Little Millet Upma/Samai Upma/Millet Recipes is a wholesome breakfast or dinner dish that can be made with just a few ingredients in less than 30 minutes on a stovetop pot or Instant Pot pressure cooker.
Little Millet Upma recipe was my first ever millet recipe & I am happy I tried it. People regularly talk about Rava Upma or Vermicelli Upma, so this is an excellent addition to the Upma family 😊 Its taste pretty much resembles the taste of Rava Upma.
This recipe can be made for breakfast as well as for dinner. The variations are endless, and adding vegetables adds nutrition and color.
I have made a few recipes with millets such as Pongal, Bisibelebath, Little millet lemon rice, Bajra(Pearl Millet) Khichdi, Kodo Millet Pulao, Dosa. But there are a lot of recipes to make with these wonder grains.
I have shared stovetop pot and Instant Pot (Pressure Cooker) methods of making Millet Upma below.
What Are Millets?
Millets are Ancient Grains. Mankind has known its nutritional value for centuries. They are naturally gluten-free. Millet can also be used as a healthier alternative to rice and in salad recipes or as a side dish.
Is Little Millet good for health?
|Little Millet in English |Samai in tamil| Kutki in Hindi|Saame Akki in kannada|Chama in malayalam| Sama in Telugu is a very healthy variety of millet.
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. In addition, they are gluten-free, unlike wheat.
- Prevent diabetes
- Healthy heart
- Prevent cancer
- Anti-aging properties
- Balance cholesterol level
- Strengthen bones
- Assist digestion
How to Make Little Millet/Samai Upma Recipe
Firstly, wash the Little Millet and soak it in water for at least 15-30 minutes.
In a Kadai, add oil, mustard seeds, and jeera, and let them splutter.
Then add hing, green chilies, ginger (optional), curry leaves, and saute for a few seconds.
Then add onion. Saute for a minute or two till the onion turns slightly brown.
Later add finely chopped mixed veggies, salt, and saute for 2-3 mins until veggies are cooked.
Then add 1 cup of water and bring it to a boil.
Drain the soaked samai and add it to the boiling water. Mix well. Adjust the salt at this stage.
Then cover with a lid and cook for about 8-10 minutes on low flame.
Note: Since we soaked it for 15 minutes, it reduced the cooking time.
Once the little millet is cooked (until all the water has been absorbed, thoroughly cooked, and looks grainy), turn off the gas and add grated coconut, coriander leaves, and lime juice.
Lastly, mix well and Serve Little Millet Upma (Samai Upma) hot with coconut chutney or chutney powder.
How to Make Little Millet Upma in Instant Pot
- Wash the Little millet and soak it in water for at least 15-30 minutes.
- Press SAUTE, add oil, once hot, add in the mustard seeds, jeera and let them splutter.
- Then add hing, green chilies, ginger (optional), curry leaves, and saute for a few seconds.
- Then add onion. Saute for a minute or two till the onion turns slightly brown.
- Add chopped mixed vegetables, soaked millet, ¾ cup of water, salt, and mix well. Deglaze the pot, i.e., scrape any food particle that is sticking to the inner pot to avoid the BURN alert.
- Close the lid on the pot, and turn the pressure valve to the SEALING position.
- Set the pot to MANUAL/PRESSURE COOK (High Pressure) and set the timer to 4 minutes (If not soaking millets, set the timer to 6 minutes). When the instant pot beeps, do a Natural pressure release.
- Lastly, add grated coconut, coriander leaves, and lime juice and mix well.
- Serve Instant Pot Little Millet Upma with coconut chutney and chai.
What to Serve with Little Millet Upma?
Serve Little Millet Upma with yogurt or coconut chutney; you can also eat it as it is.
Tips & Variations
- Soaking reduces cooking time. So soak the little millet for at least 15 minutes.
- If you are in a hurry and do not have time to soak, add 1.5 cups of water while cooking for ½ cup of little millet, i.e., [3:1] ratio for the stovetop pot method.
- Replace little millets with any available variety of millets.
- You can add any vegetables of your choice.
- Increase or decrease spice according to your preference.
- You can make upma without vegetables and onions too.
More Indian Millet Recipes
- Little Millet Upma
- Bajra (Pearl Millet) Khichdi
- Millet Fried Rice
- Little Millet Lemon Rice
- Kodo Millet Pulao
- Ragi Malt
- Millet Salad
More Breakfast Recipes
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Little Millet Upma (Samai Upma)
Ingredients
- ½ cup little millet (samai)
- 1 cup water (use ¾ cup water for instant pot)
- 1 medium onion
- ½ cup mixed veggies (Beans,Carrot,Peas,Capsicum)
- 2 tablespoons coconut grated, optional
- 1 tablespoons coriander leaves chopped
- 1 teaspoon lime juice to taste
- salt to taste
To Temper
- ½ teaspoon mustard
- ½ teaspoon jeera (cumin)
- a pinch hing (asafoetida)
- 2 green chilies finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon ginger grated, optional
- few curry leaves
- 2 tablespoon coconut oil
Instructions
Stovetop Pot method:
- Wash the Little Millet and soak it in water for at-least 15 minutes.
- In a Kadai add oil and add in the mustard seeds, jeera and, let them splutter.Then add hing, green chilies, ginger (optional), curry leaves, and saute for few seconds.
- Then add onion. Saute for a minute or two till the onion turns slight brown in color.
- Later add finely chopped mixed veggies ,some salt and saute for 2-3 mins until veggies becomes soft.
- Add 1 cup of water and bring it to boil.
- Drain the water from the soaked samai and add it to the boiling water. Mix well. Adjust the salt at this stage.
- Cover with a lid and cook for about 8-10 minutes on medium-low flame. Note:Since we soaked it for 15 minutes, it reduces the cooking time.
- Once little millet is cooked (until all the water has been absorbed, completely cooked and looks grainy) turn off the gas and add grated coconut, coriander leaves and lime juice .
- Mix Well and serve little millet upma hot with coconut chutney or chutney powder.
Instant Pot Method:
- Wash the Little Millet and soak it in water for at least 15 minutes.
- Press SAUTE, add oil, once hot add in the mustard seeds, jeera and, let them splutter.Then add hing, green chilies, ginger (optional), curry leaves, and saute for few seconds.
- Then add onion. Saute for a minute or two till the onion turns slightly brown in color.
- Add chopped mixed vegetables, soaked millet, ¾ cup of water, salt and mix well. Deglaze the pot ie make sure there is no food particle sticking to the pot to avoid burn alerts.
- Close the lid on the pot, and turn the pressure valve to SEALING position.
- Set the pot to MANUAL/PRESSURE COOK (High Pressure) and set the timer to 4 minutes (If not soaking, set the timer to 6 minutes). When the instant pot beeps, do a Natural pressure release.
- Lastly add grated coconut, coriander leaves, and lime juice and mix well.
- Samai Upma is ready to be enjoyed with coconut chutney and chai.
Notes
- Soaking reduces the cooking time. So soak the little millet for at least 15 minutes.
- If you are in a hurry and do not have time to soak, add 1.5 cups of water while cooking for ½ cup of little millet i.e., [3:1] Ratio for stovetop pot method.
- You can add any vegetables of your choice.
- You can increase or decrease spice according to your preference.
- You can make upma without vegetables and onions too.
Nutrition
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Mark Horst says
These are such great looking recipes! Thank you so much.
I have a question though. In the US it seems as though all millet is "pearl millet". Does pearl millet cook differently than the "little millet" you are using?
Thank you again for your great cooking!
Leela says
Water ratio must be increased, ur ratio it turned out very much grainy, I:3 might be okay I guess.
bhavana says
Hey Leela, for me 1 cup of water worked fine for 1/2 cup of millet after soaking for 15-20 min in water.I cooked with close lid on medium low flame.But you can increase to 1.5 cups no harm(ie 1:3 ratio).If you have new millets ,take less water to cook ,if millets are very old they take more water to cook.Hope this helps.FYI recipe is for 1/2 cup millet so i have used 1:2 (millet:water) ratio you can also use 1:3 like regular upma
Sarah says
Thanks for the recipe. Enjoyed it!
Bhavana Patil says
You are welcome Sarah, glad you liked it 🙂
Mary Marko says
Is there a concept of removing the husk in Little Millet
Bhavana Patil says
Hi Mary, the one available in the stores packaged is good to use without removing any husk. Hope this helps.
Ritu says
Very simple and tasty recipe.
Bhavana Patil says
Thank you Ritu 😊
Sidharth says
Made it just like the recipe, it was delish.
Bhavana Patil says
Thank you for trying and letting me know it turned out great. 🙂