SAAME - Little Millet | Rajamudi
SAAME - Little Millet is widely grown in India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, eastern Indonesia and western Myanmar.
(Hindi: Kutki, Tamil: Samai, Telgu: Sama, Malayalam: Chama)
Description:
The grains are round and smooth, 1.6 to 1.8 mm. Seed colour varies greatly between varieties Peal white to whitish.
Why should you eat Little Millets?
Little Millets are a whole grain option that is low in carbohydrates and helps in improving glucose metabolism. Glucose is our body can be regulated as the little millet usage slowly releases sugar in our bloodstream, minimizing the absorption of glucose. Thanks to the presence of dietary fibre and resistant starch, little millets also exhibit properties like hypoglycemic as well as hypolipidemic effects.
Nutritional Composition
Given below is a detailed mapping of the nutritional value of 100g serving of millets:
|
Protein |
9.7 g |
|
Carbohydrates |
60.9 g |
|
Fat |
5.2 g |
|
Iron |
9.3 mg |
|
Phosphorus |
220 mg |
|
Calcium |
17 mg |
|
Magnesium |
114mg |
|
Energy |
329 kcal |
|
Crude Fibre |
7.6 g |
|
Ash |
5.4 g |
|
Thiamin |
0.30 mg |
|
Riboflavin |
0.09 mg |
|
Niacin |
3.2 mg |
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Health Benefits of Little Millets:
Little millet benefits in nourishing our body and boosting our immunity. These are also rich in antioxidants like phenolic compounds, flavonoids, tannins, and polyphenols, which helps in keeping human bodies safe from ailments like cardiovascular diseases, cataracts, cancers etc.
Recent studies undertaken by Proceedings of the Nutrition Society, 2017, have found out that unprocessed millet grains are richer in nutritious value than millet flours or millet flakes. Moreover, being suitable for all age groups, little millet usage can be incorporated in baby foods, snacks, processed food items, etc.
Tips for Cooking Little Millets:
Before we talk about cooking, let's talk about storing the grains. Store millet grains in airtight containers to store them for up to 6 months. You can increase the longevity of these grains by keeping them in a freezer.
A few cooking tips to prepare meals using Little Millets are:
- As Little millets are tiny in size, they can be easily mashed by softening them down by adding boiled water.
- You can even pop the millets to have them eaten like popcorns.
- Lose the starch to avoid stickiness while cooking by soaking them in a couple of cups of water beforehand
- Cook millets in containers with a lid to minimize the use of gas or electricity
- To enhance the nutty flavour of the grain, toast it in a skillet before adding water/stock.
- You can use millets to thicken soups too.
