How to cook Varagarisi or Kodo Millet ?

Most of us have started including millets in our weekly menu. I have already posted on the usage of millets and caution you should take to avoid over-usage of millets. Taking a millet three or four times a week is really a good habit and we can do it without any question. Read this post to know more about including millets in right quantity.

Kodo millet is known as varagarisi in tamil. From the name itself you would have got an idea that it is resembles rice in some aspect. It controls constipation and regulates a good bowel movement. It lowers cholesterol. It improves digestion. It has more antioxidants. It is really diabetic friendly millet. It has minerals like magnesium, calcium and iron. It has vitamin B too. Because of this much health benefits, many doctors recommend using it. But one thing you should note. Don't overuse it.

Whenever I speak about this millet and have said that it resembles rice, many have asked me how to cook this millet. For them I am drafting this post. In this post, I am going to tell how to cook this millet. You have 2 choices. You can cook in a open pot. You can pressure cook it. If you are going to use this millet for making curd rice, pongal or bisibelabath, you should choose the pressure cooker method. I will explain it in future. If you are going to use this millet for making pulav, coconut rice, lemon rice, tomato rice or simply to have it with any kind of kuzhambu, you should opt for open pot cooking method. That is the best way in fact.

Other topics on Cooking Basics
How to cook Red Rice or Kerala Matta Rice
How to make cook Brown Rice ?
How to make soft Chapathis ?
How to make make Moong Dal Sprouts ?
How to make cook Kudampuli Juice for WEIGHT LOSS ?

How to cook Varagarisi or Kodo Millet | Millet Recipes

Prep Time : 5 mins	Cooking Time: 20 mins
Yield: 2 cups	Serving Size: 3/4 cup	Calories per Serving: 200

Ingredients

• Varagarisi or Kodo Millet - 1 cup
• Water - 2 and half cups
• salt - as per taste

Quick Procedure

• Wash kodo millet once or twice. Thats enough. Drain water.
• Use a heavy bottomed vessel to boil water. You may add salt now.
• Add washed and drained kodo millet. Let it boil. No need to cover as of now.
• Once the content in the vessel starts getting thicker, mix it well and half cover it. The bubbles will throw out themselves. That is the reason for half covering.
• Give a good mix often. Just to avoid itself getting burnt at the bottom. Continue till you get it soft. You can sprinkle some water, if you find water is too less.
• Finally it will get cooked.
• Transfer it to a plate. Spread it well. Let it get cooled down.
• Once it is cooled, separate with hands and you will get the millets attain rice like structure.

Step-wise Pictures

See, this is kodo millet. This is how it looks like.

I am using an unpolished one.

Wash kodo millet once or twice. Thats enough. Drain water.

Use a heavy bottomed vessel to boil water. You may add salt now.

Add washed and drained kodo millet. Let it boil. No need to cover as of now.

Once the content in the vessel starts getting thicker, mix it well and half cover it. The bubbles will throw out themselves. That is the reason for half covering.

Give a good mix often. Just to avoid itself getting burnt at the bottom. Continue till you get it soft. You can sprinkle some water, if you find water is too less.

Finally it will get cooked.

Transfer it to a plate. Spread it well. Let it get cooled down.

Once it is cooled, separate with hands and you will get the millets attain rice like structure.