'Foxtail Millet' Green Mango Rice / Korrala Mamidi Pulihora / Navane Mavinakayi Chitranna

Rice is a chief crop of south India both in terms of production and consumption. Obviously there are plenty of main dishes made with rice in the region. Mavinikayi chitranna, a rice dish made with grated raw mango and seasonings happens to be a summer comfort food of Karnataka, a south Indian state. I tried to make the dish healthier and nutritious by replacing the rice in the recipe with a millet. Here are some other millet based rice dishes that I have posted.

 

Pulao made with barnyard millet 

Mixed millet kadambam 

Edamame millet khichdi 

Proso millet yogurt rice

Kodo millet paramannam

I used foxtail millet but it can be replaced by other millets like barnyard millet or kodo millet. Cooking the millet into a mush spoils the consistency of the dish (especially if one is particular about it). Cooking the millet such that each grain stands apart is recommended while making these kind of dishes. I have cooked a large portion of the millet than the quantity mentioned below in the recipe and so, I haven't mentioned the exact quantity of water I used to cook the millet. I usually pressure cook millet for 2 whistles and use less than 2 cups of water for each cup of millet used. I leave the cooked millet aside for at least 10 minutes and spread it in a wide plate if especially trying to substitute it for rice in a dish. 

Thanks to my husband, I had a bag of frozen, grated mango which I would have never even thought of buying, 😉. I used that in the recipe and so the gratings are more noticeable than the shredded fresh green mango. If the mango used is not sour enough, drizzle some lemon / lime juice over the rice and stir to combine. This millet dish is dry compared to the rice version and so, serve it along with some yogurt on the side. Some chips / papad  or fried vadis would be a nice accompaniment.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup foxtail millet / 2 cups cooked foxtail millet
2 tbsp. oil

A handful of peanuts
1 tsp. split chickpeas / chana dal
1 tsp. skinned black gram / urad dal
1 tsp. mustard seeds
2 dried red chillies, broken into bits
1 spicy green chili, sliced lengthwise / chopped fine
1 sprig of curry leaves
1/8 tsp. turmeric powder
2 pinches of asafoetida powder
Salt to taste
1 cup peeled and grated green mango 

Lemon / lime juice to taste (optional)

Method:
* Check and remove if any tiny stone bits present in millet. Rinse and pressure cook the millet for 2 whistles adding water as needed. When the valve pressure is gone, remove and leave the millet container out on the counter for about 10 minutes. Then spread the cooked millet on a wide plate, breaking any lumps if present with a spatula. 

* Heat oil in a wide pan and add peanuts, split chick peas, black gram and mustard seeds in that order. When the peanuts turn golden brown, add green chillies, red chillies and curry leaves. Sauté for few seconds.

* Next add turmeric, asafoetida, grated mango and sauté for 3 to 4 minutes and then add the cooked millet and salt. Mix well, breaking any lumps if present. (Taste and add lemon / lime juice if the mango used was not sour enough.)

* Turn off the stove and serve the millet - green mango rice warm with fried papad or chips and some yogurt.

This post is an entry for Blogging Marathon and check the link to find out what other marathoners are cooking.

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