Sama ke chawal for fasting | a Tabbouleh like salad...

Sama ke chawal or Barnyard millet is vastly used during Navratri fasting. It is a wildly growing grain which is actually a seed not grain, a pseudo grain. Complex carbohydrates and some protein makes it an ideal food for fasting days in North India where all grains and pulses are restricted during fasting. This grain (pseudo grain) behaves like short grain rice when cooked and has a taste almost similar to broken brown rice. I Have made a Sama ki Idli, Sama ki kheer, Sama ki khichdi and a few more recipes like Sama ka dhokla in the past. This salad recipe is easy to assemble if you have some cooked Sama ka chawal as you keep cooked rice some times. All healthy ingredients in this salad. After all fasting during Navratri is meant to detox and rejuvenate basically.

Just chop a few vegetables that you like eating raw and toss up a salad with an interesting dressing that goes with your fasting rules. Extra virgin Olive oil and lime juice make a basic dressing, I added chopped green chillies and Coriander greens for more freshness and this salad was tasting almost like a broken wheat tabbouleh I have posted..

ingredients...
(2 servings)

boiled sama ke chawal (cooked just like rice) 1 cup
Cucumber chopped in small bits 1 cup
Carrots chopped in small bits 1/2 cup
Other vegetables you like raw or steamed, cut similarly
Coriander green chopped 1/2 cup
Mint chopped 2 tbsp
green chillies chopped to taste
extra virgin olive oil 1 tbsp
lime juice 2 tsp
sendha namak (rock salt) to taste
roasted peanuts 1/2 cup
pepper to taste

preparation...

Boil the millet in double the quantity of water just like rice. I pressure cooked the millet with a pinch of salt. Cool it or refrigerate till you chop the vegetables.

Mix the Olive oil, lime juice, salt and pepper and the chopped green chillies, give it a good stir and let it rest.

Chop all the vegetables being used, and toss with the dressing. Now fluff up the cooked millet and mix with the dressing and vegetables. Toss the roasted peanuts too.Adjust seasoning and serve cold.

The salad keeps well for a few hours, so it can be a nice lunch box idea during your fasting days. To make it more interesting you can add some cubed paneer.

Very refreshing, bursting with flavors of coriander greens and mint, crunch by the vegetables and a nutty bite here and there. The salad is quite rich in textural experience.

Healthy fasting recipe for all those who don't want to eat the pakodis and halwas during Navratri. This is a meal in itself, you might like a glass of thin buttermilk or orange juice with it.