Creamy Millet
Fluffy, soft millet can be a bit tricky to get perfect. But creamy millet is a cinch. It's a yummy stand-in for polenta, grits or mashed potatoes.
It also makes a good breakfast porridge.
Creamy Millet
1 Cup Whole Millet Berries
2 Tbsp. Whey, Kefir, Buttermilk, or 1 Tbsp. Raw Apple Cider Vinegar
Water
1/2 tsp. Salt, Optional
1. Soak millet berries in 2 cups of water and 2 Tbsp. whey, on your counter, for 12-24 hours. At this point, you cover the container and place it in the fridge, soaking liquid and all for up to a week, or cook right away.
2. Before cooking, drain soaked millet through a very fine mesh strainer, a strainer lined with a kitchen towel, or a nut milk bag. Rinse well with cool water.
3. Add soaked millet, 3 1/2 cups of water and salt to a medium pot.
4. Bring to a full rolling boil.
5. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 30 minutes, or until all of the liquid is absorbed. You will know the liquid is absorbed and it's done, when there are little vertical holes from top to bottom of the millet as pictured below.
6. Use in dishes in place of polenta, grits, or mashed potatoes.
7. Re-heat left-overs in a small pot, by adding 1/4 cup of liquid per cup of grains, and heating over low heat on the stove. Millet tends to get clumpy when cold so you may need to mash clumps with a fork. It also absorbs a lot of water, so add more water if necessary while re-heating.
TIPS
This will be the consistency of thick mashed potatoes. If you would like a looser consistency, add more cooking water at the beginning, or mix in hot water after it's cooked, until it's the consistency you prefer.
For a sweet breakfast porridge, top with honey, raw milk and fruit. This will be like thick oatmeal. If you would like a looser consistency, add more cooking water. If desired, add 1 tsp. vanilla and 1/4 tsp. cinnamon to the cooking liquid. My friend's kids like it blended up for a cream-of-wheat like texture.
Some grains can be boiled in water like pasta, such as einkorn, rice, oat groats and sorghum. However, millet behaves a bit differently. It absorbs a lot of water which allows it to have a similar texture to polenta and grits when cooked in a higher ratio of water.
Troubleshooting
Things that can affect the cooking time and liquid amount required
1. If you soak less than 12 hours, you may need additional water.
2. Type of cooking vessel, size and shape. The water will evaporate faster in a more wide and shallow shaped pan.
3. Age of grains. Old grains may take longer to cook.
4. Quantity cooked. If you significantly increase your volume of grains cooked, you may also need to also increase cooking time.
5. Type of cooking method ie: stove top, rice cooker, oven method. Each method will very slightly. For health reasons, I do not recommend cooking grains in a pressure cooker.
6. Altitude also affects cooking time. I am at an altitude of 4,775, if you are at high altitude or sea level, you will need to adjust cooking time accordingly.
7. Prepare to be a little flexible the first time you soak and cook a particular grain. Consider it an experiment. Start with this as a base and alter it, if needed.