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Understanding millets: From portion to hydration (plus a special recipe)

Understanding millets: From portion to hydration (plus a special recipe)

Thursday, July 29, 2021 IST

Understand that every millet needs a proper soaking time of minimum 6-8 hours. So, plan your menu and make sure you soak your millets every day

Following a specific protocol with millets can get boring. But you cannot be eating Ambali (fermented millet porridge) every day and neither can your meals be boring. But trust me when I say that the transition from wheat to no wheat can be interesting and smooth — something I often stress upon in my six-week millet journey.

Around 97 per cent of the total world population is gluten-sensitive; only one per cent is gluten-intolerant. When people switch to millets, they follow a specific protocol recommended as per their health condition. What stresses them out is eating the same millet for continuous two-three days. And this is where I have started sharing a lot of meal plans with my participants. I would like to give a few tips here too.

*Understand that every millet needs a proper soaking time of minimum 6-8 hours. So, plan your menu and make sure you soak your millets every day. This will save your time and effort to get that perfectly cooked grain.

*Do not consume Ambali (the fermented porridge) more than thrice in 10 days. Too much of anything isn’t good. Even if it is good bacteria.

*Stop using processed millet flours, millet vermicelli, millet flakes, et al. A Gluten-free journey is not a millet journey. Stick to whole grains and make your own flours.

*Understand portion, hydration and sticking to one-grain ideas.

*You can have just one meal with grains and rest of the meals prefer grain-free if you are a beginner on millet journey. Start with just 6 meals per week and gradually increase.

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A post shared by Shalini- Millet Coach (@crazykadchimilletcoach)

Sharing my kodo millet menu from yesterday. It wasn’t difficult at all to try out interesting stuff with one millet. I soaked six fists of kodo millet for my family’s entire day’s consumption. I began my day with steamed Kodo Millet Mexican Salad. It was easy and I would like to share this recipe with you all here. I steamed one part for salad and as a substitute for rice for lunch. I ground the other part into a fine batter. Assembled that batter with gluten-free sourdough discard that was lying in my fridge. And rustled up a quick Focaccia. The leftover steamed millet was used up as millet kebab for the dinner and was paired up with a simple beetroot amla soup. I was sorted, I did not compromise on taste, I was gluten-free for the entire day, had one kind of grain and was much lighter and happier. Did I mention that because I planned well on time, I saved my time too?

That’s what the millet journey is all about. I wish to reach out to more people to come to this path, embrace these grains not as medicine but as fun meals. Millets are fun after all.