A healthy porridge for breakfast made with foxtail millet and served warm. This savory thinai kanji is made with whole hulled foxtail millet perfect to kick start your day with good carbs.
The hard-core breakfasts are really lovely to sit down and have, but this year our schedules seem to have been pushed too far ahead. Barely out of bed, it is really hard to down something worthwhile before the run. Then comes smoothies which are fine on the warmer days but for the colder rainy mornings that don’t feel comfortable. This is when kanji comes into focus. As such I am a huge fan of these soft porridge varieties and often make them. So far, we have managed to pen down a few.
Of late, I like to make a batch of millets as kanji and take that with me to have on the go as breakfast. This is filling and nourishing and lighter than most breakfast ideas. So here is venthaya thinai kanji
What is thinai?
Foxtail milletor thinai, is a gluten-free cereal millet crop grown in Africa and Asia. Though bajra is the top-grown millet in India, foxtail millet or thinai is more popular in the southern states. Known in local Indian languages as kangi, korallu or thinai. Foxtail millet crop is a nutrient-dense grain. Slightly nutty and appearing pale yellow, these small grains are valued for their dietary fibre and mineral content. The seeds are crunchy to bite and can be cooked by boiling or toasting to make a flour. Thinai is particularly associated with Lord muruga and hence popular in festivals associated with this deity. Today’s recipe is however not a god associated one.
Ingredients for this millet porridge
Foxtail millet: the tiny dehusked milles are best to be washed and soaked to help the ease of cooking. The grains are tiny and yellow to start with. after soaking the plump up and become paler.
Coconut milk: the creamy milky element in his porridge is the coconut milk. You can use fresh one by crushing and squeezing the grated coconut or use a store bought one. The key is you need coconut milk, not coconut cream. So if you are making your own coconut milk from scratch, set aside the first extract and use the second and third extract to cook the millet, Then while ready to serve, stir in a bit fo the coconut cream or extract to add the sweet deliciousness.
Garlic: the pounded or thinly sliced garlic that is added to the recipe. the garlic is said to help with gut health, healing of ulcers, reducing cholesterol and over all detox. This also functions as a galactogouge for lactating mums.
Fenugreek: Whole fenugreek seeds added along with the millets while cooking. The fenugreek seeds are bitter to have on their own. However the millets and coconut milk reduce the bitterness making it easy to have. The fenugreek too helps with guthealth, sugar level fluctations etc.In combination with garlic the fenugrek heps the new mother in lactation. To add to this kanji, use the whole seeds. not crushed to reduce the bitterness filtering though while pressure cooking.
Salt: This is not a sweet kanji, rather a savory version So it is flavoured with salt. It is best to add the salt at the end of the cooking process so as to avoid the coconut milk from splitting.
Let’s make savory thinai kanji
The thinai kanji is almost like a soft-cooked soup and is perfect for the cooler days. To get the soft best results there are a few steps to follow.
- Soak the foxtail millet: there are a couple of reasons for soaking the millet. Most importantly, the millets will have a lighter husk on them unless they are polished. Soaking for a few hours helps to soften this. This also ensures better digestibility of the millets. Sok the millets for about 3 hours.
- Cooking the millet: The stove top of the instant pot works for cooking millet to a soft nature. Usually, the quantity of liquid used is 3 parts to every part of the millet soaked. To make this kanji I have cooked the millets in thinned out coconut milk till they are fluffy and yield to be mashed. To the cooking mix itself add the fenugreek and garlic, so they infuse. You can follow our guide for cooking millets from this link click here.
- Finishing touches to the recipe: once the millets are cooked, add a couple of tbsp of coconut cream or the thick first extraction. Stir this in and remove from heat.Now stir in the salt. You don’t want to let the coconut cream boil.
What to serve with millet kanji?
I often have kanjis as a breakfast idea often taking them in my travel cup instead of coffe. At this time, I hardly add aything to accompany it. If you are having this kanji as a meal at home serve it with aviyal or thogayal. Also it is wonderful to have a all portion of vattals, karuvadams and vadams to have with it. These are the classic combinations to this porridge.
How is millet kanji used in postpartum foods?
The vendaya millet kanji is a part of post-partum foods. Since it is light and easy on the stomach and the fenugreek and garlic aid as a galactogouge, it is often made up to 56th day. You could swap the millets for rice in the initial days to make it further easier with digestion. To serve this as a meal the platter often has moringa leaves stirfry or kootu, some thogayal, roasted papad.
Thinai kanji
Equipment
- saucepan
Ingredients
- 0.5 cup Foxtail millet thinai
- 1 cup water
- 1 cups coconut milk thin, second and third extract.
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1/4 tsp fenugreek seeds
- salt to taste
- 2 tsp coconut cream
Instructions
- Wash and soak the millet for 3 hours.
- Remove the soaking water after the time.
- Add the millet into the saucepan along with water, garlic, fenugreek seeds and coconut milk.
- Cook this till millets are soft by stirring from time to time
- When millets are cooked they crush easily when pressed.
- Mix well and add the salt and coconut milk.
- The millet kanji is now ready to be served.
Stay connected
Hope you enjoy these rustic recipes as much as I like bringing them to you these.This millet gruel is so easy to make and keep you nourished well. When you make this thinai kanji recipe share with us if you have any specific way you prefer them in the comments below. While you are here please subscribe and keep in touch through comments. You are welcome to reach out to us through Instagram or Facebook too.
See you at the next post.
The Thinai Kanji with vendhayam looks so comforting. would love to dig into this one of these days, and esp as a breakfast on the go, makes it so filling & nutritious. The last pic with the pavadai in the background makes the colours pop- loved it, Seema
I am now trying to incorporate millets as much as I can in my routine ..this kanji with thinai seems to be a sumptuous breakfast recipe 🙂
Seema, I am trying to have gluten free and light meals at night. When I came across this porridge recipe made with foxtail millet I had to try it. Turned out to be a delicious and filling meal. I added a mixture of nuts and dried fruits. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
Wow foxtail millet kanji with garlic and coconut milk sounds amazing seema. When lactating, amma used to give similar kanji with lots of garlic and fenugreek. I still remember the aroma of garlic cooked in milk. Such a warm and aromatic breakfast !