Easy cremini mushroom and millet pilaf

Cremini mushroom millet pilaf.
This easy millet pilaf with baby bella or cremini mushrooms is full-on flavour and easy to make. This mushroom pilaf is one easy recipe that is perfect for an omni crowd as the main meal for most vegetarians or as a side to interesting veggie centrepieces like the baked whole cauliflower.
Mushrooms are not one that came naturally to my cooking. It was never a feature of my parent’s kitchen, never in my mother in law’s kitchen too. It was just the occasional takeouts or the pizzas which had them.  When I moved to the Philippines, I found the variety of mushrooms overwhelming. It takes a while to get used to them. By the time we reached, Malaysia I was experimental and was ready to move beyond the supermarket white button mushrooms. Cremini mushrooms came as the next natural idea to get to. 

Understanding Cremini mushrooms

Let us start with something fun about the cremini mushrooms. The button mushroom the cremini mushroom and the portabella are all Agaricus bispora, the same mushroom. The harvesting time is the one that changes how they appear and taste. So it starts off as a button mushroom. Then they slowly turn brown and then they are the baby bellas or cremini mushrooms.  As they mature further the cap opens up and it turns into portabella mushroom.(source)
Recently I read a very interesting article on the Vit D content of Mushrooms. It was very very interesting to note that the sun-exposed one carried a lot more Vit D. This is one important essential vitamin that we often neglect and do not see much of a deficiency till it starts with the manifests. Mushrooms are a great vegan source to alleviate this problem ( source)

Foxtail millets in this recipe

For the grain of choice for this recipe, Foxtail millets seemed wonderful. Setaria italica is an annual herb popular in South India as Thinai or Navane are used to prepare sweet treats and kara Pongal. These small yellow seeds, also cook as separate grains when cooked properly (use this link o help you with it) and taste amazing that is why the grain is perfect for this cremini mushroom and millet pilaf. The foxtail millet is lower in glycemic index and hence in portion-sized quantities perfect for diabetics. Millets are also low food map so you can use this millet pilaf recipe and swap out the mushroom for oyster mushrooms.

Other ingredients for this recipe

This recipe has only 7 ingredients. So is a fairly easy recipe to make once you get the millets cooked perfectly. 

Mushroom stock – The intensity of flavour that you get from the mushroom broth for this recipe is very lovely. Use the low sodium one so you can control the salt levels in this recipe. If you are not keen on the mushroom flavour try vegetable stock as they are milder. 

Onions and garlic- Most mushrooms shine with onions and garlic in them. I love to use the regular yellow onions as they do not mask the mushroom flavour. You could alter if you like red onions better. In this recipe, you could use garlic powder if you like as well. 

Olive oil – Mild flavoured olive oil seemed the best pick for this recipe, however, you can use any neutral oil.

Chives – the freshness and the garlic flavour of the chives work well with this recipe. YOu can omit if you are not a fan of this.

Nuts and seeds- I have made this recipe nut-free as I use it a lot in lunchboxes and meal prep. If you are making it for a get together with no nut allergies, use pecans or walnuts for an extra crunch. 

The details of the quantity and the cooking method is in the recipe card below. 

Mushroom millet pilaf

An earthy combination of mushrooms and millets to serve as a main meal or as a side to the main dish. It is gluten-free, nut -free and vegan.
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Course Main Dish, Side Dish
Cuisine diabetic friendly, Fusion, gluten free, International, Summer, Vegan, Vegetarian, Winter
Servings 4 people
Calories 245 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 1 cup Foxtail millet
  • 2.5 cups mushroom broth ( use vegetable broth if you prefer)
  • 1 tbsp olive oil or any other cooking oil.
  • 1 clove garlic minced
  • 1/2 cup Onion white, chopped
  • 200 g Mushroom I have used cremini mushrooms ( Baby Bella )
  • salt to taste

To garnish

  • 1 tbsp chives chopped fine

Instructions
 

  • Wash and soak the millets for 10 minutes.
  • Wipe the mushroom with a damp cloth and slice them.
  • Chop the onions and garlic and set them aside.
  • In a medium-sized pan, add the olive oil and let it come to warmth.
  • Add the chopped garlic and onion and saute till it is translucent.
  • Add the mushrooms and let them brown gently.
  • Drain the soaked foxtail millets and add them to the pan.
  • Toss the mix around till the millets are coated with the mushrooms mix.
  • Add the mushroom broth and cover and cook this mix for 5 minutes.
  • Open the lid and mix the pilaf. Check the salt levels and add salt if necessary ( the broth will have some salt in it already)
  • Cook and mix the pilaf till the millets are done and the liquid well absorbed.
  • Transfer to a serving dish and spin in the chives on top.
  • Serve warm.
    Cremini mushroom millet pilaf.

Notes

You could toss in a handful of roasted pistachios as the recipe nearly is ready for an added crunch.

Nutrition

Serving: 150gCalories: 245kcalCarbohydrates: 41gProtein: 7gFat: 6gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gSodium: 435mgPotassium: 155mgFiber: 6gSugar: 1g
Keyword Lunch recipes, Millet recipe
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

More mushroom recipes on this blog. 

These mushroom recipes are perfect for any family gathering, Father’s day, Valentine’s day or Christmas get together. They are easy to achieve and perfect flavour bombs. Try them all.

Mushroom Pepper Fry – Made with button mushrooms this is a perfect recipe to add up to any meal or add to a wrap. 

Mushroom masala puff rolls – This puff pastry roll stuffed with delicious mushroom masala is one of the best ever appetizers. 

 

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See you at the next post, stay safe.

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Kankana saha
6 years ago

UNESCO History of Humanity tells us the foxtail millet was consumed by the neolithic community in China. Innovative for me aa i never made pilaf with foxtail or mushroom. Will definetely try if it is available in delhi.

Vidya Narayan
6 years ago

Seema, that Pilaf looks absolutely delicious and wholesome. You know by now, I am a big fan of anything that is healthy and has great nutritive value so really happy seeing the post, with the details. As bloggers, we should really promote healthy eating apart from the indulgences here and then. Millets have been ignored for long, very rightly pointed out by you and its high time we resort to such options if we are really serious about staying healthy for the next 20 years.

Maria
6 years ago

Delicious and chokeful of nutrients! And mushrooms do add fantastic depth of flavours to pulaos. I’ve made veg Pulao with quinoua and mixed vegetables, your recipe goes next on the list.

Poonam Bachhav
6 years ago

I have recently started adding millets to daily meals and trust me they taste great apart from the nutritive value ..pearl millet is my favourite and I use it in dosa, upma and khichadi. Your dish sounds interesting and since my son loves Mushrooms to the core ..I can certainly give this one a try. Thanks for the share

code2cook
code2cook
6 years ago

superb seema, you have tried so many millet recipes. Loving this millet pilaf, so nutritious and filling. Adding mushroom making it a protein packed too.

jagruti
6 years ago

I love the look of this millet pulao and I would love to try it out too.

sapna
sapna
6 years ago

I love the versatility of millets and how they can be used in any form. This pilaf looks very inviting .

preethi'scuisine
6 years ago

Mushroom millet pulao is an interesting alternative to the normal rice pulao.Healthy and yummy share.

Usha Rao
Usha Rao
2 years ago
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such a flavorful main dish! Very few ingredients yet very tasty. Cooking millets in broth enhanced the flavor.

Sujata Roy
2 years ago
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Mushroom millet pilaf looks so tempting. An excellent one pot meal for Mushroom lovers. Millet and mushrooms both have numerous health benefits. Wonderful share.

Shobha Keshwani
2 years ago
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Such a healthy and delicious pilaf made with foxtail millets. Love such tasty one pot meals.

Mayuri Patel
2 years ago
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Have both at hand, foxtail millet and cremini mushrooms. Dinner for tomorrow is sorted out. A healthy and filling dish. Will be adding some nuts and my favourite, raisins.

archana
archana
2 years ago
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Seema this is one awesome foxtail millet pulao, mushrooms will make it awesome. I was thinking of making pulao with millets and mushrooms will make it now. Thanks.

Kalyani
2 years ago
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I still shy away from cooking with mushrooms but the husband man and the younger one like it so they make quite a few dishes with this. the foxtail milelt mushroom pilaf looks and sounds fantastic !

Susie
9 months ago
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Which type of mushroom can use to cook it?

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