Easy Basic Millet Recipe and Variations

How to Cook Millet: Video, Nutrition, Facts, Tips, Serving Suggestions

How to Cook Millet: Millet is prepared like rice, and takes 20 - 25 minutes to cook. You can also cook millet in a rice cooker or pressure cooker.

Cooked millet looks a bit like quinoa, but has smaller grains. Toasted millet cooks up dry and fluffy, and plain millet is a little softer.

Cooked with more liquid, for a longer time, millet becomes very soft, like a porridge. We double this basic millet recipe and freeze cooked millet in small containers for adding to soups and stews, millet chickpea patties, or breakfast cereal.

Nutrition Data, 1 cup cooked millet, 174g: 207 cal, 41g carb, 2g fat, 6g protein, 2g fiber, 0g sugars, good source manganese, tryptophan, magnesium, phosphorus, phytonutrients. Low saturated fat and cholesterol. Estimated glycemic load 21.

Basic Millet Recipe:

Prep & Cook Time: 5 minutes prep, 20 - 25 minutes cook time

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 cup millet
• 2 1/4 cups cold water
• For toasted millet variation, use 2 1/2 cups boiling water
• For pressure cooker variation, use 1 3/4 cups cold water
• For rice cooker variation, use 2 cups cold water
• 1/4 tsp salt

Directions:

You'll need a 2 quart pot with a tight fitting lid, and a fine mesh strainer

Double the recipe if you want to have leftover millet for another meal or two - you'll need a 4 quart pot to make double the amount of millet.

1. Rinse Millet: Add cold water, stir the millet with your hand, and pour off the rinsing water through a fine mesh strainer.
2. Transfer drained millet to the cooking pot, add 2 cups water & 1/4 tsp salt if desired.
3. No salt will make millet softer, a little salt will make it firmer.
4. Bring water to a boil, add millet, bring back to a boil, then cover and reduce heat to simmer.
5. Cook millet for 20 minutes
6. Remove millet from heat and allow to sit five minutes with the lid on
7. Fluff millet gently with a fork and serve
8. Millet is delicious served with soups and stews or with sauced vegetables. See below for suggestions.

Toasted Millet Directions:

1. Toast the millet in a dry saute pan on medium heat, stirring all the while, until light brown and fragrant. If the grains start to pop, reduce the heat.
2. Add 1/4 tsp salt, then 2 1/2 cups boiling water while stirring
3. Cover the pot, reduce heat to simmer, and cook for 20 minutes
4. Remove heat and let stand for 5 minutes

Pressure Cooker Directions:

1. 1 cup millet to 1 3/4 cups water
2. Rinse millet, add to pressure cooker with water and 1/4 tsp salt if desired
3. Lock lid on high pressure setting. Bring up to pressure, reduce heat to simmer, cook on high pressure for 10 minutes.
4. When pressure has come down, open lid and fluff the millet with a fork to release steam

Rice Cooker Directions:

1. 1 cup millet to 2 cups water
2. Rinse millet, add to rice cooker with water and 1/4 tsp salt if desired
3. Turn on cooker, and allow millet to sit for 5 - 10 minutes after the cooker turns off

What To Do With Cooked Millet:

When I cook millet I always make a double batch. It's always great to have on hand in the fridge or freezer for recipes like millet chickpea patties or millet mung dhal veggie stew

Substitute millet in any recipe for couscous or rice or quinoa

Substitute Cooked Millet in These Recipes:

Breakfast Quinoa Quinoa Burgers Quinoa Salad Quinoa Veggie Stir Fry

Millet Facts:

Millet is inexpensive - 1/5 the price of quinoa - and can stand in for other whole grains in any recipe.

Millet is an ancient grain, with many varieties, which grows well almost anywhere, and has long been a staple food in India, China and parts of Asia. Only in N. America is millet viewed as bird seed or hippy food.

Millet Nutrition: Millet is high in fiber, has plenty of protein, vitamins, minerals, and is considered alkaline, allergy friendly, and low glycemic. Millet is easy to digest, and has a pre-biotic effect. It has a mild neutral taste, and makes a good base flour for gluten free breads.

Millet Storage: Like any other whole grain, raw millet is best stored in a cool dry place, such as your fridge. Cooked millet can be stored in the fridge for a few days, or in the freezer for up to 1 month.

Is Millet a Grain? Yes, unlike quinoa, millet is a true grain.

Is There More Than One Kind of Millet? There are several varieties of millet commonly grown in other countries - such as pearl millet and foxtail millet. Here in N. America, only the light yellow pogo millet is available, and most of that is marketed as bird seed. But it's very good for humans too! Sometimes other varieties of millet or millet flour can be found in ethnic grocers or online.

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