THINAI IDLI / FOXTAIL MILLET IDLI

There are lots of benefits in millets.  We can prepare any of our  dishes with millets.

I have posted some millet dishes in my blog too.

I have Prepared idlies from one of the millets, Foxtail millet/Thinai.  

Refer the below link for millet recipes
http://hottavasandovens.blogspot.in/search/label/Millet%20Recipes

Nowadays many people who have completely eradicated rice and other food grains from their diet and switched fully to millets. Though millets are good for health, consuming  too much of it, is not good., over consumption of millets leads to hypothyroidism.

Always eat a variety of food grains like rice, whole wheat, barley, quinoa, bulgur, couscous, millets, oatmeal etc rather than stick to one particular grain. 

Here goes the recipe.

INGREDIENTS

 
   Foxtail millet                                   -3 cups
   Whole Urad dal                              - 1 cup
   Fenugreek seeds-vendhayam       - 2 tsp
   Salt                                                   -to taste   
  Gingelly oil                                         - 1 full ladle

INGREDIENTS FOR SEASONING

Pepper corns                          - 10 to 12 nos

Cumin seeds                          - 1 tsp

Ghee                                       - 1 tbsp

   

METHOD

Wash and soak thinai/foxtail millet and urad dal separately in water for 4-5 hours. Soak fenugreek seeds along with dal.

Grind urad dal until light and fluffy adding water from time to time.

Grind millets adding water little at a time to a slightly coarse batter.

Mix both the batter, add salt needed and allow it to ferment. Grind it the same way as you grind for regular idlis. The batter should not be too thick nor too thin.

Heat ghee in a pan and season the pepper corns and cumin seed and to the bater and mix well.

Add the gingelly oil and mix well.

 Bring water to boil in  a steamer or idli cooker to make idlis.

Then grease the idli mold with oil and pour a ladle of fermented batter into the moulds. Steam for 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the idli comes out clean.

After it cools a little, remove the idlis from the mould.

Healthy Thinai / foxtailmillet id;is are ready to serve.

 Serve hot with sambar or chutney

NOTE 

You can make idli with this batter only for a day, the next day, you can use the batter to make dosas. You can also make thick uthapams by adding finely chopped onions and green chillies to the batter.

Fermenting time differs according to weather conditions.

THINAI / FOXTAIL MILLET PAAL PAYASAM / MILK KHEER

 Another  yummy dessert from thinai / foxtail millet with milk and natural brown sugar.

INGREDIENTS

 Thinai Arisi/ Foxtail Millet Rice                        - 1/2 cup

Water                                                                    - 2 cups

Milk                                                                       - 500 ml

Natural brown sugar                          - ¾ cup to 1 cup (adjust according to                   `                                                                                                       your taste)

Cardamom  powder                                            - ½ tsp

       Ghee                                                                    - 1 Tablespoon

Cashews                                                               -  few

METHOD

Wash and  drain the thinai / foxtail millwt.

Slightly roast thinai rice in low flame and keep it aside.

Pressure cook adding add 2 cups of water for 6 whistles in medium flame.
Boil  milk in another pan and natural brown sugar and mix well .

 Add the cooked thinai / foxtail millet to the boiling sugar milk mixture and cook in low flame till it thickens till you get your desired consistency.

Mean time, fry cashews  in ghee and keep it aside

Once the thinai milk mixture starts to thicken, then add powdered cardamom, mix well then add fried cashews and  mix well.

Remove from heat.

Yummy Thinai / foxtail millet paal payasam is ready to serve

Serve warm or cold.

THINAI / FOXTAIL MILLET COCONUT MILK PAYASAM

On this auspicious thai poosam day , let’s prepare other sweet dessert from lord Muruga’s favourite Thinai / foxtail millet and seek blessings from the lord.

Here goes the recipe.

INGREDIENTS

Thinai arisi / foxtail millet                    - ½ cup

Jiggery                                                      - ¾ cup powdered

Cardamom powder                                   -½ teaspoon

Salt

First extract of  coconut milk                  - 1 cup

Second extract coconut milk                  - 1 cup

Ghee                                                         - 2 teaspoon

Cashewnuts                                             - 10 nos

Raisins                                                      - 10 nos

METHOD

wash well and drain the foxtail millet and keep aside.

Dry roast the thinai / foxtail millet on a low flame till nice aroma comes. .

Cook the thinai / foxtail millet with 2 cups of water in a pressure cooker. Cook for 6 whistles on a medium flame.

 Remove from heat and wait for the pressure to be released

Take a pan and add in the jaggery and a cup of water.

let it boil until the jaggery is completely melted.

Remove from heat and strain the jaggery mixture on a small colander to get rid of  impurities.

Add it to the cooked  thinai / foxtail millet.

Add in half a cup of second extract of coconut milk and cook for 5 to 10 minutes in a medium flame.

 Then add first extract of coconut milk, cardamom powder and a pinch of salt.

Simmer for a minute.

 (Do not cook  for a long time after adding the coconut milk.) Remove from heat .

Heat ghee in a pan and fry cashew-nuts and raisins.

Add it to the thinai / foxtail millet coconut milk payasam.

Yummy tasty Thinaic/ Foxtail millet coconut milk payasam is ready to serve.

Serve the payasam warm.

THINAI / FOXTAIL MILLET KESARI

We have showered the elder brother Lord Vinayagar with all the love, flowers, prasadhams, slogams etc. for Vinayaga Chathurthi.

Now it is time to turn our attention to the younger brother , Lord Murugan for “Thai Poosam”.

Thaipusam, a grand festival dedicated to the second son of God Shiva, Muruga or Karthikeya. The colorful festival is celebrated during the month of January or February.  Thaipusam is celebrated by the Tamil speaking community, and some states where it is commonly witnessed are Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka and Andra Pradesh, but in Kerala the festival is referred to as Thaipooyam. The celebrated marked for Karthikeya is has also transcended international boundaries. Countries like Malaysia, South Africa and Sri Lanka also celebrate this festival.

Thaipusam commemorates the death of Tharakasuran at the hands of Karthikeya during the month of Thai. The festival is a symbol of victory of good over evil.

The festival of Thaipuram is earmarked by the various types of Kavadis that are carried by devotees to the Murugan Temple.

Coming to  the prasadhams  offered to lord murugan is his favourite Thinai / foxtail millet. Thenum thinai maavum means honey mixed in foxtail millet flour is lord muruga’s  favourite  one.

When certain items are offered as prasadhams to God, it is an indirect way designed by our ancestors to tell us the value of the ingredients offered.

Thinai is power packed and nutrition packed millet. 

Today being "Thai Poosam" With this thinai / foxtail millet I have prepared kesari. Thinai / foxtail millet is th healthiest millet in the millet family.

Let’s go for the recipe.

INGREDIENTS

Thinai rice (Foxtail Millet)      – 1 cup

Sugar                                            - 1 ½ cups

Cardamom powder                   – 1 tbsp

Cashew nuts                               – 5 to 6 [Ghee Fried]

Raisins[kismiss]                        – 5 to 6 [Ghee Fried]

Ghee                                             – 1/4 cup

Water                                           – 4 cups

METHOD

Wash thinai rice well and drain the excess water.

Heat 1 tbsp ghee in a pan, add cashewnuts & raisins fry till golden brown then keep it aside

Heat 2 tbsp ghee in a broad pan add washed and drained thinai rice, saute  till you get nice aroma.

Allow it to cool.

Once cooled, put it in a mixie jar and grind it to a medium coarse powder like semolina.

Boil 4 cups of water, and  cook  coarsely ground thinai  for 15 minutes in a medium flame]

Add the sugar and mix well and allow it to cook by covering the pan .

Add the remaing ghee.

Stir the kesari now and then to avoid it sticking to the base of the pan.

Cook until all the moisture is absorbed.

Add cardamom powder and  roasted raisins & cashewnuts.

Yummy thinai/foxtail millet kesari is ready to serve.

MULTI MILLETS KALKANDU / ROCK CANDY AKKARA VADISAL

Today is "KOODARAVALLI DAY"

Koodaraivalli is a function celebrated based on Andal's 27th pasuram "KOODARAI VELLUM SEER...". Every year, margazhi 27 is celebrated as "koodaravalli" hence. In this day, the andal with her friends have completed their fasting in this day and started enjoying themselves for the rest three days. The song "vaiyathu vazhveergal..." should be think of before entering into Koodarai vellum pasuram.

This is based on the verse 27 of Thirupaavai and its contents.

In the pasuram, "Vaiyathu vaazhvirgal", andal is telling us how to involve in the fasting and what are all the procedures. You should always chant the bhagavannama for the whole day of fasting, avoid ghee, milk, take bath early in brahmamuhurtha, dont decorate yourself, dont do avoided things (eating outside, speaking unnecessary words, etc.), help others, so on...
கூடாரை வெல்லும் சீர் கோவிந்தா உந்தன்னைப் 
பாடிப் பறை கொண்டு யாம் பெறும் சம்மானம் 
நாடு புகழும் பரிசினால் நன்றாகச் 
சூடகமே தோள் வளையே தோடே செவிப் பூவே 
பாடகமே என்றனைய பலகலனும் யாம் அணிவோம் 
ஆடை உடுப்போம் அதன் பின்னே பாற் சோறு 
மூட நெய் பெய்து முழங்கை வழி வாரக் 
கூடி இருந்து குளிர்ந்தேலோர் எம்பாவாய்

What are the prizes that Narayana give?  First the bangles (choodakam), then the shoulder bangles (thOL vaLai),
ear studs (thOdu), then special gold long chains that are worn in the ears (sevi poo), then the anklets (nupuram or
padagam) and also other ornaments.  Then nice dresses!
Finally the sumptuous eating of sweet pongal comes.

Koodi irunthu - in a group - Sat sangh of Narayana devotees.

kuLirnthElo - The sat sangh makes them to revel in the chillness of bliss, with all desires fulfilled.

The word Koodara Valli comes from the first words, "koodArai veLLum seer Govinda."

The Lord helps sadhus and bhaktas (Gajendra, Prahlada, Uddhava, Arjuna and others) but kills or conquers those who are evil
and not in union with Him (Hiranyakasipu, Ravana, Kumbakarna, Sisupala, Dhandavaktra, Kamsa and others.)   

Andal is a psychiatrist, Dietician, beautician, what not I think. The enemies she is telling is the uncontrallble mind only. By doing fasting, then preparing delicious dish and then sharing the same with others make our mind cool and harmless. After a pakka dieting, if we loaded ourselves with ghee and milk, the proteins will get accumulated into appropriate places and necessary aminoacids will started secreting.

Akkara Adisil is usually prepared on this “Koodaravalli day” . Also, for Panguni Uthram, this is a main Prasadam in Srirangam Temple. Akkara Adisil usually offered as a prasadham in the temples which has an unique taste. We make sakarai pongal for many festivals. The procedure is much similar to sakarai pongal, but akkaravadisal is a slightly different take to the sweet pongal(sakkarai pongal). The main difference between the 2 is : For akkaravadisal(Akkara Adisal) milk quantity is more also we use sugar, the dal proportion is more when compared to sweet pongal. 

Here I made a variation with our traditional akkara vadisal. Instead of rice I have substituted millets like samai rice/ small millets, kodo millet / varagu arisi, kudhiraivali rice/ barnyard millet. Instead of jiggery and sugar I used kalkandu / rock candy. Tastes yummy.

Celebrate this koodaravalli day with our own beautiful  Andal and  seek blessings and love from maha Vishnu.

                                   

INGREDIENTS

Samai rice/ small millet , varagu arisi/kodo millet, kudhiraivali rice/ barnyard millet – 1/4 cup altogether
Moong Dhal                                                                                                               – ½ cup
kalkkandu / rock candy   – ½  cup
raw Milk to boil millets and moong dhal                                                                     – 2 cups
boiled milk                                                                                                                 – 1/2 cup
unsalted butter                                                                                  - 50 grams to 100 grams
Butter                                                                                                 - 1 tbsp for frying the raisins

Pachai karpooram / edible camphor                                            - a pinch

FOR GARNISHING

Raisins                                                                                                            - 10 to 15 nos
Kalkkandu / rock candy                                                                      - few

METHOD

Wash well the millets and dhal together and add 2 cups of milk in a l broad container and pressure cook for 10 whistles.

Once pressure releases,  take out the container and mash the cooked millet dhal mixture and add the 1/2 cup of boiled milk.

Transfer this millet dhal mixture into a pan and add half cup of kalkkandu / rock candy and butter and cook in a medium flame.

Once kalkkandu / rock candy  is added it becomes slightly runny so keep stirring.Mix well and keep cooking with stirring in between till the required consistency(it should not stick and should of slightly runny) is reached. Add edible camphor/pachai karpooram and mix well.

Fry the raisins in butter and garnish on the top of multi millet kalkandu / rock candy akkara vadisal.