Kheer-e-bajra ( Pearl Millet Porridge)

Bajra...aah...reminds me of the bajre ki roti and gur back at home in Rajasthan, but this grain is like a celebrity for me now because I don't get to see it much, and since celebs are usually posey, so is this Millet who rarely blesses me with its divine presence, Almighty Millet!!

Haha, but I'm no less, no wonder! If you think you can run away from me, I know how to catch you my tiny miny grain and push you in my kadai and see you dance there. :P

Well, humor apart, I seriously ( and I'm really serious here, serious serious...he he!!) love this grain and whether it is roti or khichdi with bajra, I can leave behind everything else for it. 

A few days back, a friend of mine gifted me some Broken Millet for preparing khichdi with it, and I almost forgot that. While packing stuff for my second Kenyan tour, I encountered this smiling beauty and wooooh, I knew I had to make something with it. My hubby clearly instructed for a 'no khichdi show' and poor me, I was still dreaming of bajra/ millet. I told my hubby that I'm generously serving him with his favorite kheer, but then the 'Kheer Story' had a twist. My hubby could not make out the lucky grain if not rice in it, and then I was smiling, tapping and dancing all around the house since I had found a new recipe for me, and that too 'Kheer'.....a must wow!!!! :)

KHEER-E-BAJRA

Preparation Time: 10 minutes

Cooking Time: 45 minutes

Serves: 4

Health Meter:

The millets are a group of small-seeded species of cereal crops or grains, widely grown around the world for food and fodder. Their essential similarities are that they are small-seeded grasses grown in difficult production environments such as those at risk of drought. The two commonest varieties of millet are: Pearl Millet ( Bajra) and Finger Millet (Ragi).

Millets are rich in B vitamins, especially niacin, B6 and folic acid, calcium, iron, potassium, magnesium, and zinc. Millets contain no gluten, so they are not suitable for raised bread. When combined with wheat, (or xanthan gum for those who have cœliac disease), they can be used for raised bread. Alone, they are suited for flatbread.

Ingredients:

1. Broken Bajra (Pearl Millet)/ Bajre ke faade: 1/2 cup

2. Whole Milk: 2 litres

3. Cardamom Powder: a pinch

4. Sugar: 1/2 cup or as per taste

5. Almonds: a few

Method:

1. Wash the bajra faade/ broken millet and keep them aside.
2. Take milk in a thick bottomed heavy pan or kadai. The pan should be big enough to avoid any over-spilling of milk.
3. Add the broken millet/bajra to the milk and keep for boiling.
4. Keep stirring continuously/ frequently to avoid any millet sticking at the bottom.
5. The milk should reduce to half and by then the bajra/millet would have gone soft too.
6. Add cardamom powder and sugar towards the end. Take a boil.
7. Serve hot or refrigerated. ( I love kheers that are a day old and refrigerated.)
8. Jewel with sliced almonds. 

The recipe flies off to:
My event: Cakes, Cookies and Desserts 
Yummy Dessert  by Pranati's Kitchen
ABC Series- Desserts  by Ramya
New U  by Vardhini's Kitchen
Cook . Eat. Delicious Desserts  by Veggie Platter

Any One Can Cook by Taste of Pearl City