Millets and Date Pudding/Kheer (sugar-free)

By Dr. Sirisha Potluri MD

Ingredients 1 cup millets ( soaked overnight)(foxtail or barnyard millets)
3-4 cups almond milk or soy milk
1-2 cups water
 1/4 cup grated coconut 
12-15 dates ( remove seeds and soak in water and make a paste)
Elachi powder ( 4-5 cardamom)
Dry roasted almond flakes, cashews, coconut powder
Procedure;
 Boil almond milk in a thick bottom pan and add 1-2 cups of water while boiling. once milk is boiled, now add washed and rinsed millets, let them cook for 10-15 minutes, mix in between checking to make sure the bottom doesn’t burn. In about 15-20 minutes millets will be cooked and we can see them expanding. Now add grated coconut and mix, add date paste and let everything cook for 2-3 minutes Now add cardamom powder and mix everything. 
Off the stove and garnish dry roasted with almond flakes, cashews, or any nuts, and saffron strings if available.
If you think the sweetness is not enough add more dates or a little bit of date sugar/ coconut sugar if you have.

This pudding can be enjoyed warm or cold. It stays good in the refrigerator for a week.

Millets are one of the most sustainable grains which help preserve our land and water resources.

Millets are among the oldest of cultivated grain crops and yet many people haven’t heard about them. Before the popularity of rice, corn, and wheat, millet was a staple food, especially in the semi-arid regions of South and East Asia, Africa, and parts of Europe. In China, records of domestication of foxtail millet and proso millet date back to approximately 10,000 years ago.
The five millet species commonly grown as commercial crops are proso, foxtail, pearl, Japanese barnyard, and browntop — although there are many other types. Proso millet was introduced into the United States from Europe during the 18th century. Today, Colorado is the major U.S. producer, followed by the Dakotas and Nebraska.

millets can be used in various recipes in the place of rice and wheat. Millets are gluten-free too.