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Cooking millet the savory way?

By Carrie Floyd
June 10, 2008

It’s almost funny how much millet I’m eating these days. Funny, because prior to the The Whole-Grain Challenge the millet in our pantry wasn’t getting any younger. In the past, my attempts at cooking millet yielded pots of mush that recall orphanage porridges of English storybooks: Neither attractive nor tasty, pushed around the plate even by the adults.

puffed millet
Puffed millet makes a ‘weird but good’ confection.

But the millet I’ve been eating lately has not been cooked in a pot of water; it’s been stirred into cookies and shaped into confections. The latter I made from Lorna Sass’s book Whole Grains Every Day, Every Way: In a large bowl, measure out two cups of puffed millet (look for this in the cereal section at the store; see photo), and a half cup each of currants and sunflower seeds. Melt eight ounces of good chocolate (bittersweet or milk), pour the chocolate over the millet mix, and stir until well coated. Shape into cookie-like confections and place on a large foil-covered baking sheet; cool in either the freezer or refrigerator until the chocolate hardens; serve cold.

“Weird, but good” was the consensus. They reminded me of the cocoa haystacks my mom used to make, albeit chewier.

The remaining two cups of raw millet in my pantry I vow to cook without sugar, but I could use some help with this. Do you have a recipe or favorite way to prepare millet?

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1. by cynlair on Jun 10, 2008 at 3:46 PM PDT

Hi! In my book Feeding the Whole Family I have two millet recipes (a whole grain I also find challenging) that I really like. One is cooking millet as a breakfast mush. Cook it with sliced apples or peaches and use part juice for the liquid (the other part water). Top the cereal with a bit of butter and apple butter and it’s real good. I also find that millet, because of its sticky nature, forms nicely into croquettes that can be fried. This is very good, especially with a sauce on top.
Cynthia Lair

2. by Kim on Jun 10, 2008 at 8:46 PM PDT

Inspired by your plea, we decided to try Millet, Corn, and Red Pepper Pilaf from Jack Bishop’s book A Year in a Vegetarian Kitchen. Not bad! We’ll definitely make it again.

3. by Mallory on Jun 11, 2008 at 10:44 AM PDT

These mediterranean burgers have millet in them, and are delicious. Definitely don’t skip the olive ketchup (the recipe is linked at the bottom of the page under “related recipes”

4. by scavalie on Jun 11, 2008 at 1:05 PM PDT

Mark Bittman, to whom I refer fondly as my Uncle Mark, has in his new vegetarian cookbook a really nice millet crust recipe in it. He suggests using it to bake a bean pie, which I found okay if a little mushy in texture. However, the crust itself was pretty nice and I thought would be good with a quiche-type filling, heavy on vegetables and light on eggs. Basically, press cooked millet into a greased tart pan. Fill with something yummy and bake, I can’t remember how long. It was a nice use for millet.

5. by carrie on Jun 11, 2008 at 3:04 PM PDT

Thanks everyone for the suggestions, and I’ve heard of a couple more: Sweet potato soup with Indian spices and millet pureed into the mix, and a millet loaf served with a mushroom gravy. I see a trend here — make the most of its stickiness when preparing millet. Keep the ideas coming!

6. by kkent on Jun 11, 2008 at 6:06 PM PDT

I use a combination of millet, quinoa and barley for a 3 grain tabouleh. I make a citrus dressing with orange, lemon, mint, & ginger, Add jicama, scallion, carrots, chickpeas etc....
Also use millet in a stuffing for delicata squash, portabella mushrooms, tomatoes etc... with sauteed shallots, asiago cheese & herbs.
When I use millet I usually cook it al dente and immediately rinse it in cold water, it is fluffy and slightly toothsome, not sticky.

7. by maggiediva on Jun 16, 2008 at 7:47 AM PDT

Sorry. No savory millet help from me.

But I did make those cookie/candy things you mentioned.

They were so good.

8. by anonymous on Jul 5, 2008 at 7:51 PM PDT

I have not had problems with millet being sticky, but perhaps that’s because I am cooking it at a high altitude. Typically I toast a cup of millet first (about 5 minutes in a dry pan on med-hi heat) then add 1 3/4 cup water, cover, and boil for 20-25 minutes. Meanwhile, saute a combination of vegetables (beans, corn, peas, peppers, etc, and currants too) with a touch of cumin and pinch of cinnamon. When vegetable mixture is heated, mix in with millet for a tasty pilaf.

Good Luck! I’ll be trying your cookie confections too!

9. by Ina on Jul 21, 2008 at 12:42 AM PDT

I cooked millet before with a ratio of 1 part millet to 2 parts work. I find it a little bit dry. But I haven’t tried it more liquid as I’m afraid that it would turn mushy. I’m using Arrowhead Mills brand.

10. by Ina on Jul 21, 2008 at 12:43 AM PDT

Sorry, that’s supposed to be water, not work.

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