Foxtail millet aka korralu in telugu were widely used couple of generations back. I am glad that they are making a comeback into the main stream. For this generation that has grown up on rice and wheat (polished ones at that), it will take some time to get used to the complex nuances of the hardy millets. Each of them have their own flavor and taste unlike the white rice which blends in with any dish without any personality of its own.
Millets in addition to being good for us are good for the planet too. They are not resource intensive crops and can grow easily on marginal soils too.
Dosa and idli batter when made with millets was the best way to introduce them into our diet. Here I have used a combination of brown rice and korralu and the resulting dosa was quite tasty. The batter and the dosa are slightly brown and are not pristine white unlike the one made with polished rice. Taste wise, the millet dosa has a personality of its own with some complex flavor but it is hard to pin point the differences.
Dosa batter (makes about 20 medium sized ones)
- 1/2 cup urad dal
- 3/4 cup brown rice
- 3/4 cup foxtail millet. Other millets like barnyard millets/proso millets can be used too.
- 1 tsp fenugreek seeds
- Soak all the above together with enough water to submerge for about 6-8 hours or overnight.
- Grind them together into a thick paste adding about 1/2 cup water.
- Ferment in a warm place overnight.
- Mix required salt in the morning after fermentation and make the dosa.
Serve it with the rustic garlic chutney for a different dosa experience. Slowly replace the rice with millets completely as the family gets used to them.
No comments:
Post a Comment