Tasty Little Millet Recipes (Traditional Recipes Can’t-Miss)

Tasty Little Millet Recipes With Its Nutritional Composition And Benefits

Little Millet is one of the smallest millets, therefore it is cooked really fast. Samai or Little Millet is grown throughout India and is a traditional crop and is suitable for people of all age groups. Any recipe in which rice is the main ingredient can be made with Samai or Little as a substitute to regular rice. Millets are all very nutritious and have many benefits, check out the benefits of millets. These tasty Little Millet Recipes can be healthy alternatives to those recipes which are made of regular white rice.

(Little millet in Hindi is Kutki, little millet in Marathi is Sava, little millet in Gujrati is Gajro, little millet in Kannada is Same, little millet in telugu is Samalu, and samai in tamil.)

It is necessary to give the little millet a quick rinse before cooking it to remove dust and broken grain which makes the little millet rice sticky. It is advisable to soak the little millet for about 1 hour before cooking it to reduce its cooking time.

Nutritional Composition of Little Millets

Little Millet is rich in antioxidants, phosphorus, vitamin B3, etc which helps in regulating heart health, cholesterol levels. We’ll shortly look into tasty little millet recipes.

Here is the Nutritional information of Samai millet or little millet per 100 grams of raw little millet: 

  • Protein – 9.7 grams 
  • Carbohydrates – 67 grams 
  • Fat – 4.7 grams 
  • Fiber – 7.6 grams 
  • Calcium – 17 grams 
  • Phosphorus – 22 grams 
  • Iron – 9.3 grams 
  • Energy – 32.9 grams 

Samai Millet Benefits | Little Millet Benefits

Little millet or Samai millet benefits are as follows;

  1. LIttle millet is one of the most fibrous millets. Its fiber content is nearly two times that of other millets. Therefore, Samai rice can be consumed for weight loss.
  2. Samai Rice or Little millet is also known to be rich in phenolic compounds which are responsible for its antioxidant nature.
  3. Little Millet can provide around 16 percent of daily need of iron.
  4. Like other millets, Samai is also gluten free. It makes up for the lack of whole grain fiber in Celiac (gluten free) diets.

Here are a few traditional and tasty little millet recipes or Samai millet recipes.

1. Little Millet Adhirasam

Adhirasam or Kajjaya in Kannada or Ariselu in Telugu or Anarsa in Marathi or Arisa Pitha in Odia is a type of Indian sweet dish from their respective regions of origin. Let us now get into the recipe for Little Millet Adhirasam or Little Millet Ariselu. This is one of the healthy and tasty little millet recipes in snacks.

tasty little millet adhirasam

Ingredients: 

  • Little Millet Powder – 1/2 tsp
  • Little Millet Rice – 1 Cup
  • Jaggery – 1 Cup 
  • Cardamom – 1/2 tsp 
  • Cold-Pressed coconut Oil – 1/4 Ltr for deep frying

Batter Preparation:

  1. To make Little millet Adhirasam, soak the Little millet rice in water for 30mins. After 30 mins, rinse it and drain the water. 
  2. Spread the Little millet rice in a towel for about 10 mins to absorb excess water content of the rice.
  3.  When 3/4th dried, grind the Little millet in a mixer to a very nice powder. (Also can sieve it to get a fine nice Powder).
  4.  Add jaggery in a pan with 1/2 cup of water and when it dissolves strain the jaggery water to remove dirt & sand. 
  5. Again boil the jaggery water and keep stirring it until the jaggery comes to stone consistency. 

Note – to check for the right consistency, take a drop of jaggery juice and pour it in water, it should not dissolve rather we should be able to make a ball out of it. The consistency should be neither hard nor very smooth. You should be very careful at this stage.

  1. Now remove the jaggery from the flame and add to the wet Little millet rice powder and mix it well along with cardamom powder.
  2. Mix well, so that no lumps are formed till you get chapati dough consistency.
  3. Now the adhirasam mixture is ready for preparation. 

Note – You can also add one ladle of fresh curd. By adding this you will get a soft little millet adhirasam. 

  1. Keep this little millet adhirasam mixture aside for at least one day.

Method:

The next day, the heat required oil in a heavy-bottomed pan. Make a small ball of the adhirasam mixture and place it in an oil greased plastic paper. Spread the mixture like vada and drop it in oil once the oil is hot. Deep fry the little millet adhirasam till it becomes golden color. Don’t put more than two adhirasam in the oil. Repeat the above steps for the rest of the mixture. The delicious little millet Adhirasam is ready to serve.

Traditional Note: If Little millet Adhirasam is getting split while frying, then it’s an indication that you have added more Jaggery. Add one or two more tablespoons of Little millet rice flour and mix it and try again.

 2. Little Millet Murukku Recipe

Murukku or Murukulu is a savoury dish which is traditionally made with rice flour and urad dal flour. Murukku with millets or Millet Crackers can be a great option to try. In this Little Millet Murukku Recipe, we are giving it a healthy twist by making it with Little Millet flour.

little millet murukku

Ingredients: 

  • Little millet rice – 2 kg
  • Black gram dhal – 600 gms
  • ColdPressed groundnut oil and desi cow ghee – 100 gms
  • Salt – 100 gms

Method: 

  1. To make little millet murukku soak the little millet rice or Samai or Samalu for 2 hours, drain and get it powdered or pound it at home and sieve it.
  2. Roast black gram dhal till golden brown in colour. 
  3. Now grind the roasted black gram dhal to a fine powder and sieve it well. 
  4. Melt the salt in half cup water and keep aside.
  5. Now mix the little millet rice and dhal powder using the salt water and mix to a thick consistency. 
  6. Heat ghee or oil in a shallow big frying pan. 
  7. Put the dough into a Muruku press and press it down straight into the hot oil into overlapping small rounds. Fry till done. Remove, cool and store in an airtight jar.

Note : Make sure you add the above mentioned quantity of Ghee for making the murukku crispy. Also adding enough water is important to keep the dough moist.

3. Little Millet Curry Leaves Rice | Karuveppilai Sadam Recipe

Curry leaves rice, which is made with regular white rice, is usually a quick fix for those fast-paced mornings. This Little Millet Curry Leaves Rice or Karuveppilai Sadam recipe, is made with little millet rice. Let us now check out the recipe.

Ingredients: 

  • Little millet Rice – 1cup 
  • Cold-Pressed groundnut Oil card Seeds – 1/4 tbsp
  • Peanuts – 2 tbsp 
  • Urad dal – 1/2 tsp 
  • Salt

To roast and grind: 

  • Red Chillies 3 Nos 
  • Curry Leaves 
  • Tamarind Piece 
  • Grated Coconut 2 tbsp

Method : 

  1. To make the Little millet curry leaf rice firstly, soak the little millet rice for 20 minutes and cook it by adding salt and a few drops of oil. 
  2. Add 1 and 1/2 cup of water and pressure cook for 3 beres When done, allow this to cool in a wide bowl. 
  3. Heat oil in a pan and and the mustard seeds, peanuts, urad dal and roast till golden brown.
  4. Add little millet rice to this and keep it aside. 
  5. In another pan add the ingredients mentioned in the roast and grind table, except coconut. 
  6. Fry till the curry leaves become a nice golden color. 
  7. Be careful not to get any of the ingredients but Switch off the fame and add coconut and mix well. Grind this without adding water to this. 
  8. Add this ground masala to the little millet rice. 
  9. Mix gently.

Note : If adding ghee, add at this stage and mix evenly. 

  1. Little millet curry leaf Rice is Ready, Serve it with papad or ratha.

4. Little Millet Sevai

Sevai or Saemiya is a traditional south Indian vermicelli recipe made with rice. It can also be made with other flours of grains like wheat or ragi. This Little Millet Sevai recipe shows how to make a healthier version of sevai with little millet.

Ingredients: 

  • Little Millet Flour – 1 cup
  • Salt to taste
  • Sesame oil 1/2 tsp
  • Palm Sugar as needed 
  • Grated Coconut – 1/4 cup

Method: 

  1. To make Little Millet Sevai, In a pan add water and add salt and oil to it. 
  2. Keep the Little millet flour in a wide bowl. 
  3. When you see small bubbles of water switch off the flame and add it slowly to the flour, when it is warm mix it nicely with a spoon and with your hands make it into equal portions to fit into the press. 
  4. Use the Sevai mold for this. Grease an idli plate and press medium sized circles.
  5. Steam this for 5 minutes. 
  6. After cooling it down for a minute take it out from the idli plate and transfer it to a wide plate and cover it with a damp cloth to keep it moist.
  7. Repeat the process for the rest of the dough. 
  8. If you are going to have it with coconut and palm sugar, Just add the palm sugar to the mix and start mixing it gently. 
  9. Add coconut in the last and mix well.

Note : If you like coconut milk you can serve it with coconut milk too.

  1. Now the little millet sevai is ready to serve.

5. Little Millet Thattai

 Ingredients: 

  • Little millet rice flour – 4cup
  • Curry leaves
  • Chili powder 1 tbsp 
  • Urad dal tcup 
  • Desi cow ghee – 2 tbsp
  • Chana dal – 2 tsp. 
  • Cold-Pressed groundnut oil. 
  • Salt 

Method: 

  1. To make the little millet thattai,soak chana dal in water for 20 minutes. 
  2. Roast urad dal in a pan without oil for 3 or 4 minutes, allow it to cool and then make it as a fine powder. 
  3. Fry the little millet rice flour without oil for 3 or 4 minutes and allow it to get cool. 
  4. Add salt, ghee, chilli powder, chopped curry leaves and soaked chana dal to urad flour and little millet rice flour and mix it nicely. 
  5. Add water little by little and mix the above ingredients into a thick dough. 
  6. Make small balls of uniform size out of that dough. 
  7. Take a plantain leaf and spread a few drops of oil on it and keep the ball on it and press it uniformly with hand to a diameter of roughly 4 to 5 centimeters. 
  8. Then repeat the process of pressing for each and every ball and fry them deep in oil in a low or medium flame nicely.
  9. Drain the oil after frying and allow it to get cool before serving. 

6. Little Millet Neer Dosa | Samai Dosa Recipe

Ingredients: 

  • Little Millet rice-1 cup
  • Soaked for 2 hours
  • Grated Coconut- 1/2 cup
  • Rock Salt – 1/2 tsp
  • Water – 5 cups
  • Cold-Pressed groundnut Oil

Batter Preparation:

  1. To make the little millet neer dosa, wash and soak Little Millet Rice  or Samai in enough water for 2-3 hours. 
  2. Drain all the water and grind it along with grated coconut and little salt. 

Note : This dosa batter takes less salt so add it carefully.

  1. First grind little millet rice and coconut to a coarse paste without adding water and then add 1 cup of water to make a smooth paste. 
  2. Check the batter and grind it again adding required water to get a very smooth paste without any grits. Totally 5 cups of water can be used.

Method:

  1. Heat the dosa pan well. Keep the flame high. 
  2. Pour enough batter to cover the pan and turn the pan around quickly so the mixture coats the bottom well without any holes. 
  3. Now simmer the flame completely and close the dosa with a lid. Let it cook for 30 seconds. 
  4. Then remove the lid and again cook in an open pan for another 30 seconds. 
  5. When the edges start lifting, dribble a few drops of oil around and ease the dosa out of the pan. 
  6. Now serve the little millet neer dosa along with chutney.

Little Millets are one of those wholesome and filling grains that regulate heart health and cholesterol levels. Including little millets in your day to day, diet is great for weight loss. These tasty little millet recipes are healthy alternatives for regular breakfast, lunch, and snack varieties made with rice.

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