It seems that the time has come when you have to learn how to make porridge, which has been the basis of Russian cuisine for hundreds of years. Rice, buckwheat and semolina still firmly hold the consumer market, and are present in our diet as the main types of cereals. Undeservedly forgotten millet porridge is now in demand mostly among fishermen who use it for feeding fish to get a rich catch, or farmers who grow chickens.
Millet is one of the first crops that people have learned to cultivate. Despite the fact that Ancient China is considered the birthplace of millet, millet porridge was one of the main dishes of Russian cuisine in the pre-Christian period. The huge choice of products and dishes that we have today, given the modern informational and technical capabilities of world cuisine, is no reason to refuse the time-tested, simple and healthy dishes of millet groats.
How to cook millet in water: about the benefits of the product
Porridge from any cereal - a hearty and full breakfast, quickly and permanently saturating the body. This is facilitated by vegetable protein, which is also contained in millet, which is quickly and easily absorbed by the body, without being transformed into fat deposits in problem areas of the body. In addition to vitamins of group B and PP, essential amino acids that play an important role in the body, millet contains magnesium, iodine, bromine, phosphorus, potassium, and zinc.
Millet is considered the best product for building muscle. Since ancient times, folk healers have used millet porridge in the fight against diabetes, edema, atherosclerosis, and liver diseases. It is proved that millet helps the body weakened by diseases to cope with the removal of antibiotics, toxins.
However, there are some limitations in the use of millet porridge for people with low acidity of gastric juice and in the presence of hypothyroidism (thyroid disease).
How to cook millet in water: choose cereals
Without high-quality cereal good porridge can not cook. This, first of all, refers to millet. But in order to make the right choice, you need to know what requirements are imposed on the quality of the wheat, and what kind of porridge you are going to cook, crumbly or “mash”.
Millet - polished millet kernel. Depending on the quality and method of cleaning the kernel, the croup has a light or bright yellow color. Millet polish, freeing the solid yellow core from the surface of the powdery layer. It is this layer that contains oils, giving millet grain a characteristic taste and some bitterness. Yellow millet kernels have a solid texture and they make a delicious crumbly porridge. For porridge viscous consistency crushed millet, which is crushed millet kernels. Millet of higher, first and second grade enters the trading network. Millet of the highest grade should contain 99.2% of sound solid kernels. Accordingly, the first and second grade of cereals - 98.7% and 98%.
It is useful to know that millet, which is poorly cleaned from the superficial powdery layer that contains oils, has a short shelf life. The fat-containing shell acquires bitterness, even with short storage, which reduces the taste qualities of millet porridge.
Packed millet cereal is better to buy in a transparent package, be sure to pay attention to the date of manufacture. Pay attention to the moisture content of cereals, which should not exceed 14%.
High-quality millet is half the success in preparing tasty and healthy porridge.
How to cook millet on water - the basic technological principles
In our time, the profession of a cook is a rarity. Sometimes cooks are called cooks. But the cook is a profession of a wider specialization, involving the ability to cook any kind of dishes, unlike the cook, who knew all the subtleties of cooking porridge from any cereal and was only responsible for this work. But the invaluable experience in the preparation of porridge is still preserved, and the millet porridge still occupies an honorable place in the menu of the Cossack cuisine. After the best millet is chosen, proceed to the preparation of millet. The main secret of the most delicious porridge is washing the cereal and preparing for the direct preparation of the dish.
The remains of the amniotic film on the already cleaned millet kernels are still there. Therefore, the millet should be thoroughly washed, because it is powdery dust that accidentally gets into the mess, can spoil it with its bitterness.
How to wash? Some recommend washing the millet in seven waters, apparently following the recommendations of vintage cookbooks written at the time when water was collected from the well with buckets. In such recommendations, you should pay attention only to the fact that you need to wash the millet grain with special care until the water flowing through the sieve is completely transparent.
The second moment, which also should not go unnoticed: it is recommended to wash the millet with hot water, to steam after washing. Having thought about it, it is easy to understand that in the process of steaming, the same effect is obtained - the jadrian gets warm in both cases in order to get rid of bitterness. Therefore, it is enough to choose one of the listed actions: either rinsing with hot water or steaming (in a dry heated pan).
Millet is boiled down quite quickly, so after steaming it in a frying pan, throwing it into boiling water, you need to cook for no more than five minutes. In the water before boiling it is better to add salt.
The next point, that needs attention is the ratio of water to cereal. In fact, the volume of water required for cooking millet is important only with special methods of heat treatment.
For example,, if porridge is prepared in portioned ceramic pots in the oven, then the amount of added water must be counted on: 2 parts of water should be added to one part of millet. If the cereal is pre-steamed, then it is better to reduce the amount of water to get a crumbly porridge. When added to the ingredients of pumpkin, apples or other ingredients containing a significant amount of juice, the amount of water should be reduced proportionally. According to the advice of the famous Russian cuisine researcher Pokhlebkin V.V., millet can be boiled in a large amount of water, such as pasta, and then the water can be drained and added oil and other components according to the recipe.
How to cook millet in water: chemistry and physics of good taste
To make porridge crumbly, bring it to half-ready, add butter: fat envelops the grains, preventing them from sticking together. That is, initially, during cooking, the water is absorbed by the grain, but the millet is still solid, not swollen. At the stage of semi-preparedness, the added fat envelops the core, repels water outside, and the grain of millet absorbs it in a smaller amount, while maintaining its density and elasticity. Next you need to remove the porridge from the heat and let it “reach” to readiness on its own. This method of preparation involves the strictly metered use of water for cooking porridge, since it is wasteful to drain excess water with oil dissolved in it.
So, revive the traditions of Russian cuisine? Try to make millet porridge according to one of the suggested recipes, to be sure of its unsurpassed taste, nourishment and benefits.
Recipe 1. Porridge, millet with mushrooms in the pots in the oven
Ingredients:
- Mushrooms, boiled 400 g
- Onions 200 g
- Carrots 120g
- Spices to taste.
- Sour cream (25%) 150 g
- Millet 150 g
- Water 250 ml
- Salt
- Dill leaves 50 g
- Butter, sweet cream 75 g
Preparation Method:
Chop the pre-boiled mushrooms finely. Peeling and washing carrots and onions, chop and passse in butter together with mushrooms in a heated stewpan. Add spices, sour cream, salt.
Lay the washed and steamed millet in portion pots, add cold boiled water to each pot so that it barely covers the cereal. Top with mushrooms stewed in sour cream. Cover the pots with lids or foil, put on a baking sheet and send to the oven, preheated to 170C. After 10 minutes, turn off the oven, but leave the pots in it for another 20 minutes. Before serving the millet porridge with mushrooms, put the pots on the plates, remove the lids and sprinkle the dish with fresh chopped greens. Similarly, you can cook millet porridge, adding to the mushrooms smoked sausages, poultry meat.
Recipe 2. How to cook millet on water for children
Millet porridge is useful for children to eat, but they are often naughty, preferring sweets to any healthy food. Compromise solution - porridge, millet with vanilla syrup and strawberries.
Ingredients:
- Millet, steamed 80 g (1/4 tbsp.)
- Water 100 ml
- Sugar 30 g
- Salt 1 g
- Vanilla extract 2 ml
- Peanut butter 10 g
- Strawberries (fresh berries) 150 g
- Almond flakes 10 g
- Chocolate chips 15 g
- Powder, sugar 5 g
Preparation Procedure:
Cut two medium strawberries into slices to decorate the dish; Combine the remaining berries with sugar and vanilla, whisk in a blender. In boiling water, put strawberry puree, a small pinch of salt, prepared millet. Boil on low heat for 5 minutes, add butter, mix and remove from heat. Soak under the lid for 10-15 minutes and put it on a plate. Top with millet porridge garnished with strawberry slices, almond flakes, chocolate chips and powder.
Recipe 3. Porridge millet on water (side dish)
Composition of products:
- Water 500-600 ml
- Millet 180 g
- Salt
- Butter, melted 80 g
Preparation Method:
Boil salted water. Pour the washed and steamed millet into the pan and bring to the boil, cook for no more than five minutes. Drain the water through a sieve and put the boiled cereal again in the pan. Add the melted butter to it, mix well and cover. After 10 minutes, porridge can be served.
How to cook millet in water - tips and tricks
- It is better to store millet in a dry glass container with a tight-fitting lid for no more than six months. Before putting it into storage, it is recommended to sort and heat the millet to 40-50 ° C on a baking sheet in the oven. When storing grits need to be checked periodically. The second storage method is an airtight plastic container placed in a freezer, if space permits.
- Given the valuable mineral composition of millet and the fact that millet porridge has lost its former popularity to enrich food with vitamins and minerals contained in cereals, it can be used as additives in meat and fish mince (for binding). Millet groats can replace breading. A good combination is cottage cheese and millet, which can be used in cottage cheese casseroles.
