Cuisine: Uttarakhand
Category: Lunch
Prep: 30 min
Cook: 30 min
Serves: 4
Difficulty: Easy
🌿 Vegetarian
Kodo millet and toor dal cooked together into a nourishing one-pot meal — a traditional preparation using the ancient millet of the Uttarakhand hills.
Ingredients
- 1 cup kodo millet (small dark brownish grain; available at health food stores; substitute with any small millet)
- 1/2 cup toor dal
- 2 tbsp ghee
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1/4 tsp asafoetida
- 1/2 tsp turmeric
- Salt to taste
- 4 cups water
- For serving: extra ghee poured on top, yogurt
Method
- Wash kodo millet in cold water 3 times. Soak 30 minutes.
- Wash toor dal — no soaking needed.
- Drain the soaked kodo millet. Combine with washed toor dal in a heavy pot.
- Heat 2 tbsp ghee in the pot. Add cumin seeds — sizzle 20 seconds.
- Add asafoetida. Add the kodo-dal mixture. Toss in ghee for 1 minute to coat every grain.
- Add turmeric and salt. Add 4 cups water. Bring to a boil on medium-high heat.
- Reduce to the lowest possible heat. Cover tightly.
- Cook 25 to 28 minutes — kodo millet takes longer than rice to cook.
- Check: both the millet and dal should be completely soft.
- The mixture should be slightly thick and porridge-like. If any liquid remains, cook uncovered 3 more minutes.
- Mash lightly with a spoon. Adjust salt. Serve hot with a generous pour of fresh ghee on top and yogurt alongside.