2023 is marked as the International Year Of Millets. India has planned to celebrate this year in a big way and multiple events are planned throughout the year. As the world celebrates the millet year, you too can celebrate it and the simplest way to do this is by including it in your tiffin’s!
We need tiffin meals to be quick to prepare and healthy as well. While we normally make upma, idlis or parathas that are perfect for tiffin, giving them a millet twist will ensure that we celebrate the millet year in style.
Who knows, your tasty millet meals might inspire a few more towards a healthy lifestyle!
What are millets?
Millets are a nutritious, small-seeded grass variety that is easy to cook, and very healthy. Millets like Sorghum, Pearl Millet, and Ragi, Small Millet, Foxtail Millet, Barnyard Millet, and Kodo millet are popular in India and they can be easily included in our daily meals.
Millets are gaining popularity around the world as they are a versatile gluten-free grain. It is a super food because it has all the essential vitamins and minerals present in them and India is one of the top producers of millets in the world. To make the most of this nutri-food that is practically available in our backyard, we have listed a few tiffin ideas.
Simple and delicious, healthy tiffin recipes using millets
1. Little Millet Stir Fry
Ingredients:
● ½ cup cooked little millet
● ½ cup chopped bell peppers
● ½ cup boiled peas
● 1 carrot chopped
● ½ Chopped French beans
● 1 cup boiled corn
● 1 onion, chopped
● 1 green chili
● 3-4 garlic minced
● Grated ginger
● 1 tbsp A2 ghee
● 2 teaspoons cumin powder
● 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
● 1 teaspoon coriander powder
● Salt to taste
● Lemon juice
● 3-4 pieces of paneer /tofu
● ½ spoon organic jaggery
● Coriander leaves
Method:
● Wash and soak the millet. Cook and keep it aside.
● Stir fry paneer/tofu.
● In a pan add some ghee and prepare tadka.
● Add garlic, ginger, and green chili and saute it well.
● Add the chopped vegetables, fried paneer/tofu and add the masala.
● Add jaggery, salt, and little lemon juice.
● Mix well and let it cook.
● Add cooked little millet and enjoy it for office lunch.
2. Jowar Idli Stir Fry:
Ingredients:
● Jowar Idli cooked using jowar idli mix
● 1 bell pepper chopped
● 1 carrot chopped
● 2 onion, chopped
● 1 green chili
● 2 spoon ketchup
● 2 spoon ginger garlic paste
● 1 tbsp A2 ghee
● 1 spoon soya sauce
● 1 spoon vinegar
● Salt to taste
● 1 cup diced / grated paneer /tofu
● ½ spoon organic jaggery
● Coriander leaves
● Grated coconut
● 1 cheese cube grated
Method:
1. Make Jowar idli using the jowar idli premix, let it cool, and cut them into small pieces.
2. In a pan heat ghee, add ginger garlic paste, veggies, paneer, sauces, and vinegar.
3. Once the veggies are sauteed, add idli pieces and mix well.
4. Garnish with coriander, grated cheese, and grated coconut, and enjoy delicious healthy idli fry.
Using the same recipe you try ragi chilli idli fry as well. To make ragi idli use ragi idli mix. You can also fry the idli to make it crispier.
You can mix and match millets with various ingredients. With the right way of cooking, millets can be turned into interesting fusion recipes. Making simple twists in regular recipes can make the food more appealing and delicious too!
A few simple tricks to include millets in your meals and make tiffin times interesting.
1. Replace the wheat roti with ragi, mix millet flour rotis.
2. You can carry idli sambhar, and replace traditional rice idli with jowar idli and ragi idli
3. Replace the evening junk snack with millet bars, jowar chivda
4. Replace rice with bajara, Kodo, or little millets porridge.
5. You can replace rava upma with millet upma which is very delicious and filling.
6. Replace rice pulao with millet pulao, and mix vegetable millet tawa pulao.
7. Replace curd rice with a little millet curd tadka.
8. Try a variety of recipes like lemon millet, millet noodles, millet pasta, millet chaat, millet bhel etc.
9. Make millet roti wrap with a filling of veggies.
10. Millet khichdi is quick to make and is nutrients dense.
Make a resolution this New Year to include millet in your daily meals and get healthy. Celebrate international year of millets with healthy and delicious meals!
