I thought I would share this simple, but extremely quick and easy nutritious meal I have most mornings. You will appreciate the ease which the body digest it. It is actually my first meal of the day at around 10 or 11 o’clock, depending on when I feel the first signs of hunger.
I love these one-pot meals that use a number of different foods cooked in a single pot with ample water.
The importance of this bowl is finding the right millet to use. I use a very small grain (foxtail millet) as opposed to the bigger commonly found millet, which can become quite dry when cooked. The foxtail millet is much finer and softly moist, and when combined with amaranth, the two together create a very soothing, playful texture.
Amaranth is high in protein, fibre, rich in vitamins, and exceptionally rich in the amino acid, lysine, which is absent in most other cereal grains. It is also high in calcium and has an iron content four times higher than brown rice.
I change the vegetables to what is in season and depending on what can be picked from the garden. Sometimes I use celery when there is no fennel or broccoli, spinach opposed to kale, sweet peas instead of beans etc. To serve, I keep it as simple as possible, just adding a little Indian pickle (something spicy), half of an avocado or scoop of yoghurt and lavishly drizzle with ghee.
turmeric flavoured millet,amaranth & vegetables
Serves 2
The dish can be made with quinoa, rice or any grain of your choice – the cooking times may vary though.
ingredients
¼ cup/50g millet
¼ cup/50g amaranth
2 cups water
1 tsp ghee
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 cup fresh seasonal vegetables – carrot, cherry tomatoes, green beans, cabbage, a handful of small broccoli florets, finely chopped
½ medium fennel bulb, finely chopped
for the voggarane
1 Tbsp ghee
1 tsp cumin seeds
6 fresh curry leaves, roughly torn
pinch asafoetida (optional)
½ tsp fine rock salt
1 tsp jaggery/brown sugar
few rounds of freshly ground pepper
a handful of green leaves (kale, small broccoli leaves, chard, etc)
¼ cup coriander leaves, chopped
preparation
1. In a heavy-bottomed pot, wash the millet and amaranth, drain, pour in 2 cups water and 1 heaped spoon ghee and turmeric, bring to boil, reduce heat to maintain a rapid simmer, simmer uncovered for 2 mins.
2. Add the vegetables which require more cooking time and set aside the broccoli and fresh greens leaves, which will be added just before it has finished cooking – allow to simmer, uncovered for 10 minutes.
3. Turn off the heat, add the broccoli florets greens, cover and set aside.
prepare the voggarane
4. Heat ghee in a small saucepan, add cumin seeds, asafoetida (if using) and curry leaves – allow to sizzle for a few seconds, swishing the pan for the spices to fry evenly. Add to the millet and vegetables.
5. Stir in the salt, pepper and jaggery, recover and allow to sit undisturbed for a 10 minutes before serving.
6. When serving, drizzle with ghee. If not serving with pickle, add a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.
Updated: Enjoyed this, this morning sitting in the sun. I added okra and red pepper which I sautéed together in a very hot skillet, charring the edges a bit. It was a delicious combination.
Goodness shared from Stacey
