Millets have long been used as feed for birds and animals, but in recent years, after various studies brought its health benefits and nutritional value back to everyone’s attention, people have started including them in their diet too and for good reason too. Let’s see what is the perfect way to cook millets!

What are millets and what are the health benefits of millets?

They are small seed grasses and cereal crops, widely used in many African and Asian countries. In India, we have many famous millet recipes like bajre ki roti, bajre ki khichdi, ragi paniyaram, millet porridge etc. Millets are of various types like pearl millets (bajra), finger millets (ragi), etc.

Millets are gluten-free, making them great for weight loss. Being gluten-free also raises its demand among the diabetic patients. Studies have shown that millets are rich in dietary fiber and have high amounts of minerals like magnesium, phosphorus, iron, calcium, zinc and potassium make it an all-rounder and offer various health benefits like:

* Keeps diseases in check and provides ample nutrition
* Good for coronary diseases and improving heart health
* Effectively reduces blood pressure and risk of stroke and heart attacks
* Reduces the risk of diseases like atherosclerosis
* Helps in managing sugar levels in the body
* Helps in gastrointestinal problems
* Helps in detoxification

Rule number one to cook these grains into tasty and healthy millet recipes, is to first prepare soft and fluffy millets! Let’s know how to do that!

How to cook millets?

Step 1

Take millets in a bowl and rinse them 2-3 times. It is important to rub them between your fingers while washing.

Step 2

Soak the washed millets for 3-6 hours depending on the millet you are using. Sometimes, it’s best to soak millets overnight. Some millets like barnyard millet don’t need to be soaked for more than 30 minutes.

Step 3

Take a pan or pressure cooker and heat it on medium flame. Once hot, add 3 times the water as compared to millets along with some salt.

Step 4

Once almost all the water is absorbed and only a little is left, cover the pan and cook the millets on low flame until soft and fluffy.

Step 5

Once done, turn off the heat and fluff them up with a fork. Let it cool down and use it to make any of the millet recipes you like!