Celebrate Independence Day with this tri-colour millet idli. (Source: Shalini Rajani) Majority of people start using millet only when they are diagnosed with some health condition. They start with a burden in their head and heart. Without proper understanding of cooking with millets, they end up with either bloating, acidity, constipation or miscellaneous gut issues. In the end, millets either sound like a job list or a mandatory medicine. Where is the freedom to enjoy your millet journey?
In all these years of my millet coaching, one thing I have been stressing upon is ‘Millets are Fun’ and they are for everyone. Here is an easy play of natural colours I enjoyed doing for Independence Day today. I have clubbed these tri-colour Idlis made of Little Millet with three kinds of dips. You can check the recipe for dips here.
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Little millet tri-colour idlis:
Ingredients (for 20 idlis)
*1 cup Little Millet
*½ cup Urad Dal (Split black gram)
*2 tsp Fenugreek seeds
*Pink Salt to taste
*4 tbsp Steamed Spinach puree
*2 tbsp Steamed Raw Turmeric (grated)
Method
1. Thoroughly wash millet and dal, and soak for 6-8 hours separately.
2. Soak methi seeds in a separate bowl.
3. Once soaked, blend millet, dal and methi seeds together in a mixer into a fine batter. Add water adequately.
4. Allow the batter to ferment for the next 8-10 hours. Make sure you keep it covered and undisturbed in a cool dark place.
5. Once the batter is nicely fermented, add salt and divide it into 3 equal parts. To one part add steamed and pureed spinach. To the second part add steamed and grated raw turmeric. And leave the third part as it is.
6. Refer to the video attached for different ways of pouring the batter. These ideas will make your idlis look extremely beautiful post steaming. One could use food colours for brighter results but I was happy with the natural colours of turmeric and spinach.
7. Steam idlis for a good 12-15 minutes on high flame. Keep it on low flame for the next 3-4 minutes and then turn the flame off.
8. Take them out of the steamer but de-mould only once they are cooled and are easy to handle.
9. Once cooled, de-mould and serve with tri-colour dips.
10. Serve fresh and enjoy the freedom of using millets in your everyday food. Happy Independence Day to all.
(Shalini Rajani is the founder of Crazy Kadchi and holds innovative Millets Cooking Workshops for all age groups)
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