Of the millets my parents gave me, samai (Little millet in English, Kutki in Hindi, Sama in telugu, Same in Kannada, Chama in Malayalam) is the last one to try. One day I was craving to have pongal, but wanted to try with millets. So tried my hands with samai. It came out really superb. I used to make our regular pongal this way, i.e; temper directly in pressure cooker and cook all together for pongal – my mom’s way. Its been a long time since I made this way. My mom never adds turmeric anyways. But I added. If you want to replace rice in your diet, this is one of the best option to make pongal. You hardly will know its not rice.
Samai/ Little millet pongal recipe
Recipe Cuisine: Indian | Recipe Category: Breakfast
Prep Time: 5 mins | Cook time: 20 mins | Serves: 2
Prep Time: 5 mins | Cook time: 20 mins | Serves: 2
Ingredients
Samai / Little millet – 1/2 cup
Moong dal / Payatham paruppu – 2 tblsp
Ginger – 1/2 inch piece, crushed
Turmeric – 1/8 tsp
Ghee – As needed
Moong dal / Payatham paruppu – 2 tblsp
Ginger – 1/2 inch piece, crushed
Turmeric – 1/8 tsp
Ghee – As needed
To temper
Ghee – 2 tsp
Pepper (Black whole pepper) – 1 tsp
Jeera – 3/4 tsp
Green chilli – 1
Curry leaves – 1 sprig
Asafoetida/ Hing – A pinch
Pepper (Black whole pepper) – 1 tsp
Jeera – 3/4 tsp
Green chilli – 1
Curry leaves – 1 sprig
Asafoetida/ Hing – A pinch
Method
- Heat a small pressure cooker with ghee, first pop pepper, add jeera the other ingredients together (green chilli slit) and give a stir. Add ginger, moong dal and fry for a minute. Wash samai, add it into the cooker. Mix well.
- Add 2 cups water, salt and mix well. Bring to boil and close the cooker, give 4 whistles in medium flame. Once done, let the pressure release by itself. Open and mash well.
Notes
- For 1/2 cup samai, 2 cups water is perfect, so do not hesitate to add.
- If its too dry, mix 1/8 cup hot water and mix.
Serve hot with ghee topped if desired, with sambar and coconut chutney.
Sindhujabalaji
September 19, 2014 at 5:25 amHappily finish tat full bowl….thnx for sharing
Kurinji
September 19, 2014 at 7:34 amhealthy pongal…looks yum…
MANE ADIGE
September 19, 2014 at 2:34 pmhi is it the same as rajgira.if not can i try with rajgira ?..want to try this..really your family is blessed..you keep teaching us more and more healthy yummy recipes.
bagirathidevi senthilkumar
September 19, 2014 at 3:03 pmIt's tempting
Thava
September 23, 2014 at 10:02 amNice one. Can you please post recipes using cholam
Kanniammal Viswanathan
July 21, 2015 at 4:31 amLovely raks tempting tempting tempting ….tomorrow breakfast decided
Leelavathy
August 5, 2015 at 5:38 pmGoing to try this tomorrow.
Nagarathinam Vijay
November 29, 2015 at 9:05 amTried this today..came out best…all of us loved d flavour…thnx…
bhuvana
January 13, 2019 at 4:49 amDo we have to soak the little millet overnight?
Raks Kitchen
January 13, 2019 at 11:44 amDehusked millet is just like rice. No need to soak
Sethu
May 21, 2019 at 11:57 amMade samai pongal for breakfast today by following your recipe. It turned out excellent. The proportions and cooking time are perfect. Thanks for another terrific recope
Raks Anand
May 21, 2019 at 12:22 pmThanks a lot for your feedback 🙂