sama ke chawal ka bhakka | barnyard millet porridge

A few foods we start loving just because our parents are always raving about those. I have witnessed this tendency of kids even in recent times when I see them following their parents in the choice of foods, especially the junk type. There is no other way small toddlers would start loving junk carbonated drinks and instant noodles.

We had no such influence in my times, the only choices we had were home cooked food as our parents always preferred home cooked food unless we were traveling. I would add that my parents were very fond of good food and since they kept traveling a lot and we all lived in many cities all across the country, the food repertoire at home was quite rich.

One of the dishes I remember we all loved just because my father was too fond of it, is this sama ke chawal ka bhakka. I had never seen it being made in other homes till then, not even now, and the name sama ke chawal ka bhakka was so uncool that we never talked about this dish outside of our home. The taste was nothing special as it tasted just like any other daliya or porridge we ate for breakfast, nothing to feel elated about.

Same ke chawal ka bhakka was not even garnished before serving like we do for sama ke chawal ki kheer, though I felt like garnishing this time when I made it just for the sake of pictures.

ingredients 
(2 breakfast servings)

1/2 cup sama ke chawal (barnyard millet)
600 ml full cream milk 
1 tbsp sugar or more to taste
garnish of choice

procedure 

Soak the sama ke chawal in the milk overnight, preferably in the same pot you will use for cooking the porridge in the morning.

Place the pot on gas stove and bring to a soft boil while stirring in between. Lower the gas and let it cook for 10 minutes. Add sugar, mix and cover for 15 minutes till it absorbs all moisture.

Serve hot, warm or cold. Make ahead if you want to serve it chilled.

Garnish if desired.

It tastes like a porridge that has a hint of kheer. The sama ke chawal ki kheer is a richer version of sama ka bhakka, which was served either as a breakfast dish or a snack any time of the day.

Such a healthy snack for anyone who has a sweet tooth.

fasting recipes | sama ke chawal ki tahiri | vrat wali tahiri

 Sama ka chawal or Samak chawal is actually a millet called Barnyard millet that is mostly consumed during Navratri fasting. Barnyard millet cooks really fast when soaked and can be made into sama ka Jeera rice, Sama ka Upma, Sama ki Idli and Sama ka Dhokla easily. Making sama ka Dosa is also easy once you know how to use this millet. We love sama ki kheer too.

Sama ki tehri or tahiri cooks quickly once you have soaked sama in the fridge. Yes it is advisable to soak sama overnight either in water or thin buttermilk and refrigerate so it can be used to cook meals quickly as the soaked sama ke chawal lasts about 3-4 days. It is particularly convenient in Navratras if you are fasting.

ingredients 
(2 servings)

1/3 cup sama ke chawal (Barnyard millet) soaked in 1.5 cup thin buttermilk overnight
2 cups mixed vegetables chopped into small cubes
1 tomato pureed
one small potato chopped in small cubes
1 tbsp ghee
1 tsp cumin seeds
pink salt (sendha namak) to taste
pepper to taste
chopped green chilies and chopped ginger if required
chopped dhaniya patta to garnish

preparation 

Heat the ghee in a wide stockpot (or pan) and tip in cumin seeds. Let the cumin splutter a bit.

Add the potatoes and stir and cook for 2 minutes. Now add the pureed tomatoes and all the chopped vegetables, salt and pepper. It will be better to add the other vegetables one by one according to the time they take to cook. I added carrots first and then zucchini after the potatoes and carrots were done. Toss and cook them all together.

Now add the soaked sama ke chawal, mix everything well and cook covered on low flame. No need to add any additional water as there is enough water in the ingredients to get cooked. It takes about 5 minutes for this quantity to get cooked after adding the soaked sama ke chawal.

Fluff up once cooked, sprinkle with chopped dhaniya patta and chopped green chilies and ginger if using. Serve with cucumber raita.

Green chilies and fine julienne of ginger taste really good in this tahiri but you can avoid if you like it a little plain. You can always add some roasted nuts or paneer cubes on top to add some proteins. I normally like it lighter but it also depends on how hungry you are for the meal or whether you are serving this sama ke chawal ki tahiri for lunch or dinner.

vrat ka khana | sama ke chawal ki idli | barnyard millet idli

Sama ke chawal ki idli or sama ki idli is one of the most loved meals at my place, fasting or no fasting. Navratri makes it easier as this grain (actually pseudo grain) starts appearing in the stores around this time, more than ever.

Navaratri is a nine day (actually nine nights) period when Devi Durga is worshiped with utmost devotion. I am not sure if I have that devotion towards any God but I have been fasting all nine days of navaratri for 12 years barring the last three years when I could not manage doing the stuff. On the 8th day of navaratri we invite young girls and considering them the embodiment of devi (Goddess), we wash their feet, offer them prasad of halwa puri and kala chana  which is a symbolic worship of devi, the female God (woman power to me).

This particular ritual has been my favorite thing to do during Navaratris as Mithi used to be very happy to see all the kids around, it used to be a picnic time at my place and many kids would refuse to go home after that. How I miss that time....

Another highlight of Navaratri is the food. The fasting food. It is more of feasting than fasting for the people who observe this fast as fried pakoras and pooris made with kootu ka atta (buckwheat flour) and singhare ka atta (water chestnut flour) and lots of potatoes fried in different ways becomes a staple for most of the people. Some people eat nothing during the day and eat these fried savories and ghee laden halwa of nuts for dinner. That is very unhealthy and one should try to consume some fruits, smoothies, lassi and juices during the day and some steamed or shallow fried preparation for dinner. Fasting is meant to detoxify, not to overburden the system..

I had some requests for healthy fasting recipes and I bought the sama ka chawal and some kuttu ka atta. Even though we are not fasting it was not a bad idea to have some sama ke chawal ki idli.

Sama ka chawal is a wild grain and it has a mention in the history too (if the life and times of  Krishna is history and not folklore). Sudama the childhood friend of Krishna was carrying this grain Sama in his potli (cloth pouch) when he arrived at the kingdom of Krishna, not sure in his heart if Krishna would recognize him. And when Krishna hugged him he snatched his potli of sama and enjoyed eating this humble grain as Sudama was treated with the finest delicacies of the palace.

As I talked to my elders about this story of Sudama and Krishna, I am told it could have been Kodo (another millet, Paspalum scrobicilatum) or Sama (Barnyard millet or Echinochloa).

The procedure of making a steamed idli is very simple as many of us make rawa idi by soaking the rawa in curds for a while and steaming in the idli steamer.

Just soak a cup of sama grains in 1.5 cup of diluted curds or buttermilk with salt to taste for at least 3-4 hrs. The longer it is soaked the better is the taste and texture of the idli. After the soaking time you'll see the grains do not absorb all the liquid, unlike rawa which absorbs the buttermilk and a smooth batter is formed, that is all right for this grain as it is a tougher grain and the liquid will be absorbed during steaming...

the ingredients all in one place...
(for 5 medium sized idlis )

sama ke chawal 1 cup
diluted curds or whey (the remaining liquid after making paneer at home) 1.5 cup
salt to taste (rock salt or sendha namak is used during fasting )
ghee to grease the molds

procedure...

Soak the sama ke chawal in whey or buttermilk. Since I make this idly frequently, I took pictures with both.

Here is how it looks with whey...

And this is how it looks with buttermilk or diluted curds...

Now spoon in the batter into idli moulds (each portion including some of the soaking liquid too) and steam till a skewer comes out clean.

I steamed it in microwave using greased ceramic soup bowls. It works out neat for me as I need just two large idlis to be steamed for the both of us. One 100 ml sized idli needed 1.30 minutes to be cooked. It should be cooked covered.

You need to run a spoon or a knife around the steamed idli to ease it out of the bowl. Check out how I steam rawa idli in glass or ceramic bowls..here..

Serve hot with any chutney of your choice. I made a chutney with 2 ripe tomatoes steamed in the microwave, 2 tbsp of broken cashew nuts, salt and red chilly powder to taste.

You'd notice that the texture of sama grains stands out in this idli and it's amazing. It has a wonderful soft bite. Larger grain size makes it a little crumbly and it soaks the chutney like a sponge.

You have to try it to believe it...

Hoping to come back tomorrow with another vrat / fasting recipe ....cheers...