Millet Porridge with Dried Fruit
January is underway and I have yet another plant-based #Veganuary recipe for you. This time it’s millet porridge with dried fruit, a delicious, flavourful breakfast that warms you up on cold winter mornings and provides energy for the whole day.
Millet is a great base because it is naturally gluten-free, easily digestible, and full of valuable minerals such as iron and magnesium. Nuts and dried fruit are not only a sweet addition, but also a source of healthy fats and fibre that support our body in numerous ways.
Millet porridge is a great example of how plant-based food can be simple, quick and tasty. Check out this recipe and see for yourself.
Preparation
I soaked the dried fruit in hot water and left it for 10-20 minutes to soften and develop a distinctive flavour. In the meantime, I rinsed the millet with cold water to remove its natural bitterness. Then I cooked the millet in the almond drink with xylitol, cinnamon and a bit of protein powder, following the proportions on the packaging. I made sure that the millet was not overcooked: perfect millet porridge should be slightly loose. Finally, I put it into a bowl and stirred in chopped nuts and raisins for that extra crunch and sweetness.
The result? Delectable, healthy and nutritious millet porridge that makes the morning even more beautiful. 😊
Protein powder is the part that needs care
This is what makes the recipe different from every other millet porridge, and it is also the step most likely to go wrong. Plant protein powders set into lumps the moment they meet a hot liquid, and once they have lumped, stirring will not undo it.
Two ways round it. Either whisk the tablespoon and a half of powder into the cold almond drink before anything goes on the heat, or leave it out of the pot entirely and stir it into the finished porridge once it has stopped steaming. The second gives the smoother result and keeps more of the vanilla flavour, which is the point of using a flavoured powder.
Plant protein also absorbs liquid and thickens, so a porridge that looked right on the hob will be noticeably stiffer a minute after the powder goes in. Hold back a splash of the almond drink to loosen it.
“Slightly loose” is the target, and here is why
The instruction not to overcook it is worth taking literally. Millet keeps drinking liquid after it leaves the heat, and it does so for several minutes. A porridge that looks perfect in the pot is stiff by the time it reaches the table, and one that looks slightly too wet is right.
Take it off while it still moves when you tilt the pan. If it has already gone too far, a tablespoon of almond drink stirred in off the heat brings it back, which is easier than the alternative, since there is no way to un-absorb liquid.
The soaking water is worth keeping
Ten to twenty minutes in hot water is what turns hard dried fruit into something that softens into the porridge rather than sitting on top of it. What the recipe does not say is what to do with the water afterwards.
Do not throw it away. It has taken up sugar and flavour from the fruit, and a splash of it in place of some of the almond drink sweetens the porridge without any extra xylitol. Drain the fruit before stirring it in, though, or it waters down the bowl.
Nuts at the end, always
The walnuts and almonds go in at the table rather than into the pot, and this is the one thing that cannot be prepared ahead. Nuts stirred into hot porridge soften within minutes and lose exactly the crunch they were added for.
Chop them rather than leaving them whole, so they spread through the bowl, and toast them in a dry pan for a minute while the millet cooks. It costs nothing and it is the difference between a nut and a toasted nut.
Making it ahead
Cooked millet sets firm in the fridge, much more than oats, so a portion kept for the next morning comes out as a solid block. Loosen it with almond drink over low heat and stir until it comes back together. It keeps three days.
Keep the base plain if you are cooking for two days: add the fruit, nuts and protein powder each morning. One more thing worth knowing, since this recipe rinses the millet in cold water: a rinse in boiling water afterwards removes far more of the bitterness, and the reason is explained in the warming millet with ghee recipe. If you would rather have breakfasts like this one planned into the week with a shopping list, that is what the Diet & Training by Ann app does.
Millet porridge with dried fruit
Ingredients
Method
- Soak the dried fruit in hot water for 10 to 20 minutes, keeping the soaking water.
- Rinse the millet under cold running water.
- Cook the millet in the almond drink with the xylitol and cinnamon, following the proportions on the packet.
- Take the pot off the heat while the porridge still moves when you tilt the pan, since millet keeps absorbing liquid as it stands.
- Stir in the protein powder once the porridge has stopped steaming, loosening it with a splash of almond drink.
- Transfer to a bowl and top with the drained raisins and the chopped, dry-toasted walnuts and almonds.
Notes
Frequently asked questions
Either whisk it into the cold almond drink before anything goes on the heat, or stir it into the finished porridge once it has stopped steaming. The second gives the smoother result and keeps more of the vanilla flavour. Plant protein sets into lumps the moment it meets hot liquid, and stirring will not undo it.
Plant protein absorbs liquid and thickens, so a porridge that looked right on the hob is noticeably stiffer a minute after the powder goes in. Hold back a splash of almond drink to loosen it.
Take the pot off the heat while the porridge still moves when you tilt the pan. Millet keeps drinking liquid for several minutes after it leaves the heat, so a bowl that looks perfect in the pot is stiff by the time it reaches the table.
Keep it. It has taken up sugar and flavour from the fruit, and a splash in place of some of the almond drink sweetens the porridge without extra xylitol. Drain the fruit itself before stirring it in, though, or it waters the bowl down.
At the table, never into the pot. Nuts stirred into hot porridge soften within minutes and lose the crunch they were added for. Chop them so they spread through the bowl, and toast them dry for a minute while the millet cooks. Breakfasts like this one come planned into the week with a shopping list in the Diet & Training by Ann app.
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