This savory millet porridge cooks in 5 minutes and is sprinkled with toasted seeds and fresh chives. It makes a lovely breakfast or side.
This savory millet porridge with chives and toasted seeds may be something you’re not familiar with, but with time it will become your dependable go-to for hearty and cozy fall/winter breakfasts. It’s quite familiar to me, since I grew up with my mother making this millet porridge quite often. She’d top it with gomasio (a Japanese condiment made with sesame seeds) and flax seed oil. She was quite the cook, even though she didn’t think so. But she dabbled in macrobiotic cooking after a health scare, and this dish (in all of its original parts) came to be. Here it is paired with chives as well as toasts pumpkin and sunflower seeds for an added little crunch.
Why I love Millet
Millet is also one of the least inflammatory grains out there, with a tendency towards alkalinity. It’s wonderful as a reset after the thanksgiving holiday, to give your body a boost of health and wellness. But it’s also a grain I include in the spring, when allergies and inflammation are high for me. I find it also very often in macrobiotic cooking for this reason. But because of its nutty flavor and soft texture, you may find you’ll love to include it year round also. Find out other ways to cook it here in this post.
Dress it up
My mother dressed it up with flax seed oil but you can also eat it for lunch next to broccoli and garlic, or add two eggs on top, marinated tempeh or tofu, stir fried pepper and onions and more. It’s very versatile.
To Toast or not to Toast Millet
I grew up never toasting my millet for this dish. I just added the grain seeds to a coffee grinder to make into a powder, added water, salt, and made porridge. But to get more of a nutty flavor, you can feel free to add the millet grains to a pan and toast lightly before grinding. It does make them taste even more delicious!
I use a coffee grinder similar to this one.
Interested in More Breakfast Ideas?
Try these!
Pomelo Breakfast Bowl with Millet and Pistachios
Spiced Peaches and Cream Oatmeal
Pomelo Breakfast Bowl with Millet & Pistachios 
Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Bowl 
Spiced Peaches & Cream Oatmeal
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Millet Porridge with Chives and Toasted Seeds
Equipment
- 1 Coffee Grinder
- 1 Small pot
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup whole millet
- 2/3 cup water
- pinch salt
- handful of chives, minced
- 2 tbsp of raw or toasted seeds (any mixture; here I used pumpkin and sunflower)
- salt & pepper, if needed
- drizzle of flax seed oil, optional
Instructions
Toast the millet
- Most millet seeds come raw, but if yours are already toasted you can skip this seed. To add a nuttiness to the dish, add the millet to a pan on medium to low heat to toast a little bit. Watch it closely as you stir your porridge, as they can burn quite easily. You just want them a little toasted brown.
- Set millet aside to cool for one minute. Then to proceed to grind in a coffee grinder to use for the recipe.
Recipe
- Add the ground millet, water, and pinch of salt to a small sauce pan. Stir constantly using a wooden spoon or whisk until it starts to bubble. Set it on medium low and continue to stir. It's done when you take the spoon and try to pull the porridge from the sides of the pan and it releases. You can also taste it to make sure it's done to you likeness. This porridge can continue to cook and turn even softer if you add a little more water, it's up to you.
- Add the porridge to a bowl and top with the chive and seeds. Feel free to season to your liking with salt & pepper.
- I also like to add a little drizzle of flax seed oil on top sometimes, but it's totally optional.
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