New to cooking millets? Here’s a primer to get you started with an easy one: Foxtail Millet (kangni in Hindi).

Before the how-to-cook instructions, an introduction to Foxtail Millet.

What is foxtail millet?

Foxtail millet is a tiny seed (~1mm in diameter), light yellow in color. From a distance, a bowl of foxtail millet might pass for yellow mustard seeds.

Foxtail millet cooks quickly and gets digested easily. It is usually consumed as an alternative to rice.

How does foxtail millet stack up against rice? Foxtail millet is more fibrous and has a higher mineral content than rice. It might also be harder to acquire a taste for. The first time I cooked foxtail millet, I did it the way I do the basic rice – boiled in plain water, unsalted, served with dal and vegetables. It didn’t exactly have me in raptures. After a few trials, I started going for a few hacks that make this nutritious grain seed pretty appetizing:

This article lays out the steps to help you cook foxtail millet in its simplest form. Once you have mastered the basics, feel free to experiment with (and share!) more elaborate millet recipes.

You Need:

[Serves 3-4]

• Foxtail millet – 1 cup [buy on Amazon]
• Water – 2.5 cups for boiling + more for washing/soaking
• Salt – to taste
• Ghee – 1 teaspoon (optional) [buy on Amazon]

Equipment:

• Thick-bottomed pan, for boiling the millet [buy on Amazon]
• Fine mesh strainer, for draining out the water while washing the millet. [buy on Amazon] I don’t use a strainer for rice but I feel a need for it with millets. Foxtail millet seeds are tiny and without a strainer, I end up draining out some of the millet too while washing, which I’d rather not.

The links above are amazon.com affiliate links. The Steaming Pot will earn a small commission if you buy via the links, at no additional cost to you.

How To Cook Foxtail Millet:

1. Wash the millet

[Do this at least an hour before you plan to cook] Take a cup of foxtail millet in a pan. Fill the pan with 3-4 cups of water. Move your fingers around in the water, stirring up the millet beads. You’ll see the water get muddy.

Drain this water out using a fine mesh strainer. Put back the millet seeds that fell into the strainer back in the pan.

Fill the pan with water once again. Repeat the wash-rinse-drain routine a few times till the water runs clear.

Be warned: the washing of millets (at least the kind available in India) takes more work than the washing of rice. It will take 5-6 cycles to get the water clear.

2. Soak the millet

Soak foxtail millet in 3 cups of water for at least an hour.

Carefully pour the soaking water using a fine mesh strainer.

3. Boil the millet

In a thick-bottomed pan with lid, place the washed and soaked millet with 2.5 cups of water and a quarter-teaspoon of salt (adjust to taste).

Bring the water to a boil on high heat.

Set the heat to low and simmer.

During the first 5-6 minutes of low-heat simmering, alternate between keeping the pan covered and uncovered – place the lid on until the boiling millet water bubbles up and threatens to flow out of the pan.

Take the lid off when that happens and let the bubbling water subside.

Drizzle some ghee into the cooking millet and give the pan a gentle swirl. Continue to cook on low heat covered, till all the water has evaporated and the millet is done.

The total cooking time is ~15 minutes.

You will know that your millet is cooked through when the seeds soften and swell up (1 cup of dry foxtail millet would give > 3 cups of cooked foxtail millet) and the closed pan emits gentle rustling-crackling sounds (this indicates that the water has dried up).

4. Stand and fluff

Let the boiled millet rest for 7-8 minutes with the pan’s lid on.

Uncover the pan and fluff the millet with a fork. Do NOT use a heavy hand when doing this – we want the millet beads to retain shape.

Cover the pan again and rest for another 5 minutes.

Foxtail millet is ready to serve. Drizzle some extra ghee over the cooked millet if you like.

Serve millet with dal, curry and chutney/pickle.

Or set the boiled millet aside for stir-frying with vegetables.

Notes:

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Other gluten-free grains/flour you might be interested in: finger millet (ragi), sabudana, sattu.

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