How to Cook Millets in Open Pot | Millet Cooking | Cooking Basics

Millets are the gluten free grains and can be used in the place of rice in almost all rice based dishes. Compare to the rice, millets have high nutrients, so it's advisable to include the millets in your diet regularly. When it comes to indian cooking, especially south indian,  you can include the millets(kodo,little or barnyard) easily in the place of rice based dishes like pongal, khichadi, upma or even as plain cooked millet along with curries. The options are nearly endless and it tastes good too.
Few years back, in tamilnadu, i literally noticed the arrival of all the new millets in the markets like never ever before. At that time,even all the cooking shows & cook books were all about the millets and its benefits. Initially as usual i was hesitant to try those millets, later i had taken my own time and included those millet one by one and tried various dishes with it and now it became the part of our regular cooking. When it comes to pongal or khichadi, i cook the millet in pressure cooker since i won't mind if it became too mushy for pongal or khihadi. But if i'm making the millet instead of rice for our meal along with kuzhambu and poriyal, then i prefer to cook them in open pot. After many attempts of cooking in pressure cooker, still i don't get it correct either it's too mushy or under cooked. But this way of cooking in open pot always yield fluffy cooked millets.I have cooked kodo,little and barnyard millets in this way and it all turned so fluffy and each grains separated!!

How to cook millet

Preparation Time : 20 mins | Cooking Time : 8 mins | Serves : 2 
Recipe Category: Basics | Recipe Cuisine: Indian

Ingredients
Millet(samai) -1/2  cup
Water - 1 cup

Procedure

Soak the rice for 1/2 hr. Heat the water in a pan and add salt(if you're using) and bring the water into boil.Drain the water from the soaked rice and add into the boiling water.Bring the rice to boil and then keep the flame in low and close the pan with lid.Cook until all the water is absorbed and switch off the flame.Let the pan closed for 10 more mins and then open the lid ,gently fluff the rice with spatula.Tada, perfectly cooked millet is ready.

Notes:

• Make sure that the flame is low while cooking the millet.
• Pot/pan with glass lid is helpful to look into the pan while cooking the millet and switch off the flame when all water is absorbed
• It takes approximately 6-8 mins to absorb all the water, by that time, the millet also well cooked.
• If you don't have pan with glass lid, then use whatever you have, check in between to make sure that all the water is absorbed before switch off the flame.
• Don't stir the millet frequently, it will become mushy.
• After switch off the flame, let the pan covered for at least10 mins, before opening and serving.
• If you want , you can add salt while cooking the millet.