Thinai Payasam, Foxtail Millet Payasam Recipe

Thinai Payasam, Foxtail Millet Payasam. A very healthy recipe made with jaggery, cardamom and coconut milk. With step by step pictures. Thinai Recipes.

Thinai or Foxtail millet is one of the oldest and widely used millet throughout Asia for centuries. There is an old saying in Tamil. வினை விதைத்தவன் வினை அறுப்பான், தினை வினைத்தவன் தினை அறுப்பான். This is the English equivalent of “As you sow, so shall you reap”. Foxtail millet is one of the oldest millet to have been recorded since the sangam period. Foxtail millet is supposed to have been served to Lord Muruga. Thinai Payasam is a staple in many homes during festival time. Here is how to do Thinai Payasam.

First lets dry roast the thinai / foxtail millet on a low flame till its fragrant and smells nutty. Set aside.

We will cook the thinai / foxtail millet along with moong dal in the pressure cooker. I have used half a cup of foxtail millet, four tablespoon moong dal and two cups of water. Cook for 3 whistles on a medium flame. Remove from heat and wait for the pressure to be released naturally. Set aside.

Take a pan and add in the jaggery and a cup of water. Bring it to a boil and let the mixture boil until the jaggery is completely melted. Remove from heat and strain the jaggery mixture on a small colander to get rid of sand and any impurities. Add it to the cooked millet mixture.

Add in half a cup of second pressed coconut milk and simmer the mixture for a couple of minutes. Then add in half a cup of fresh pressed coconut milk, cardamom powder and a pinch of salt. Simmer for a minute. Do not simmer for a long time after adding the coconut milk. Remove from heat and set aside.

NOTE: Here is how to do Home made coconut milk from scratch. See Notes to know how to substitute canned coconut milk.

Heat ghee in a pan and roast cashew-nuts and raisins. When the nuts are roasted, add it to the payasam.

Serve the payasam warm.

• 1/2 cup thinai arisi / foxtail millet
• 4 tablespoon split yellow moong dal
• 3/4 cup roughly powdered jaggery
• 1/2 teaspoon cardamom
• a pinch of salt
• 1/2 cup first pressed coconut milk
• 1/2 cup second pressed coconut milk
• 2 teaspoon ghee
• 10 cashewnuts
• 10 raisins

1. Dry roast the thinai / foxtail millet on a low flame till its fragrant and smells nutty. Set aside.
2. Cook the millets and dal with 2 cups of water in a pressure cooker. Cook for 3 whistles on a medium flame. Remove from heat and wait for the pressure to be released naturally. Set aside.
3. Take a pan and add in the jaggery and a cup of water. Bring it to a boil and let the mixture boil until the jaggery is completely melted. Remove from heat and strain the jaggery mixture on a small colander to get rid of sand and any impurities. Add it to the cooked millet mixture.
4. Add in half a cup of second pressed coconut milk and simmer the mixture for a couple of minutes. Then add in half a cup of fresh pressed coconut milk, cardamom powder and a pinch of salt. Simmer for a minute. Do not simmer for a long time after adding the coconut milk. Remove from heat and set aside.
5. Heat ghee in a pan and roast cashew-nuts and raisins. When the nuts are roasted, add it to the payasam.
6. Serve the payasam warm.

Notes

If using canned coconut milk, use 3/4 cup canned coconut milk mixed with 1/4 cup of water.

• Author: Kannamma - Suguna Vinodh
• Prep Time: 5 mins
• Cook Time: 20 mins
• Category: Dessert
• Cuisine: Tamilnadu

• 1/2 cup thinai arisi / foxtail millet
• 4 tablespoon split yellow moong dal
• 3/4 cup roughly powdered jaggery
• 1/2 teaspoon cardamom
• a pinch of salt
• 1/2 cup first pressed coconut milk
• 1/2 cup second pressed coconut milk
• 2 teaspoon ghee
• 10 cashewnuts
• 10 raisins

1. Dry roast the thinai / foxtail millet on a low flame till its fragrant and smells nutty. Set aside.
2. Cook the millets and dal with 2 cups of water in a pressure cooker. Cook for 3 whistles on a medium flame. Remove from heat and wait for the pressure to be released naturally. Set aside.
3. Take a pan and add in the jaggery and a cup of water. Bring it to a boil and let the mixture boil until the jaggery is completely melted. Remove from heat and strain the jaggery mixture on a small colander to get rid of sand and any impurities. Add it to the cooked millet mixture.
4. Add in half a cup of second pressed coconut milk and simmer the mixture for a couple of minutes. Then add in half a cup of fresh pressed coconut milk, cardamom powder and a pinch of salt. Simmer for a minute. Do not simmer for a long time after adding the coconut milk. Remove from heat and set aside.
5. Heat ghee in a pan and roast cashew-nuts and raisins. When the nuts are roasted, add it to the payasam.
6. Serve the payasam warm.

Notes

If using canned coconut milk, use 3/4 cup canned coconut milk mixed with 1/4 cup of water.

• Author: Kannamma - Suguna Vinodh
• Prep Time: 5 mins
• Cook Time: 20 mins
• Category: Dessert
• Cuisine: Tamilnadu

Find it online : https://www.kannammacooks.com/thinai-payasam-foxtail-millet-payasam/

The first time I had Vadacurry was during my college days in Chennai. I loved it so much and I still do. I tried this recipe recently and I was thrilled to bits. The traditional way to do the vadacurry is to deep fry the vadais and then add it to the curry. But I am steaming the vadais today to keep it a little more healthier. This recipe has been minimally adapted from Chef.Dhamu. Here is how to do Vadacurry.

Soak chana dal (kadalai paruppu) in water for 3 hours. Grind the chana dal with salt and fennel seeds sprinkling very little water while grinding. Grind to a slightly coarse paste. Transfer the ground paste to an idli plate.

Steam the paste for 15 minutes. After steaming, break the cooked lentil into bite sized pieces. Set aside.

Heat oil in a pan and add in fennel seeds, cardamom cloves and dried red chillies. Add in the chopped onions and saute till the onions are slightly brown.

Take a mixie jar and add in the tomatoes, garlic and ginger to the jar. Grind to a smooth paste. Add the ground tomato-ginger-garlic paste to the pan. Add in the salt, turmeric powder, red chilli powder and coriander powder.

Add 2 cups of water to the pan. Cover the pan with a lid and allow it to simmer for 20-25 minutes till the masala is well cooked and the raw smell of the masala powders are gone.

Add in the roughly chopped mint leaves and coriander leaves.

Add in the cooked lentil pieces and simmer for a couple of minutes. Vadacurry is ready!

For seaming the vadai

• 1 cup chana dal (kadalai paruppu)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon fennel seeds

For the curry

• 4 teaspoon oil
• 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
• 2 cardamom
• 2 cloves
• 2 dried red chillies
• 2 onions, finely chopped
• 3 tomatoes
• 6 cloves garlic
• 1 inch piece ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1 teaspoon red chilli powder
• 2 teaspoon coriander powder
• 10 stalks of mint leaves
• 5 stalks of coriander leaves

1. Soak chana dal in water for 3 hours. Grind the chana dal with salt and fennel seeds sprinkling very little water while grinding. Grind to a slightly coarse paste. Transfer the ground paste to an idli plate.
2. Steam the paste for 15 minutes. After steaming, break the cooked lentil into bite sized pieces. Set aside.
3. Heat oil in a pan and add in fennel seeds, cardamom, cloves and dried red chillies. Add in the chopped onions and saute till the onions are slightly brown.
4. Take a mixie jar and add in the tomatoes, garlic and ginger to the jar. Grind to a smooth paste. Add the ground tomato-ginger-garlic paste to the pan. Add in the salt, turmeric powder, red chilli powder and coriander powder.
5. Add 2 cups of water to the pan. Cover the pan with a lid and allow it to simmer for 20-25 minutes.
6. Add in the roughly chopped mint leaves and coriander leaves.
7. Add in the cooked lentil pieces and simmer for a couple of minutes. Vadacurry is ready!

• Author: Kannamma - Suguna Vinodh
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 40 mins
• Category: Side Dish
• Cuisine: Tamilnadu