A Grain for the Tasting: 10 Minute Millet

Millet goes in and out of favor, according to those who write of agriculture and food production.  My first introduction to millet was a tin pan half filled with the seed an African friend was carrying to feed his chickens.  His wife, he told me, also brewed the same millet into a good beer.  If you Google "millet" you'll find a store-house of information.  The grain was likely cultivated in Stone Age around the lakes of Switzerland.   Mesopotamia grew it around 3000 BCE, as did Chinese farmers of the same era.  The spread of the Roman Empire facilitated its cultivation far beyond the Fertile Valley where it sprung from. People who ate millet as a staple were healthy.  Millet is good for you, no doubt about it, with various vitamins and minerals, carbohydrates, and fiber. (Google it's nutritional profile to see wholesome components, especially silicon which benefits bone and connective tissue) Also millet's an alkaline grain, gluten-free, rich in amino acids and protein. Soaking and sprouting the grain increases both the protein content (by about 10%) and the profile of certain amino acids also increases.  In addition, soaking reduces the cooking time to about 10 minutes, making millet a candidate for a quick nutritional and flavor boost to any meal. Special diets often include millet since it soothes a weak or irritated digestive system, especially the stomach. It is also said to have amazing anti-fungal properties. With an ability to take on different textures depending on the length of cooking, the tiny millet grain creates the base for many dishes.

Millet soaking before cooking

 A Beautiful Bowl of Millet:
Measure 1 C. millet, and rinse well.  Cover with twice its depth of water. Soak for 4 hours, drain and rinse well. To sprout: (millet will swell in size and protein increase, but because it has been hulled will not produce sprout/tail) Put in covered container in fridge overnight. To cook:  (In a steamer)  Cover millet with fresh water and steam until done, about 10 minutes. If using stove top, place in pot with 2.5 C. boiling water. Reduce heat as with rice.

A beautifully cooked bowl of millet garnished with thyme and oregano