Millets can be used to make upma, dosa, idli, vada, bajjis/pakoras, murrukus/chakkli, nipatlu, pongal, mudda (dumpling), khichdi, pulav/biryani, kheer/payasam, baked products such as bread and biscuits, or just boiled as rice. It can be easily substituted for rice and wheat. Amma makes idli, dosa, pongal, payasam and what not… with these millets as its easily available in India. I’ve already posted pongal recipe, idli/ dosa recipes using millets. Today we will be seeing how to make simple Samai Sambar Sadam ….
There are few types of Millets to name.. Samai, Varagu, Thinai & Kuthiraivali and they all have their own taste, texture & health benefits. They can suit to any type of preparations… sweet or savory but just the taste & texture varies. Any millet for that matter has a nutty taste something similar to corn. It is really hard to get millets here in USA, happen to see show up this month in my local Indian grocery store and immediately grabbed a few packs. There are few online stores which do sell but way too expensive, my mom use send a parcel once in while from India which always includes a few of these gems!
saamai arisi, millet recipes, enga veetu samayal, tamil food, tamil samayal, tamil nadu food, healthy recipes, little millet recipes, how to cook millets, south indian siru dhanyam recipes, millets in USA, tamizh samayal, சாமை அரிசி சமையல்
| English | Tamil | Telugu | Hindi | Kannada | Malayalam |
| Little Millet | Saamai/ Samai | Sama | Kutki | Saame | Chama |
Some millet recipes to try from our page…
- Varagu Idli Dosa
- Samai Idli Dosa
- Millet Sakkarai Pongal
- Varagu Ven Pongal
| Ingredients | |
| Samai Arisi (Little Millet) | 1 cup |
| Toor dal | 1/2 cup |
| Water | 5 cups |
| Ingredients | |
| Mixed vegetables (Carrots, drumstick, broad beans, green peas, brinjal is what i used) | 2 cups |
| Onion (I’ve used few small sambar onions) | 1 cup |
| Tomato | 1/2 cup |
| Water (to cook veggies) | 1/4 cup |
| Turmeric powder | 1/4 teaspoon |
| Red chili powder | 1 teaspoon |
| Coriander powder | 2 teaspoon |
| Bisibelebath powder (MTR brand) | 1/2 teaspoon |
| Salt | 1 & 1/2 teaspoon |
| Tamarind extract (marble size soaked in water) | 2 tablespoons |
| Dry red chili | 2 |
| Mustard seeds | 1/2 teaspoon |
| Cumin seeds | 1/2 teaspoon |
| Fenugreek seeds | 1/4 teaspoon |
| Asafoetida powder | 1/4 teaspoon |
| Curry leaves | 6 leaves |
| Coriander leaves | 2 tablespoons (for garnish) |
| Oil | 2 tablespoons |
| Ghee | 1 teaspoon |
| Water ( for cooking the sadam) | 1 cup |
Lets make this Samai Sambar Sadam
Wash and soak millet and tood dal for 30 to 45 minutes. Chop all the veggies and keep them ready. Soak tamarind in water and get the extract.
Place the samai millet and toor dal in a pressure cooker insert pan along with 5 cups of water and pressure cook for 5 whitsles.
Once done, it might look like this and keep it aside while you work on the sambar.
Lets get the tempering done
Heat oil in a pan and temper with mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds, cumin seeds, dry red chili, curry leaves and little asafoetida.
Add in chopped onion and saute well till translucent.
Throw in all the veggies and chopped tomatoes. Saute over high flame for few minutes.
Sprinkle some water, cover and cook for 15 minutes over low flame. (Alternately you may use a pressure cooker to cook all these to save time. Some veggies like drum stick may take longer to cook. Make sure to cook the veggies before hoping to next step)
Once the veggies cook tender but firm, add in turmeric powder, coriander powder, red chili powder, salt and tamarind extract. Saute for few minutes.
Add in Sambar powder… or bisibelebath powder. (I have used MTR brand powder)
Add in cooked samai millet and dal to this veggie mixture.
Add in 1 cup of water to this and cook for few minutes to make the millet blend well with the sambar.
Once the mixture thickens to desired consistency, garnish with chopped coriander leaves and add in a teaspoon of ghee and switch off!
Notes
- Serves 4 to 5
- The entire process can be done as a one pot dish but i have made into steps to keep the veggies in their shape. You may also use a pressure cooker to cook the veggies and then pressure it along with cooked samai dal mixture for another 1 whistle.
- Ghee will definitely make it much more tasty, so do add it at the end.
- Tender veggies normally cook in 15 minutes, drumstick may take a little longer… in that case you cook it separately and add it along with the water in which it was cooked. Always slightly scrape the outer thick skin of the drumstick, it may cook a little faster.