Little Millet Lemon Rice (Samai Lemon Rice)

Little Millet Lemon Rice (Samai Lemon Rice) is a South Indian-style lemon rice recipe made with little millets. Little millets or Samai are cooked and tossed in a tempering of mustard seeds, lentils, curry leaves, and turmeric.

Fresh Lemon juice makes it slightly tangy, which further enhances its taste and gives it a distinctive flavor. The lemon millet recipe is perfect for office lunch boxes and picnics.

Millets are the best replacement for rice, they taste like rice, and they cook like rice. They just are smaller in size, more like broken rice.

They get digested slowly, giving sustained energy. Millets are ideal for diabetics looking for an alternative grain to rice. They also help increase the bio-availability of minerals and have strong antioxidant properties. Regular consumption helps in decreasing triglycerides and C-reactive protein.

You can also check my other millet recipes like Little Millet Upma, Bajra(Pearl Millet) Khichdi, Kodo Millet Pulao

Benefits of Millets?

For humans, they release glucose slowly into the bloodstream as against highly processed Rice & wheat, which release it very quickly. Millets are highly nutritious and rich in calcium, protein, fiber and the list goes on. They are gluten-free, unlike rice and wheat.

1. Prevent diabetes
2. Healthy heart
3. Prevent cancer
4. Anti-aging properties
5. Balance cholesterol level
6. Strengthen bones
7. Assist digestion

How to Make Little Millet Lemon Rice

Cooking Millets

• Pressure Cooker Method: Rinse little millet thoroughly 2-3 times and add 1 cup of water for ½ cup of little millet/Samai and pressure cook for 1 whistle. Let the pressure/steam release naturally.
• Once cooled, fluff it up nicely with a fork, so there are no lumps, and the grains stay separate.

Here is the detailed recipe, How to cook Millet in the Instant Pot.

Method

• In a Kadai, add oil once it's hot, add in the peanuts, and fry them until they turn slightly golden brown.
• Secondly, add mustard seeds, urad dal, jeera, hing, green chilies, curry leaves, and fry for 30 secs till the dal turns golden brown.
• Then add turmeric powder and onion. Saute for a minute or two till the onion turns slightly brown.
• Turn off the flame and, add cooled millets, salt, and squeeze the juice of a half lemon. Mix everything well.
• Garnish with Coriander leaves and serve hot with papad or pickle.

Tips to make Lemon Millet Recipe

1. You can make this samai lemon rice recipe without onions too.
2. If you don't have a pressure cooker, then in an open pot, add 1.5 cups of water, bring water to a boil, and add ½ cup of little millet. Close the lid and cook on medium flame till all water is absorbed. It should be slightly soggy. Once cooled, fluff it up nicely with a fork, so there are no lumps and the grains stay separate.

More Lemon Recipes

• Lemon Rice
• Quinoa Lemon
• Lemon Coriander Soup
• Lemon Idli

More Rice Recipes

• Vegetable Biryani
• Spinach Rice
• Beetroot Rice
• Coconut Milk Pulao
• Peas Pulao
• Ghee Rice

If you’ve tried this healthy little millet lemon rice recipe or any other recipe on Indianveggiedelight, then don’t forget to rate the recipe. You can also follow me on Instagram and Facebook to see the latest recipes!