Storing a week of vegetables
Which vegetables go in the fridge, which stay out, and how to keep greens crisp.
Cooking millets for every day
Water ratios, soaking times and three dishes to start with.
Millets are easy to cook once you know the ratios, and they are much closer to rice than most people expect. The main difference is that each millet needs a slightly different amount of water.
Rinse the millet twice in water to remove dust, then soak it for 20 to 30 minutes. Soaking softens the grain and shortens the cooking time. For a rice-like texture, use 2 cups of water for every cup of foxtail or little millet, and 2.5 cups for kodo or barnyard. Cook on a low flame with the lid on, or for two whistles in a pressure cooker, and leave it to rest for five minutes before you open it.
Three dishes are a good place to start. Barnyard millet pongal, cooked soft with moong dal, pepper, cumin and ghee, is the easiest swap for a weekday breakfast. Foxtail millet works well as lemon rice or tamarind rice for lunch boxes. And little millet curd rice, cooled with buttermilk and tempered with mustard seeds, is ideal in summer.
Start by replacing one meal a week. Many families find that within a month, millets are a normal part of the menu, not a special effort. Our millet starter pack includes a recipe card for each grain.
