Sorghum (Jowar) Undrallu- vegan, gluten free

Undrallu are traditionally steamed rice based balls, offered to Lord Ganesha for Ganesh chaturthi. Holding on to the rituals and the cultural practice is very soul enriching. But, empowered by knowledge and science, we can definitely create a superior practice of eating particularly for the religious occasions , while still being rooted in our ancestral wisdom. So, here comes the perfect example of the blending knowledge and practice.

Rice, especially white rice is relatively more in carbs, less in fiber and micronutrients when compared to other grains such as millets. Sorghum on the other hand is an ancient millet, that is lesser known in the western world, but is gaining popularity lately with its nutritional profile. Millets are good for health with their abundant fiber, and a favorable carbohydrate/ fiber ratio, that helps in preventing and reversing chronic diseases like diabetes, heart disease. Also, the tough millet plants, need less water to grow than rice or wheat, are pest resistant and grow in poor soils that rice and wheat cannot handle. So, for human health and for the agrarian societies, millets will be a significant boon going into the future. Sorghum, a gluten free grain, with complex carbohydrates, is rich in iron, and packs a good amount of protein too. It is closest to wheat in terms of taste profile, and is a perfect alternative especially in baking.

Switching to sorghum from rice in the making of undrallu is not at all difficult as long as you don’t skip the key step in this recipe of making rava out of sorghum. Rava is coarsely ground grain. I strongly advised using home made sorghum rava instead of store bought sorghum flour for two reasons.

1. Flours typically are made after the grains are milled and subjected to processes that make them loose lots of nutrients, especially the valuable plant fiber. Plus, your body responds better to whole grains or less processed grains than more processed ones, like flours.
2. The very palatable and appealing texture of the undrallu comes from the rava and so definitely make the rava patiently.

Sorghum (Jowar) Undrallu- vegan, gluten free

Madhu

A nutritious, improved variation of undrallu without the rice.

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Prep Time 3 hours hrs

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Course Side Dish

Cuisine Indian

Servings 4

Equipment

• Blender, idli maker

Ingredients

  

• 1 cup whole sorghum
• 1/4 cup channa dal
• 1/2 tbsp cumin seeds
• 8 curry leaves finely chopped length wise
• 1 3/4 cup water
• salt to taste

Instructions

 

• The key step in this recipe is making rava out of whole sorghum. Start by soaking one cup jowar in a cup of water for 2 hours. Then drain the water and spread them on a clean towel to dry. You can leave them to dry for an hour or two, depending on the time you have. The longer you wait, the better. The goal is not to have any wetness on the grains.

  Then take the dried grains in to a blender. Blend on high speed until the grains are ground into a powder.

  Now take a sieve and let the powdered sorghum from the blender run through it. Any unground grains, or coarser particles will be left in the sieve. You can discard the contents left in sieve.

  This is the valuable sorghum rava that is home made, that you can store in an airtight jar in a cool dry place.
• Soak the chana dal in 1/2 cup water for 30 min.
• In a slightly deeper pan, once hot on medium heat, add whole cumin seeds. Toast them for 30 sec. Then add the curry leaves. As you feel the aroma of cumin and curry leaves, drain the water from chana dal and add the dal to the pan. Mix the cumin and chana dal for20 sec. Then add 1 3/4 cup water. Let the water start to boil. Then add the jowar rava little by little while continuously stirring with a spoon. Once all the jowar rava is mixed in to the water, add the salt. Keep mixing with a spoon. Then over the next 1-2 min, you will see the mixture come together into a thick mass as the water evaporates.

  Now take this rava dough into a bowl. The next step is to just make undrallu- the small balls with your hands once the rava is cool enough to touch. You might need to apply a drop of oil to your palms to avoid the rava sticking to your hands.

  In the meantime, take the idli stand in a idli maker, or find a bowl that you can add the undrallu and then steam in a big bowl or in instant pot or a pressure cooker. Add water to the device you plan on using to steam the undrallu and then carefully place the undrallu either in idli stand or in a wide plate and steam for 8-10 min.
• Serve these super nourishing undrallu with any spicy chutney. The mellow flavors for undrallu will go well with most chutneys made with peanut , coconut, ginger, etc .