Carrot, yoghurt and millet soup

Millet is often regarded with disdain. Unfair perhaps, but alas. Such is life. 

Should a wheat crop fail, millet can be planted in its place, harvested when the wheat, had it not fallen prey to the whims of Mother Nature, would have matured. A friend to the farmer, for one. It tolerates drought, harsh growing conditions, and, best of all, millet - sweet, light and delicate - feeds one third of the world's poorer peoples. A friend to the earth and its inhabitants, then. Africa, Northern Asia and India all have used millet widely in their food, yet it is perceived, even in those places, as the food of the very poor. Rice, a far more labour- and water-intensive crop, is considered King.

Millet deserves at least a moment of your attention.  

To cook millet, consider how you will present your finished dish. At first glance, the tiny grains appear to be a perfect substitute for couscous, but millet isn’t quite that soft, nor that refined. It’s a little rough and ready as you may expect a Poor Man’s food to be but that, you see, is millet’s strength. Millet more often than not will, and should, retain a little of its sweet, nutty crunch. It’s a versatile creature; so versatile in fact that it can, if you add a lot of liquid, set to a creamy, solid mass. By all accounts, that was what the Europeans used as polenta before Columbus went and discovered the Americas.

I’m yet to attempt it, but winter’s far from over. 

 
To cook:  Toast the millet in a dry, heavy-based frying pan. Toss constantly over a fairly high heat until you hear tiny popping, just like popcorn, only quieter. Remove from the heat, rinse in a bowl of cool water, drain well and proceed as follows:  

For dry, light pilaf-style grains: Cook in a ratio of 1 part grain to 2 parts liquid. Bring to the boil, add a little salt, lower the heat to a gentle simmer and clamp the lid on. Cook for 25 minutes, remove from heat and rest, untouched, for a further 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork before serving.

For soft, almost mash-like grains: Cook in a ratio of 1 part grain to 3 parts liquid. Bring to the boil, add a little salt, lower the heat to a gentle simmer and clamp the lid on. Cook for 30 minutes, remove from heat and rest, untouched, for a further 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork before serving.  

The soup below is an amalgamation of a few, mostly Middle Eastern, ideas. Both Claudia Roden and Arto Der Haroutunian make traditional soups of stock, rice and yoghurt bound with egg. You, of course, may prefer to use rice where I've used millet, but the texture and sweetness work very well. In lieu of stock, I roast carrots, onions and bay until sticky, add water, some deep saltiness, then puree. It means you get a soup base with flavour AND texture, without the need for stock. Dried mint is essential. Fresh mint will not replicate its particular, pleasant muskiness and would make it far less Middle Eastern.

Carrot, yoghurt and millet soup – feeds 4-6
Cook the millet as per the dry, light pilaf-style above. Here, you want the grains to retain a little bite in order to hold their own, suspended by the velvet soup. Gently, gently with the yoghurt. At high heats, even with the addition of flour and egg, yoghurt has a tendency to split. Not the end of the world, but it won't look nearly as good as it could.    

½ cup of cooked millet (see above)
4 medium carrots, cut into small chunks
2-3 onions, peeled and cut into chunks
Olive oil
Sea salt and pepper
1-2 tablespoons of tamari or soy sauce
A bay leaf or 2
1 litre (generous quart) of boiling water
Squeeze of lemon
1 ½ cups of thick, plain yoghurt
2 egg yolks
2 tablespoons of flour (rice flour works well)
1 tablespoon of dried mint
Extra virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons of paprika
Chopped parsley, to serve (optional)

Preheat the oven to 220^oC (425^oF). Cook the millet if you have not already done so (see above).

Toss the carrots, onions and bay into a deep baking dish. Pour over a couple of tablespoons of olive oil, sprinkle with a little salt and pepper and mix, ensuring you coat everything well. Roast in the preheated oven for 1 hour, giving things a lazy turn from time to time. The vegetables should be soft and golden at their edges, catching here and there in the high heat. Remove from the oven, discard the bay and pour over the tamari and boiling water. Scrape at those caught bits – they have too much flavour to ignore – stirring until they dissolve, then puree the mixture in batches. Pour into a wide saucepan, squeeze in a little lemon juice and warm gently over the lowest of heats.

Using a fork, beat the yoghurt with the egg yolks, flour and dried mint. Add a little salt and a lot of pepper and continue beating for at least a couple of minutes. 

Pour the yoghurt into the carrot soup, stirring constantly, keeping the heat very low. Stir until the soup thickens slightly. Divide between bowls, adding a generous spoonful of millet to each. Drizzle over some extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle on a little bright red paprika followed by, if you like, a little parsley. 

This month, Lisa requests soups or salads based on grains for the No Croutons Required challenge she co-hosts with Jacqueline of Tinned Tomatoes.

Comments

[Wendy]

I haven't tried millet yet. Shall pick some up on my next trip to Highland Wholefoods Actually, maybe I'll make a trip especially. The soup sounds stunning.

[Arwen from Hoglet K]

I've only used millet as a seed in bread, so I'll have to try your pilaf method. The soup with yoghurt and egg sounds beautiful, and it's convenient not to have to make stock.

[Jacqueline]

That sounds amazingly good Lucy and I am grateful for the rundown on how to cook millet as I haven't tried it before :)

[Mari]

That soup looks divine. I haven't had millet in an age, guess I'll have to remedy that.

[Jean]

I have heard wonderful things about millet, especially for those who have Celiac's, but sorry, every time I see it, I can't help but think of the parakeet I used to have :-)

[Johanna]

Gorgeous - I have been roasting carrots for dips this winter but have yet to get into roasting them for soup - but this is yet another inspiration to do so. Carrot and millet seem a classic pairing but my encounters with millet have been a gooey mass rather than fluffy grains. fortunately it still taste good

[another outspoken female]

Am inspired...I really must excavate the cupboard and find the millet :) I feel a pilaf calling!

[maybelles mom]

Millet is something I have never really given a great attention to. Come winter I think I shall.

[kathryn]

Your "stock" is an absolutely genius idea! Millet does have such an image problem, always relegated as "birdseed". Soup sounds delicious, shall be trying it out very soon.

[Lisa]

Speechless. Literally. You never fail to disappoint. I am most flattered to get your entry. Thank you very much dear Lucy.

Such a busy day. Simple yet elegant pleasures like this help soothe the mind.

[Elaine]

Good day, dear Lucy. I'm just about to travel 100 km east (a 90 minute drive) to my favourite country garden (my mom's place). Just wanted to leave a quick comment before I do.

I think your photos & words could convince me to try anything so millet has just been added to the list. (The last time I used it was l-o-n-g ago during my crafting years -- I used it to stuff linen creche figures I had sewn & embroidered. It makes a very good stuffing material!)

I appreciate all the background & tips you share -- not the sort of thing you find in a standard recipe book. Love the suggestion for making a soup base without stock. Very smart.

Well, I think it may be close to 30 degrees (C) today so I will save the soup for cooler weather.

Hope you're having a lovely weekend.

And yes to what Lisa said. You are a good one one to read (calm & soothe the mind) before heading out into traffic.

[Cynthia]

Thanks for educating me about millet.

[Ricki]

Millet is so underrated! You describe the texture perfectly. And don't be afraid to try the millet polenta; it's easy to do, and makes a great pizza or quiche crust, too.

[Callipygia]

Too true about it being the prince or pauper... I've never had much luck w/ it, tho more recently dabbling with the flour form of it. Apparently it is soothing to the gut! This most definitely looks like it would be soothing for many things.

[Anh]

I have recently re-discovered millet. It reminds of this very old-fashioned snack we used to have as kids:- steamed fluffly millet with sweetened green beans, served with crunchy Vietnamese rice crackers.

Love your soup for sure.

[Vivian]

Callipygia's comment about millet being soothing to the gut reminded me of a tidbit of information I gleaned from somewhere long ago: millet is the only grain to not turn acidic in the body when digested. Time to hunt some down and give that "polenta" a try. Thanks for all the interesting information Lucy.

[www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=622618452]

Tried it & love it! Though I've never liked carrot soup before.
(It doesn't really need the millet, I think. But I'm glad I know how to cook millet now)

[Lucy]

Hi Dorien - I agree about the millet. Thank you for your lovely comment! I'm so pleased the soup turned your carrot-disliking around.