.

How To Cook Kodo 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 Kodo millet. 

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

Process:

Take a pan, add in the raw Kodo millet. Toss it for about two minutes on medium flame and add 2 cups of water, salt, and ghee to it. Cover it and cook for about 15 mins.

For porridge-like consistency, add 3 cups of water instead of 2. 

10 Yummy Kodo Millet Recipes 

Kodo Millet can replace regular white rice or some fancy grains like quinoa in almost any recipe. Kodo millet is one of the most fiber-rich foods grown across the globe. This high fiber millet needs to be soaked beforehand for about 1 hour to reduce its cooking time. Here are some simple Kodo millet recipes that anyone can indulge into.

Here are some simple Kodo millet recipes that anyone can indulge into. 

1. Kodo Millet Tamarind Rice | Kodo Millet Puliyogare | Kodo Millet Pulihora 

Puliyogare or puliyodharai or pulihora is a rice recipe primarily made with rice and tamarind paste. In this recipe for Kodo millet tamarind rice, we will replace regular white rice with the Kodo millet to make it healthier. Let us check out the recipe.

Ingredients:

  • Kodo millet – 1 cup 
  • Tamarind extract (thick) – 1 cup 
  • Coriander seeds – 1tsp
  • Fenugreek seeds – ½ tsp 
  • Urad Dal  -½ tsp 
  • Bengal gram – ½ tsp 
  • Dry red chillies – 6 
  • Asafoetida 
  • Turmeric powder – a pinch 
  • Cuyrry leaves 
  • Mustard seeds – ½ tsp 
  • Cold-pressed sesame oil/coconut oil/any refined oil 
  • Salt to taste 

Method:

  1. Soak the Kodo Millet for one hour. 
  2. Pressure cook the Kodo millet rice with turmeric powder. 
  3. Grind the coriander seeds and red chilies. 
  4. Now heat some oil in a pan—Fry the Bengal gram, urad, mustard seeds, and fenugreek seeds for 45 seconds. 
  5. Pour the tamarind pulp, add salt, coriander-chili powder, curry leaves, and bring to a boil. 
  6. Add the cooked Kodo millet and stir well.

Kodo Millet Tamarind rice is ready to serve.

2. Kodo Millet Methi Pulao 

Methi Pulao is a very easy-to-make one-pot rice dish made with rice and methi leaves. As a side dish for methi pulao, you can always use raita. In this recipe for Kodo Millet Pulav, we will use Kodo millet as the main ingredient instead of regular white rice. Check out the recipe given below.

Ingredients:

  • Kodo millet rice – 1 ½ cups 
  • washed methi leaves – 1 Bunch ( large variety) 
  • Desi cow ghee -2 tsp 
  • Cashew nuts – 10 
  • Green chilies -2 
  • Ginger – Small piece 
  • Garlic – 3 to 4 cloves 
  • Cinnamon – 2 inch 
  • Cardamom – 1 
  • Coconut Milk – 1 cup 
  • Salt to taste 

Method:

  1. Soak Kodo millet for one hour.
  2. Grind the green chilies, ginger, garlic, cinnamon, cloves, and cardamom into a coarse powder.
  3. Heat some ghee in a pan, add thinly sliced onions, fry them till they are golden brown, and keep them aside.
  4. In the same pan, add cashew nuts, fry them till they are brown.
  5. Add ground masala powder and fry it for a minute; add washed and drained methi leaves and stir cook until the leaves start to wilt.
  6. Next, add the soaked Kodo rice and the coconut milk, and 2 cups of water.
  7. Add salt to taste and mix it well.
  8. Cover and cook on low heat for about 12 to 15 mins stirring a couple of times in between.

Switch the flame off, add the fried onions on top, and Kodo millet methi pulao is ready to serve. 

3. Kodo Millet Upma

Upma is the most common south Indian breakfast dish typically made with Rava. This vegetable upma recipe is packed with the goodness of vegetables, and also, the Rava is replaced with Kodo millet for a healthier version of it.

Ingredients:

  • Kodo millet – 1 cup 
  • 2 – 2 ½ cups water 
  • Onion – finely chopped 
  • Small tomato – finely chopped 
  • ½ cup mixed vegetables – beans, carrots, peas, etc 
  • Green chilies – 2 to 4 finely chopped 
  • Coriander leaves 
  • Lemon juice to taste 
  • For tempering – mustard seeds, black urad gram, bengal gram, a pinch of turmeric, and a few curry leaves 

Method:

  1. Take a pan and heat some oil.
  2. Add the tempering seeds and fry them till they are brown, then add curry leaves, onion, and green chili and saute for a minute.
  3. Now, add the finely chopped vegetables and saute for 4 mins.
  4. Add water and bring that to a boil.
  5. Now add in the millets, cover, and cook for about 12 to 15 mins.

Kodo Millet Upma is now ready to serve.

4. Kodo Millet Dosa 

Dosa is an excellent breakfast option. The traditional recipe of dosa is made with rice and urad dal. In this recipe for Kodo millet dosa, a major portion of rice is replaced with Kodo millet. A reasonable amount of raw rice is used to make the dosas crisp. Here is the process of how to make Kodo millet dosa.

Ingredients:

  • Kodo millet – 1 ½ cups 
  • Raw rice – ½ cup 
  • Urad dal – ¼ cup 
  • Methi seeds – 1 tsp 
  • Salt 
  • Water 
  • Oil 

Method:

  1. Wash the dry ingredients thoroughly with water and soak in water for 5 to 6 hours. Drain the water, add enough water to it and grind it into a fine batter.
  2. Make sure to ferment the batter for about 12 hours at room temperature.
  3. Add salt to taste and cumin seeds.
  4. Heat a skillet, take enough batter, and spread it.
  5. Add a bit of oil to the edges and flip it when one side of it is fried.

Serve it hot with chutney or sambar.

Note: For an instant millet dosa recipe, i.e., millet dosa without fermentation, use Kodo millet flour instead of Kodo millet rice. Also, add 2 tbsp curd to it, mix well and make dosas.

5. Kodo Millet Coconut Rice | Kodo Millet Thengai Sadam

Coconut rice is a filling and wholesome one-pot rice dish made with rice and coconut as the main ingredients. Coconut milk is the main ingredient that makes the dish flavourful and tasty. This Kodo millet recipe is made with Kodo millet instead of regular white rice.

Ingredients: 

  • Scraped coconut – 1 cup 
  • Cooked kodo rice – 2 cups 
  • Oil 
  • Mustard seeds – ½ tsp 
  • Red chilies – 2 
  • Split black gram – 1 tsp 
  • Curry leaves 
  • Ginger – a small piece 
  • Green chili – 1 
  • Peanuts (deep-fried) – ½ cup 
  • Salt to taste 
  • Coriander leaves 

Method:

  1. Heat oil in a pan.
  2. Add mustard seeds and let them splutter, then add red chilies, urad dal saute till the dal turns light brown.
  3. Add curry leaves, ginger, and green chill.
  4. Mix and add coconut and saute for a while on low heat. Add peanuts and mix, add Kodo rice and mix lightly. Add coriander leaves and mix.

Serve hot with sambar.

6. Kodo Millet Pongal 

Pongal is a breakfast or lunch recipe. It is the easiest among the Kodo millet recipes. It is usually made of rice and moong dal cooked together in a pressure cooker by adding a few spices to add a mild flavor. In this tasty Pongal recipe, rice is replaced with Kodo millet to give it a healthy twist.

Ingredients:

  • Kodo millet – 1 cup 
  • Moong dal – ⅓ cup 
  • Salt to taste 
  • Ghee – 3 tsp 
  • Cumin seeds -½ tsp 
  • Pepper powder – ½ tsp
  • Curry leaves 
  • Ginger – small p[iece 
  • Green chilies – 1 to 2 

Method:

  1. Dry roast Moong dal in a pan till the aroma comes out. Make sure you don’t brown them.
  2. Wash the millet once or twice and combine with moong in a pressure cooker.
  3. Give a quick saute to the chilies and ginger and add it to the cooker.
  4. Add salt, ghee, and water and cook it over medium flame for one whistle. Reduce the flame and cook for 3 minutes. Switch off the gas. Fry some cashews, curry leaves, and whole peppercorns and add them to the Pongal.
  5. Sprinkle the coarsely ground jeera-pepper powder and give a gentle toss to the Pongal and serve it hot.

7. Kodo Millet Kheer (Kodo Payasam)

Payasam is made in many versions with different ingredients. A few of the varieties are rice, vermicelli, sago, etc. This recipe for Kodo millet kheer is made with Kodo millet instead of rice and is packed with coconut milk to make it healthier.

Ingredients:

  1. Kodo millet – 1 cup 
  2. Jaggery 1 ½ cups 
  3. Grated coconut – 2 tsp 
  4. Coconut milk – ½ cup 
  5. Cardamom – a pinch 
  6. Ghee – 2tsp 
  7. Garnish – fried cashew nuts, raisins, almonds, and coconut pieces 

Method:

  • Cook Kodo millet in a pressure cooker. See if it’s well cooked.
  • Meanwhile, melt jaggery in a pan. Remove scrum.
  • Then add cooked Kodo millet, grated coconut, coconut milk, water to the melted jaggery. Bring to boil.
  • Heat ghee in a pan and roast all the nuts, and then pour over the payasam.

This is a simple sweet recipe among the Kodo millet recipes, is ready to serve.

8. Kodo Millet Brinjal Rice | Kodo Millet Vangi Bath

Brinjal rice or vangi bath is a traditional rice dish. It is made differently in different areas across India. Here is the recipe for a healthy and tasty version of Vangi bath with Kodo millet. Let us now check out the recipe.

Ingredients:

  • Kodo millet – 1 cup 
  • Brinjal – 4 
  • Onion – 1 
  • Bengal gram – 1 tsp 
  • Urad dal – ½ tsp 
  • Turmeric powder – a pinch 
  • Mustard seeds – ½ tsp 
  • Ghee 2 tbsp
  • Curry leaves 
  • Salt to taste 
  • For making masala powder – red chilies 2 to 3, coriander seeds  1 tsp,bengal gram 1 tsp, urad dal 1tsp, cinnamon stick, cloves 2, coconut gratings, 1tblsp, cold-pressed sesame oil. 

Method:

  1. Put 2 tsp of oil and fry red chilies, coriander seeds, Bengal gram, urad dal, cinnamon stick, and cloves separately in a pan.
  2. Finally, add the coconut gratings and fry well. Cool it.
  3. Add salt and grind it into a powder. Cook Kodo rice until soft. Chop the onion finely.
  4. Cut the brinjal into lengthwise thin slices.
  5. In a pan, put the ghee, and when it is hot, add mustard; when it pops up, add Bengal gram dal and urad dal and fry till it turns light brown.
  6. Add chopped onion, curry leaves, and fry well.
  7. Then add brinjal along with turmeric powder and salt and stir fry till the brinjal is soft. Add ground masala powder and stir well.
  8. Then add cooked Kodo millet and mix well. Serve hot with fried papad or chips.

9. Kodo Millet Masala Vada:

This mix dal vada recipe is an easy-to-make snack dish. Kodo Masala Vada is packed with protein as we use different dals in it. Here is the recipe for how to make masala vada using Kodo millet and different dals. 

Ingredients:

  1. Boiled Kodo millet – 1 cup 
  2. Urad dal – ¾ cup 
  3. Chana dal – ½ cup 
  4. Toor dal – ½ cup 
  5. Green chilies – 4 
  6. Red chilies – 4
  7. Ginger 1 inch piece 
  8. Salt 
  9. Asafoetida 
  10. Curry leaves 
  11. Groundnut oil 

Method:

  • Soak each of the dals and Kodo rice separately for 4 to 5 hours.
  • First, grind Kodo rice coarsely, then grind urad dal finely.
  • Now grind the two dals along with chilies, ginger and curry leaves, and asafoetida coarsely.
  • Now mix it all, add salt to taste.
  • Heat oil in a pan. Now deep fry this Kodo vada, flip them, and serve hot with spicy coconut chutney.

10. Kodo Millet Banana Flower Vada | Vazhaipoo Vadai Recipe

Banana flower or Vazhaipoo is healthy and tasty when used in the right proportions. This banana flower recipe Vazhaipoo vada recipe below is a snack recipe packed with the health benefits of Kodo millet, jowar flour, and banana flower. 

Ingredients:

  1. Banana flower – cleaned and chopped – 1 cup 
  2. Kodo millet rice – 1 cup 
  3. White jowar flour  – ¾ cup 
  4. Urad dal – 2 tbsp 
  5. Green or red chili – 4 to 5 
  6. Fennel seeds 
  7. Cumin seeds 
  8. Onion – ¼ cup 
  9. Grated coconut – 2 tbsp 
  10. Asafoetida 
  11. Coriander leaves 
  12. Curry leaves 
  13. Salt to taste 
  14. Cold-pressed coconut oil for deep frying 

Method:

  • Soak dal, Kodo millet rice together for 3 hours.
  • In a blender, grind chili, cumin, fennel, and then add the dal, completely drained from water, and grind coarsely.
  • Then add the chopped banana flower and grind to your desired consistency.
  • Transfer it to a mixing bowl and add coriander, curry leaves. Mix well.
  • Heat cold-pressed coconut oil in a Kadai.
  • Grease your hands with water and make medium-sized vadas in your palm.
  • Drop the vadas in oil and cook on medium flame.

You can fry 4 to 5 at a time. Fry both sides until brown and crisp or until the inside gets cooked well. Kodo Millet banana flower vada is ready to serve.

Kodo millet is rich in fiber and other nutrients. This Kodo millet can also be used for weight loss and other health benefits. The above-mentioned Kodo millet recipes are easy to make and can be used as healthy replacements for your regular rice varieties. I hope you try these recipes. 

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