Millets are among the first plants to be domesticated and are considered high in nutritional content. They have served as a traditional staple for hundreds of millions of people in Africa and Asia for more than 7,000 years, and are now cultivated across the world.
Millets are versatile and resilient crops that can grow on relatively poor soils and under adverse and arid conditions, with comparatively fewer inputs than other cereals. Increasing millet production and consumption worldwide has the potential to address climate change and strengthen globalfood security.
In light of their importance to meet nutritional needs and provide food security globally, as well as their role in helping to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) of reducing poverty and eliminating hunger by 2030, the 75th session of the United Nations General Assembly held in September 2020, endorsed a proposal from India to designate the year 2023 as the International Year of Millets.
As part of celebrations to mark the International Year of Millets and raise awareness on the range and versatility of dishes that can be cooked with millets, we are running a series of recipes on cooking with millets.
We start off with:
Puffed Sorghum Choco-Almond Clusters
Ingredients:
- 1 cup dark chocolate chips
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
- 1 cup puffed sorghum (jowar, great millet…)
- 1/2 cup almonds
Instructions:
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper
- Melt chocolate chips with coconut oil over a double boiler, or you could use a microwave in short 20- to 30-second intervals, stirring well during each interval.
- Add almonds,puffed sorghum to the melted chocolate and mix until coated.
- Using a tablespoon, spoon the mixture over parchment paper to create clusters.
- Chill for at least 10 minutes before serving.
Millet Apple Pie Pudding
Ingredients:
For the millet layer:
- 3/4 cup millet
- 2 cup water or milk
- 1 ripe banana
- 1 tbsp dates paste
- For the ‘apple pie’ layer:
- 2 apples
- 2 tbsp.water
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 tsp butter
- 1 tbsp cornflour slurry
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon powder
Instructions:
For the millet layer:
- Toast dry millet in a pan over medium flame
- Stir regularly until the millets begin to exude a nutty aroma
- Add two cups of water or milk and cook over medium low heat until the liquid is fully absorbed (usually in 15-20 minutes).
- Once the millet is cooked and cooled, transfer it to a blender, add the banana and dates paste and blend to the thick creamy consistency.
For the apple pie layer:
Wash, peel and dice the apples
- In a saucepan add the diced apples along with sugar, butter, cinnamon powder and cook over low heat until soft (around 10 minutes)
- Add the cornstarch slurry to the pan while stirring and continue to cook until the apples turn more soft and the mixture thickens. Take care to ensure that the apples do not become too soft and mushy.
- To serve, use a small glass and spread a little millet cream as a layer at the bottom, top this with a layer of apple pie. Continue the process until complete, ending with one final layer of apple pie.
Indian Chef Chhaya Thakker, who has a huge following online on WhatsApp and YouTube will be sharing her favorite recipes and cooking tips with readers of The Times Kuwait. For feedback, you can write to editortimeskuwait@gmail.com