Bajra Porridge (Kambu Kanji)
During hot summer days we prefer to have porridge, malt or kanji for breakfast. Most of the time it will be ragi malt or my health mix porridge. This bajra porridge is one dish which we make often because it is filling, healthy and cools our body during hot summer days.
About Bajra Porridge
Bajra also known as pearl millet in english is a healthy grain which falls in the millet category. The grain is grown in large in Africa, India and other parts of the world. Including the nutritional grain in our daily diet is beneficial in so many levels. We use them often in our meals in the form of Dosa, Rava Dosa, Kambu sadham & Pearl millet puttu. For my sweet cravings, I have even made kozhukattai (millet dumplings) and Millet cake. These recipes might take a bit of time to make. But if you want to get the nutritional benefits of pearl millet easily. Then this breakfast is your choice.
Convenience of Bajra Flour
Most of the time I have a pack of readymade bajra flour in my pantry to whip up quick breakfast like my instant pearl millet dosa which hardly takes 5 minutes to make. If I have powdered bajra on hand, I can add it to roti dough, my cake batter and many other. This particular recipe also uses bajra flour (pearl millet flour). You can make your own flour by washing whole millets, drying it under sun, roasting on a dry pan and then grinding it in a blender jar or giving it to the mill for fine grounds. But I stick to the easy method of getting a packet from the store.
Salty Bajra Porridge for Breakfast
If you are not into sweet porridge for breakfast, I strongly recommend you to try this salty version. You can adapt it as per your taste and preference. Some of the variations you can make is.
Add finely chopped vegetable like carrots, green chillies for some crunch. Mix it the day before and leave it to ferment for more nutrition. You can add a handful of cooked rice for texture.
Sweet Bajra Porridge Recipe for Breakfast
My kids and myself prefer it sweet. You can modify sweet porridge in many different ways. Sharing some of my preferred variations.
You can use honey or maple syrup for sweetener. For vegan & dairy free - use coconut milk, almond milk or any dairy free milk. You can add chia seeds in this as you cook and it will plump up. Make this porridge a day ahead, store in fridge and serve cold the next day. Powdered flax seeds can be added to increase the omega-3 & dietary fibre.
How to Cook Bajra Porridge
1)Take ½ cup worth of bajra flour in a sauce pan or pot. You can use homemade or store bought. Store bought bajra is usually pre-roasted. If your bajra flour is not roasted, you can roast them for couple of minutes in a dry pan. 2)For ½ cup bajra flour. I am using 1.5 cups of water. This totally depends on how thick or thin you want the porridge to be. 3)Use a hand whisk to mix it till smooth before putting this on heat. This ensures that your porridge is lump-free. 4)Now place the pot on heat and cook for 5 to 8 minutes till the bajra thickens. Keep mixing nonstop else the mixture may clump up. 5)After 8 minutes or so the bajra is cooked completely and the mixture is thickened.
How to Make Salty Bajra Porridge
6)Once the bajra porridge is cooked. It is your choice to turn it into sweet or salty. Cool it completely to make salty version, once cooled add some salt. 7)Pour in sour buttermilk. if you don’t have buttermilk on hand. Take ½ cup sour curd and mix with ½ cup water. Add this mixture into the cooled bajra porridge. 8)Mix this really well to smooth texture. 9)Now make a tempering. Heat 1 tbsp of coconut oil. Add in mustard seeds and let them sizzle. Add in a pinch of asafoetida, 1 finely chopped green chillies and a sprig of curry leaves. Let them sizzle for a minute. 10)Pour this into the bajra porridge. 11) I added some finely chopped shallots or onion for texture. 12)Salty bajra porridge is ready to serve. Serve cold.
How to Make Sweet Bajra Porridge
13)For sweet bajra porridge. To the hot cooked bajra mixture, add in powdered jaggery to taste. 14)Since the mixture is hot, the jaggery will melt immediately. 15)Pour in milk to thin the porridge. You can adjust the quantity to your liking. 16)Sometimes I use chopped nuts, a pinch of cardamom powder. 17)Sweet bajra porridge is ready to serve.
More Porridge Recipes to Try for Summer
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